Lymphoma- 18.5 Year Old cat, Other Health Issues

[lesliel76]

So my my first little kitty who is over 18.5 was diagnosed with suspected Lymphoma.

I am not expecting too much from her or any miracles bc she is so old but thought I would post see what experience others have had.

I didn't so the aspirants I think thats the spelling bc my little girl seems like we are nearing the end and it didn't feel right. So its just a suspected Lymphoma. I opted for the steroid treatment. She got her first shot today and I was sent home with pills.

A little background she had kidney disease and hyperthyroidism both pretty controlled with meds. She lost a lot of weight over 6 months. I had an ultrasound done in August it showed IBS. For this I tried food and several other things that didn't work along some acupuncture treatment for her. Which made some progress. The weight kept coming off the vet thought maybe its her thyroid so they ran the 2nd deeper panel of blood. I got hopefull bc it was high and we changed her med. Then a month later we looked and she was now low thyroid. The vet suggested an ultrasound that I scheduled. I never made it to that one bc she started to decline so the ultrasound was done sooner at the hospital where they suspected Lymphoma.

This was today. We are home now and she seemed to perk up on the first steroid dose, has gone to the food bowel several times and kind of resting better ,but still not great. I'm going to watch her for the next few days and decide to put her down or keep fighting.

It all depends on if she seems comfortable or not as she hasn't been and it doesn't feel right to continue to make her suffer.

Not sure what else to say but I'm bummed out. I cried a lot but I think I have done my job with her and have to let go control.

Anyone have a cat this old with this? Should I even keep going or just stop with her now. This is pretty tough these final moments with her.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I have not. But my own cat, while currently healthy, is turning 14 very shortly, so I've begun to think about what I will do. I believe, if my girl was 6 or 7 years old, I would be far more aggressive with treatment. BUT...at some point, how do you justify putting an elderly cat through weeks of misery to gain a few short months? It doesn't seem as if the prize would be worth the price that the cat would pay.

What I would suggest is finding a good quality of life index. This one The Feline Quality of Life Scale Helps You Determine If It's Time to Say Goodbye to Your Cat | Catster
is pretty good, there are others. Watch her, keep her on the steroids, and love her to pieces until her bad days are more than the good. And don't wait, hoping "it will get better." To quote Jackson Galaxy, "Never on their WORST day!" And remember, that you can prepare all you want to, you will never be "ready." However, in these cases, we gather all of our courage and put their well-being ahead of our own heartbreak.

When that day comes, we will be here for you!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. If the steroids work for a while and gives her some comfort, I would do it.

Feeby is 16+ yo, and just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which we are now treating with H-T meds. If your baby was was on too high of a dose of the H-T meds, that can trigger Hypothyroidism, which can be reversed with lowering the H-T meds. Is there any sort of a correlative possibility between that and the suspected lymphoma?

None of our sweethearts can last forever - we all know that. But, at least check into the Hypo condition and see if there is any connection. And, if nothing else, try the steroids just to let you and her have some more time, as long as she responds well to it.

 

[ATLCatMan]

Please forgive me if this is lengthy but i want to help others who may have went through what i have. My cat Maggie 16 years old was weening off of eating for a while and was not sure if she was being picky b/c she does that from time to time. She was always a ravid eater and lately started picking at breakfast and not much at all during dinner. I took her to the vet on Nov. 2nd and they did blood work and urine sample. All good there. The vet prescribed Cerenia and a salve to put in her upper ear to enhance apatite. That was not working and she was losing weight. I could start to feel her backbone which was shocking. I took her back and the vet did an ultrasound and found masses on her liver and several in her entestines. He prescribed a steroid PRed and a pain medication to give by mouth. This mad her so "stoned" that she would not even do nothing but stare mindlessly into nowhere. I called the Vet and he said our last bet would be feeding by syringe with medicated food. We did 4 small doses and last night she vomited it projectiled all over. At that time i said it was game over and i would not subjicate her to anything else. She survived last night. She had not peed or pooped in over days and i called and said she and I can' do this anymore. I had her put down today at 2pm EST. I am devastated. Perhaps i should have done this earlier instead of all the other things. So very sad folks.... so very sad right now.

 

[ATLCatMan]

I have not. But my own cat, while currently healthy, is turning 14 very shortly, so I've begun to think about what I will do. I believe, if my girl was 6 or 7 years old, I would be far more aggressive with treatment. BUT...at some point, how do you justify putting an elderly cat through weeks of misery to gain a few short months? It doesn't seem as if the prize would be worth the price that the cat would pay.

