My 17 year old cat is sick. May have to put her to sleep Please advise!?

Question

My cat is about 17 years old. Her skin turned yellowish, she wouldn't eat, and she was lethargic. At the vet they gave her fluid theapy and medicine. Vet says she probably has liver disease. Now she's at a medical facility and they say yes, the enzime count of her liver is high and that she has a tender stomach. They will do an xray to check for masses. If there are no masses, she still will have liver problems (the treatment is for the cat to eat, but she hasn't been eating much and she has throw up a lot/can't keep enough down) but if there are masses then they would have to do surgery to take them out in addition to other stuff. The specialist vet says it will cost 5000-7000 to get her well enough to bring home - but that they can't promise she will be the way she was, guarded at best. I love my cat and don't want her to suffer. I want to do right by her and give her a chance at more life. Any advice? Please help. I LOVE my cat and have been crying for days. Took sick leave from wrk

Thank you so much, to those who have responded so far. Thank you.

Answer 1

It's probably time to relieve her suffering.

You should bring her home for a day or two before you do it so that you can baby her. Remember, she wants to be with you more than anything else, not sit in a hospital.

Answer 2

I have a very old pet - a dog - and I fear a situation like yours whenever I give myself a chance to think about it. I understand how you want your beloved cat to be spared from any suffering but it is possible for her to recover. Don't lose hope.

I come from a country where most dogs don't live up to 14 and most don't really get so much attention from vets. So when my dog got majorly sick last year from something that doesn't really have a cure, my vet, I think, was gently getting me used to the idea that my doggie might not make it. I didn't listen and I'm so glad I didn't because he's been well for a whole year after that. He wasn't eating either and had a lot of other problems, but he still made it.

I know you love your cat so don't give up just yet. Perhaps there is a way to get her better and you'll never know until you give it a chance. Good luck.

Answer 3

Never give up on your cat, i felt exactly the same with my cat when she got a broken back at the age of 22 and i was about to let her go but then i realised that was the wrong thing to do so i gave her a second chance and she is walking around the house fine. If i were you i would keep her at the vet clinic in case she is in need of medical help straight away. You are probably allowed to visit her so do that every day, these are the times when she needs you the most, if she is in the up most pain then i would advice you to put her out of her suffering put for now i would keep her alive. If it takes that much money then i would do as much as i could. If worst comes to the worst and they say she won't make it, still take her home.....miracles can happen.
I feel so hurt for you but i will say a prayer for her tonight and i hope so much that she and you will get through this together. remember if there is a slight chance take it, never give up.

Answer 4

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was put my 18 year old Siamese to sleep. I felt like I was betraying her, and the responsibility of that decision was heart wrenching. The vet told me that she was old and would never really get better (her kidneys were giving out) and that I should let her die with dignity. The only real regret I have is that I did not hold her after the lethal injection and let her die in my arms so she would not be alone. It is SO HARD to let go of a long time companion, I know, but it's also not fair to make her suffer, either. Ask the vet what kind of quality of life she would have if she did have the surgery, and what the risks of surgery are because of her age. It might be time to let her go. You sound like a wonderful cat person, so maybe in time you could consider being a wonderful owner of another lucky cat. Good luck. and it's OK to cry!

Answer 5

Cats live for the here and now. What matters to a cat is the current quality of life, not its life expectancy - cats have little concept of future time. An illness may be temporarily treatable, but ultimately reaches a point when the cat no longer enjoys life.

You know your cat better than anyone else, but it does sound as though she has little quality of life at the moment. The decision to end a life is never easy. It causes much soul-searching and it takes courage to assume this last responsibility to a much loved pet. The cat/owner bond is very special so it is easy to become emotionally caught up in keeping your cat alive, when your own common sense tells you the end is approaching.

A good vet helps you to decide when it is time to let go, but only you can make the decision. Modern drugs are extremely fast-acting and the end is very peaceful compared to the distressing later stages of a terminal illness. Most vets will allow you to be with your pet at the end, to hold them and kiss them goodbye.

My heart goes out to you, as I remember all too well the almost physical pain of a broken heart, when my 19 year old cat had to be put to sleep. Cherish whatever time you have left with her and remember that even when she is gone from your life, she will always be in your heart.

Answer 6

I'm SO sorry to hear you are going through this. I will have to get my 5 year old cat put down in about a week or so due to kidney disease. I took him off fluid therapy yesterday so his last few days could be peaceful without having to make any trips to the vets. He HATED the treatment. It was a hard decision to make, but it wasn't fair to make him miserable by getting a needle stuck in him everyday just so I could keep him alive. He is also terminal.

$5-7,000 is an awful lot to spend for treatment when there is NO guarantee it will make her completely better. Do you really want to put her through all that? Base it on her quality of life. Obviously she isn't eating much, and what she does eat, it comes back up. She can't possibly be enjoying herself. I KNOW it is SO hard, but like you said, you don't want her to suffer, just like I don't want to see my cat suffer anymore, that is why I am letting him go. She had a good 17 years of life with you, letting her go is the last act of kindness we as pet owners can give. I'm not telling you what you should do, only you can make that decision. You will know in your heart what is best for her. Look into her eyes, talk to her...some pets can communicate with their owners. You will know when the time is right if you decide to let her go, just know that you will be with her again someday. That is what I keep telling myself to try and ease some of the pain about my cat. I wish you luck and my thoughts are with you.

