Question:
I hope this is the right section of the forum for this post. If not, the administrator can place it somewhere else. I have a little story to tell of my cat, Shooshi. I'm not a religious person but it's possible a form of miracle took place.
My cat Shooshi has been vomiting for the last few weeks. She's vomited in the past and it's passed and I've thought nothing of it but the last week she's been vomiting up all her food. I was very upset and feared the worst.
I took her to my local vet and they x-rayed her throat and my worst fears were realized. Shooshi has a large growth, possibly a tumour in her throat and it's crushing onto her esophagus (which carries the food to the stomach) and her trachea (windpipe). She was diagnosed as having an 'esophageal tumour' which is one of the worst conditions a cat can have. The vet said she should be put down because if she can't swallow her food it's better to end her life now than let her starve to death. As you can understand, it was terrible, terrible news.
I was put in an impossible position. Do I let the vet put her down - she's about ten years old but her precise age isn't known because she was a rescue cat - or do I take her home and watch her starve? I couldn't let her be put down because she was still a happy cat, it was only the vomiting that was causing her problems. I took her home and she sat there, disorientated. The drugs used to sedate her were still in her system.
I crushed up some canned meat so it was in tiny amount and hoped and prayed she would eat some. If she didn't eat or if she did eat and vomited it up I knew it was all over, I would have to put her down but she had a little nibble and thankfully she eat it all and she didn't vomit. The tiny chunks of meat had passed into her stomach. It was a miracle. A few short hours before my vet had said she should be put down and here she was eating and not vomiting.
Sadly, the long-term future for Shooshi looks bad because the tumour is still there and I've no idea if it's growing. I'm taking her to see another vet next week to get a second opinion. Even if there's nothing than can be done for her, I've given her a chance of a few more months of life, perhaps even longer.
All I can say is if your cat is very poorly and a vet recommends it put down, please consider that he/she could be wrong. My vet believed she had no chance of eating food but he was wrong and had I taken his advice my cat would have been put to sleep.
I don't know how long Shooshi will live, the tumour is very large but she's still alive and eating and I hope my situation gives some hope to other cat owners faced with a similar predicament. Vets can be wrong. The fact my cat is alive today and behaving normally is proof of that. Had I agreed with him, I would have been mourning the death of my cat, not happy to still have her with me. Perhaps miracles do happen and if so I am very grateful.
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That great you have been blessed with more time, I hope the new Vet can help. You always hear that you know your cat best, and it's a good thing she has you to help her through this tough time.
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Thanks for the comment.
Where there's life there's hope. Have to stay positive.
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keep trying to feed her wet cat food that has been mushed and watered down to a soupy consistancy, a couple times a day. if she stays fed you can buy yourself prescious time with her, months even, until you could save up to have the tumor removed.
but if she seems in pain at all or shows tha effects of the cancer or the tumor then you need to look within yourself and decide whether or not its worth it to keep your cat alive and in pain just for your benefit.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cait
Thank you ForJazz!!!!!
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Thank goodness you've got some time to evaluate the situation. But I agree with Cait.....if she's suffering and there's no way to relieve it, then the right thing to do is what's best for her.
Best wishes and good luck.
Tim
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She's fine at the moment and eating. It's truly remarkable. The vet said he'd never seen a tumour that big and yet she's now acting almost 100 percent normal. It's almost surreal.
I plan to take her to another vet and get another x-ray of her throat. Unless they recommend surgery and I can afford it or think it's needed, I think I'll leave her as she is. She is fine at the moment but if she were to stop eating or manifest terrible pain then I would be forced to put her down. But as of this day on, my cat is alive when the vet wanted to put her down. I feel blessed to still have her and I hope my situation will help other cat owners. Please weigh up all the pros and cons before taking that dreaded decision to put your cat down.
My cat is proof vets can be wrong.
My love to all cats here on the forum,
Cat Fan
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I am glad you didnt go with your original vets advice... is she able to drink? I am glad you were able to find something that she can eat and keep down...I hope its something thats operable and you can afford to do it... if the time does come that she needs to be put down...PLEASE ASK how they plan to do it... I just got through with the most HORRIBLE experience and do not want anyone else to have to go through what I just did.. I worked for two different Veterinary clinics for a total of 10+ yrs and have witnessed dozens of Euthanias.. and have had many of my own animals put down due to Health reasons... and quality of life.... I am NOT one who takes this lightly!!! my female Abbysinnian X who was 13 yrs was starting to lose weight and wasnt eating very well.. I took her to the vet on August 31st she had lost 2 # in one month.. we did blood work.. and he found a large mass in her abdomen....that was thursday... the surgeon I wanted to use was not availbable till Tuesday... I gave her subQ fluids twice a day.. till Tuesday morning.. the day I was to take her in for surgery.. she started Seisuring that morning.. I knew she wouldnt make the hr drive and definitely wouldnt survive any surgery.. so I decided to take her to one of the Local VEts to have her put out of her misery.. WEll that was by far the WORST experience I ever had.. I expected them to give her a sedative..then give her the medicine that would stop her heart almost instantly.. and it would be peacefull >... NOPE!! the doctor used a fluid that was apparently "thick" and PINK.. she tried to put it in a vein.. she blew the vein .. did it with another vein.. same thing.. She originally wanted to use a very LARGE needle and put it right in her chest cavityand let her die.. it takes a little longer that way.. YA THINK!!!!well I was soo upset.. that thats what they ended up doing.. My friend said she didnt even flinch when they did it.. but !#@@** it!! it wasnt supposed to be that way!!! I am in tears.. They made me pay up front!! it took her 15 min for her heart to stop beating!!! I BAWLED the whole time apologising to her... I wanted so badly to stop payment on my check and go in and TEll the VEt what I thought of her! I will NEVER be back and I will make !@## sure no one I know goes there either... SO PLEASE make sure they use a sedative and that what they put in ( had always been blue) goes in the blood stream and stops the heart instantly... Its no fun waiting for your beloved pet to die...the only small positive thing is after the first attempt to put it in her vein.. she stopped seisuring... no aside from that it was the MOST Horrible experience I have ever been through... Im sorry if this is depressing.. I Just make sure this doesnt happen to anyone elses animal.
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We had a cat die of cancer at ~18 years old. He didn't last long after the diagnosis. But he was at home with us and not in pain. He just sort of faded away over 2 weeks or so and died with our daughter patting him on his bed.
Pain, and the fright that goes with it is not something I'd wish on anyone, pet or human. But most humans can arrange enough drugs (morphine drip and such) to alleviate the pain. An animal cannot.
But, if the animal seems content, I'd rather it die quietly at home.
And diagnoses are never sure. My cousin was given less than 6 months to live when they discovered his intestinal cancer: he continued working as a dog trainer for 6 years until he went into hospice for just over a week and died.
Nancy C
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nwlily32,
I'm so sorry for what you went through. That was absolutely heartbreaking.