What I would suggest is finding a good quality of life index. This one The Feline Quality of Life Scale Helps You Determine If It's Time to Say Goodbye to Your Cat | Catster
is pretty good, there are others. Watch her, keep her on the steroids, and love her to pieces until her bad days are more than the good. And don't wait, hoping "it will get better." To quote Jackson Galaxy, "Never on their WORST day!" And remember, that you can prepare all you want to, you will never be "ready." However, in these cases, we gather all of our courage and put their well-being ahead of our own heartbreak.

When that day comes, we will be here for you!

Excactly, That was my issue today Mamany. I am second guessing myself right now after the fact and it's killing me.

 

[ATLCatMan]

I should have done this after the ultrasound and relive her of this but we tried to do everything and hindsight she was probably saying to me stop this ... so sad right now.

 

[FeebysOwner]

He prescribed a steroid PRed and a pain medication to give by mouth. This mad her so "stoned" that she would not even do nothing but stare mindlessly into nowhere.

All of the things you described with Maggie very well could have been due to a too high of a dose of pain meds (being stoned, not eating, not using the litter box, throwing up). I hope they tried to lower her dose of pain meds to see if that would have made any difference. It might not have if her liver was compromised and couldn't process the pain meds properly.

I am second guessing myself right now after the fact and it's killing me... I should have done this after the ultrasound and relive her of this but we tried to do everything and hindsight she was probably saying to me stop this ... so sad right now.

No one wants to stop trying at least something in case it will help. There is no right time or wrong time to try to help - or when to give up. Second guessing is a sad part of the process, and would have happened in your case either way. You couldn't have known then what you know now, so you would have wondered if you could have tried things and something would have helped.

There is a Crossing the Bridge section of this site that - when you are ready - you can post to about Maggie, including all the pictures of her you would like to let us see. It is a wonderful way to give homage to your girl; a tribute to her life with you that is 'memorialized' here forever. I would love to hear more about Maggie when you are ready to share.

 

[ATLCatMan]

we tried force feeding her and that dd not go well. My Queen got so bloated she vomited water. It was so sad to see... she struggled to stand up. I SAID NO MORE ... NO MORE.

 

[fionasmom]

L lesliel76 I have a 10 year old cat with intestinal lymphoma and had her on steriods for a while, which did increase her appetite and seem to help. Without doing testing, I was encouraged to put her on chlorambucil. I am glad that I gave her that chance and she has done well on it despite the fact that I don't think she has tons more time left. However, she is literally so much younger than your cat that I certainly agree that it is an entirely different story and you should make her as comfortable as possible and continue with the steriods. You may find that they do help for a while and will probably help her to be hungry enough to eat.

A ATLCatMan I am sorry for your loss and you did all that you could for your friend. Masses on the liver and in the intestines meant that the prognosis was very poor in the first place and you did fight the good fight until you determined that it was kinder to let her go. Try not to dwell on those final interventions....I have been there lots of times and they are always hard and often unsuccessful but you tried to do what you could.

 

[ATLCatMan]

today she is in with GOD and all other good Cats. I told her i will see her again in the next life.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Excactly, That was my issue today Mamany. I am second guessing myself right now after the fact and it's killing me.

You did the best you could at the time. It is all any of us can do. When you feel up to it, please go here Crossing the Bridge and post a tribute to your lovely girl. You did the best you could.

 

[lesliel76]

@ALTCatMan I am very sad and sorry for you. The pain that comes with this is so hard. It just rips through your body.

I am struggling with my little Daisy. She is doing better on the steriod but I can feel she is just not ok. I made the decision this week I will be putting her down. I spoke to an animal communicator. I know not everyone believes in that but I do and she helped me make the right choice for miss Daisy. She said some really beautiful things. Daisy isn't in pain but super uncomfortable. She said she isn't convinced she has Lymphoma but her stomach is like burning and its effecting all her organs. Daisy told her she is ready to go and is excited bc she did everything she was supposed to do here and felt loved and seen for who she is.

I haven't nailed the date down I scheduled Saturday to be done in my home but could be sooner. Daisy just isn't getting around as good I have to carry to the box and stuff and I don't want her to have to do that for too long.

Nothing will make this easier and I'm just trying to lean into the pain so I can heal. I'm going to make a post in the other forum about passing. Thank you everyone for love and support.

 

[fionasmom]

I am so sorry about this but I believe you are making the right decision with the information that you have. I did consult an animal communicator for one of my GSDs ( it was not over a question of releasing him at that time) and while I am not a person who necessarily has much of an opinion on that subject I do have to say that she told me some things that were not only correct, but verifiable. Your sentence about why Daisy is ready to go is very touching and speaks to your care of her.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It helps, when you know that they are ready to begin their Next Great Adventure. It doesn't stop the hurt, but it does help. And if that communicator helped your heart be a tiny bit more at ease in your decision, then bless her. And bless little Daisy. She is going Somewhere Wonderful. I'll ask my Dad to keep his eye open for her, and show her the ropes!