- Joined
- Jun 17, 2008
- Messages
- 36
- Purraise
- 7
I would really appreciate any help!!! My poor almost 18 year old kitty has a myriad of issues. She has CKD as well as hyperthyroidism. Her thyroid has been difficult to get control of, started using the gel in ears for a year or more, and then switched to pills...apparently she has trouble absorbing the gel I feel since starting the pills her health has declined and possibly some of her symptoms are from this? LONG STORY! She also started receiving Adequan shots for arthritis in her hip and rear leg/legs. I could swear she's been worse instead of better after the shots started. She's had 4 so far and I think I will discontinue. I can't find anything negative online about it in regards to cats, so maybe her issues are coincidence? On top of all this, she likely has dementia A lot, isn't it??? Ok, well this leaves me to her new situation. About a month ago or so, she started to throw up a bit, but only in the morning and then she would seem fine and eat, etc. Well at some point, she started throwing up multiple times a day but would still eat. I was having suspicions over the new Tapazole pills although her initial vomiting started after her gel prescription had gone up just prior to switching to the pills. Anyway...stared her on Pepcid, didn't seem to help and got some Cerenia and although she was eating less and seemed weaker ( which my suspicion is on pills or Adequan ) she was eating. Then she started to eat less, on top of looking 'not right' etc and she wasn't "going" although other than a recent memory of a couple of bouts with constipaiton and vomiting...she seemed to now just not be going without even trying..so maybe no urge even? She's eventually gone, and no issue was found in that area.
Well, with all of this going on, my vet wanted an ultrasound for her, which we did. This leads me to my current dilemma. The Doc who did the ultrasound came back and said she has thickening of the abdominal wall. I can't remember exactly where but apparently an endoscopy could get us a biopsy. She either has IBD or SCL. At first she told me it is a 50/50 chance for either one. At some point however, I said something to her where she admitted that she was leaning towards cancer. Mind you, she said it may also be another type of cancer and that she was only going with the most common ones first Well, we can't even do a biopsy until we have her thyroid under control and can see what her kidneys are truly up to. Ok, so let's say I manage to keep my kitty going with Cerenia, food stimulant's, etc and then I get a biopsy and we find out it's SCL. Ok, so then we do chemo, etc. My problem is....with all of her other issues, would any of it be worth it? She said the hopes would be to extend her life 6mos to a year. She also said there is no way to know how her kidneys or thyroid would even react to the chemo. So it seems there are too many unknowns.
I'm so confused. Like I mentioned , my kitty is about 18 years old. Seems like a lot to put her through. If it is cancer, and I don't have a biopsy and I put her on steroids, my regular vet said that while the steroid could help for a bit, she would have a relapse at some point and that would be a good indicator that her issue is indeed cancer. He did mention Leukaran (?). I know once we put her on steroids that she can't have the biopsy unless she was taken off for a few weeks. I guess what I'm trying to sort out is that if I decide to just help her by starting steroids ( because she does need help asap ), am I making the wrong decision? I know that chemo for a cat is not the same as it is for humans, but with all of her other issues, wouldn't it be too much for her regardless? Let's not forget the cost of it all!! Believe me when I say that I would go broke to save my kitty's life, but at the age of 18, it could end up being more stressful for her no matter what any proper diagnosis could bring. Please, am I thinking correctly here? I'm just so overwhelmed and I could use some help sorting it all out. OH, and did I mention she has a bad tooth! Oh boy, it never ends. Now having said all that you may think she's looks scary, but other than her shaved belly, she is an 11lb calico cutie. She does seem irritated over something most of the time, but that's to be expected with all of her issues as of late!! Anyway, any thoughts or ideas would be greatly greatly appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read this!!!
I'd like to add that I don't want her to suffer and my goal is to make her feel as good as possible before I would have to let her go
Well, with all of this going on, my vet wanted an ultrasound for her, which we did. This leads me to my current dilemma. The Doc who did the ultrasound came back and said she has thickening of the abdominal wall. I can't remember exactly where but apparently an endoscopy could get us a biopsy. She either has IBD or SCL. At first she told me it is a 50/50 chance for either one. At some point however, I said something to her where she admitted that she was leaning towards cancer. Mind you, she said it may also be another type of cancer and that she was only going with the most common ones first Well, we can't even do a biopsy until we have her thyroid under control and can see what her kidneys are truly up to. Ok, so let's say I manage to keep my kitty going with Cerenia, food stimulant's, etc and then I get a biopsy and we find out it's SCL. Ok, so then we do chemo, etc. My problem is....with all of her other issues, would any of it be worth it? She said the hopes would be to extend her life 6mos to a year. She also said there is no way to know how her kidneys or thyroid would even react to the chemo. So it seems there are too many unknowns.
I'm so confused. Like I mentioned , my kitty is about 18 years old. Seems like a lot to put her through. If it is cancer, and I don't have a biopsy and I put her on steroids, my regular vet said that while the steroid could help for a bit, she would have a relapse at some point and that would be a good indicator that her issue is indeed cancer. He did mention Leukaran (?). I know once we put her on steroids that she can't have the biopsy unless she was taken off for a few weeks. I guess what I'm trying to sort out is that if I decide to just help her by starting steroids ( because she does need help asap ), am I making the wrong decision? I know that chemo for a cat is not the same as it is for humans, but with all of her other issues, wouldn't it be too much for her regardless? Let's not forget the cost of it all!! Believe me when I say that I would go broke to save my kitty's life, but at the age of 18, it could end up being more stressful for her no matter what any proper diagnosis could bring. Please, am I thinking correctly here? I'm just so overwhelmed and I could use some help sorting it all out. OH, and did I mention she has a bad tooth! Oh boy, it never ends. Now having said all that you may think she's looks scary, but other than her shaved belly, she is an 11lb calico cutie. She does seem irritated over something most of the time, but that's to be expected with all of her issues as of late!! Anyway, any thoughts or ideas would be greatly greatly appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read this!!!
I'd like to add that I don't want her to suffer and my goal is to make her feel as good as possible before I would have to let her go