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Answer 7

That does sound like liver disease. If the x-rays do show masses in her liver, if she was my cat I would have her euthanized. Liver cancer is very likely to be fatal, and her quality of life is already very poor.

If there are no masses, she might possibly recover from this hepatitis, but her age is against her. At the vet hospital where I work we have had a few cats recover from hepatitis, and in each case I think it was because they were able and willing to eat.

Often the best way we can love our pets is by letting them go if they are suffering. Keeping them alive because we cannot bear to part with them is not extending a life, it is prolonging a death.

I hope things turn out well for your kitty.

Answer 8

Liver disease is tough, so be prepared. The next few days are vital, and it could go either way. She MUST eat to help the liver repair itself. Kidney disease is far easier to treat, but I have heard of recoveries. Please give her something for nausea so she can keep the food down, that is vital. You can get those OTC 10 mg pills for heartburn (ask your vet for recommendations, they usually say pepcid AC), and when my kitty first had kidney disease there was something called metaclopromide or something that really helped calm the nausea and also encouraged her appetite. That sounds like a lot, I had some pretty extreme care for my kitty including ICU and constant checks (during her last visit :( after years of care following her diagnosis) and it was $3500, including specialist. Please make sure she gets water and food. And join the crf or liver advice group in Yahoo groups, there are some really educated people on there, not like the people here who usualy don't take good care of their pets. I can see you are a good person who loves your kitty. Please contact me if you need anything else.
PS, syringe feeding could relaly help. It is not force feeding, it is just helping a sick kitty. You really do need to remind their bodies to start eating again. I had to syringe feed for two weeks, but after that my kitty totally recovered and lived a great life for two more years, gaining weight, playing and having no symptoms. good luck.

PS, as for the comment about kidney disease, y ou can give fluid treatments without the feel of a needle sticking in their back. I did it very well that my kitty didnt feel it -- its just like giving humans an injection where htey cant feel it. IT made her feel better, and she would sit there for it. So it is not cruel at all, and just simply like giving a diabetic their insilin so they can live. Without the fluids they will be very uncomfortable as they pass away.

PS, My kitty was only supposed to live two more weeks, but she lived two full years and her kidneys did not deteriorate at all thanks to the treatment so she coudl have lived a lot longer, if something else had not happened. This is your choice, do what you feel is right and what your kitty wants. Like someone else said, look into the kitty's eyes, only you share that bond of communication and we have no idea of the entire situation. I was close to putting my girl to sleep when she recovered, but a year ago had to finally do it since there was no hope and I didnt want her to start suffering (she went into a coma, but could have endured a long terrible decline when she suddenly got ill that time). please take care.

Answer 9

You'll need to decide what you are going to do for your friend. My cat had cancer and I opted to try surgery, they removed the tumors and she was fine for about 4months but it came back. Rather than put her through another surgery that may or may not have helped, only to possibly have it come back again I decided to let her live out her days as best as she could and put her to sleep when she started to suffer. An option was chemotherapy but the vet recommended against that because of how the cats she had seen reacted to it and how aggressive the cancer was in my cat.

For me it was heartbreaking to have the 'hope' my cat would have gotten better only to feel the tumors return and know I'd have to put her through surgery again, face chemotherapy or deal with losing her. I'm glad I gave her the chance but she didn't have the added problem of her not eating which I'm sure weakens them when doing a surgery. My costs were also no where near what you have been quoted.

My sister's cat had a problem that I cannot recall but I think she put him through too much suffering because she didn't want to lose him. He wasn't eating and she had him on IV's at home before taking him in and out of the vet for more IV's and forced feeding etc.

My recommendation is to go with your heart and do what you can with the vet's help to keep your cat from suffering. Taking in to consideration how much she is suffering now and what she can expect from the future, at 17 she is close to the end and might only have a few years left if she was healthy. If she cannot eat then I think you can only try Iv's and or forcing food for a short time before putting her to sleep. The most important thing is to act quickly to whatever information is gathered from the tests and vet then do what's in the cat's best interests.

I'm sorry for the pain you and your friend are going through and wish you luck with whatever you decide to do for her.

Answer 10

17 years is a long life for a cat. It is really your cats time. At 17 years of age, a cat has usually lost muscle mass and looks very old. They lose the flexibility in their paws and can't retract their claws properly. My cat died at about that age. It was sad to lose the cat but not horribly so. What made it nice was we adopted an abandoned cat that was living in the nearby woods.

It would be better to let your cat go peacefully than spend $7000 on care. Your poor cat would remain sickly and neither you or the cat would get much benefit from treatment. You would just postpone the sadness. Even if you are as rich as Bill Gates I don't believe you would be doing the cat a real favor with treatment.

Answer 11

I had to put my 18 yr old Siamese down last August because she was going downhill quickly from kidney disease so I know how hard this is. Let's face it, and this was my reasoning with my cat. She's lived a full, long life. She's been a really good friend. As sick as your cat is, she doesn't have much time left. And what time she has left will be spent in very very poor health, unable to eat, throwing up, and probably in pain. There is no chance for your cat to fully recover. It's time to say your good-byes and let her go. Bless her for being so good to you for so long. And then let yourself grieve.

I'm sorry it's so rough, but we outlive our furry best friends. That's just the way it is.