14 yr. old cat has baseball sized mass on right side...blood test show could be cancerous....what to do now?

Question

surgery is too expensive ($300-$500), she is not in a lot of pain (yet). Mass will only get bigger (and could "explode" inside her). we are thinking of waiting to see if mass gets any bigger b4 deciding to put her down. any thoughts???

Answer 1

this happened to my dog he had lukemia and they said he would only live a month but the vet gave us steriods for him. he lived for 4 more months and only had some attitude problems the last week.  ask your vet for some medications or something

Answer 2

I would recommend saving the money up for the surgery, as many pets can live long normal lives after simply having a tumor removed, and $300-$500 isn't really expensive for that kind of surgery.  Also if you can't afford that maybe you should ask your vet how much it would cost just to have a small biopsy such as a needle biopsy done to see what kind of tumor it is.  It may not be a kind that spreads quickly.  If nothing else, at least wait to put your cat down until it seems like she's suffering.  I used to work at a veterinary hospital and we had a dog come in that had an inoperable malignant tumor on his neck.  It looked bad, but he actually lived a normal happy life for a few years after the tumor showed up.  He looked like quasimodo, but he was happy.  Once she seems like she's having more bad days than good and most likely stops eating it's time to put her down.  Once an animal is really suffering, you're not doing them any favors by keeping them alive.  Good luck with whatever decision you make, I know it's hard.

Answer 3

If you love your animal you put him to sleep before that mass explodes why would you want him in pain?  The anathesia alone could kill him if they did perform surgery.  Say goodbye to your friend before he hurts. I said goodbye to my Fred, a 18 year old mainecoon, was it hard to do? of course it was but he trusted me to take care of him and I did to the very end.

Answer 4

talk to her and tell her thanks for the last 14 yrs of being my pet and friend explain that their is nothing that can be done then best to see the vet I'm sorry.before anyone says they don't understand they do but don't let her suffer

Answer 5

Hmm...that does not sound good. If it turns out it really is something that could really put your cat in a lot of pain and you can't afford the surgery, I would put her down. It's hard to put down a cat, but sometimes it's the best option. If I was your cat I probably would not want to live through an experience similar to that one.

If you do decide to put her down, remember your cat lived to be 14 which is close to the average life span of cats. As long as you loved your cat and gave her lots of attention, i'm sure she lived a very happy life!

If you don't put her down, pain medications might be best, but from what your describing it seems like your cat doesn't have much longer to live. You could also save up enough money for the surgery, but don't forget that she is 14 years old already.

-Japanese Toast

Answer 6

The greatest difference between loving a pet and loving a human, is that when our pet is suffering we can do something about it. You know your cat, is she in pain? Could you handle it if the tumor does burst and she is in extreme pain? Talk with your vet and see if there is a veterinary school in your area where the cost of surgery could be reduced, if not ask the vet for info on when the best time to say goodbye will be. My thoughts are with you.  

Answer 7

That's it? 3-5 hundred is a normal vet bill for me. In two months you should be able to scrimp and save enough money to pay for the surgery. That's what credit cards are for and payment plans. Your cat is only 14, I would try at least 1 surgery to see what can be done, then decide whether or not to put the cat down. I understand that times are tough right now, but my cat is 17 and wiped out my savings to have $4,000 surgery to have his colon removed. I just finished paying the vet $500 to have him cleaned out and fixed up. So what if I don't watch the premium cable channels for a few months. I couldn't bear to live without my baby, and since the doctors think he will live to about 25 or so, I really don't mind.

Majority of my families cats lived to 18. Only 2 lived shorter spans, 1 got eaten by coyotes and the other died at 15. Considering that the cat was rescued from a kitten mill and not expected to make it to adulthood, I would say that 15 was a very good stretch.

And my 17 year old? He broke his hip and spine when he was 8, he is partially paralyzed and is currently mad at me because he has a stuffed up nose and needs to have drops put in it.

Now, you try getting drops in to a Persians nose and tell me that isn't hard. I challenge you to get it anywhere NEAR the tiny nose.

Answer 8

]: I know this is ridiculously hard, I too have an old cat (he's 11 years old) and one time I found ONE little bump on the base of his chin and I was crying for days not even knowing what it was yet. The thought of putting him down was unbearable and I was just a wreck, but if it came down to it, letting him live would have been the most selfish thing. He would have been in pain and his death would have been prolonged all due to me not being ready to give him up. I say put her to sleep. She's old, 2 years older than the average cat lives, and I say she's lived long enough to not endure any more suffering. ]:

Answer 9

You can wait until she is in pain, no longer enjoying life regularly, etc. Or start getting in some quality time and say your goodbyes...