Palliative Care?

[arouetta]

What palliative care options are there for cats?

I think Shadow's belly lump is getting bigger. If so, this is it, I'm not going to treat it. I think not doing so is for the best.

I can't take all three cats in on the same paycheck, so she'll be going in second, probably next month. In the meantime, since I barely know this vet, I want to be prepared for what is and isn't possible when it comes to palliative care. I honestly don't know how good of quality the advice I receive will be. We don't know anyone with pets here, so no personal recommendations are possible when it comes to local vets. Nor can I justify making Shadow handle a three hour trip one way just to see our old vet.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[2Cats4everLoved]

I'm so sorry you're up against this fight with Shadow. First thing is make sure he's not in any pain and to make sure he won't suffer.

My boy Simon (my avatar) was diagnosed Feb '16 with SCC. The doctor told me he'd be gone by the following week. With 24 hour care he lived 4 additional months. We would have had to remove his bottom jaw, and we too didn't feel this was an option he would want to live with, plus it wouldn't have been a permanent fix.

The trick is, and I wish I knew this sooner was to feed him and keep weight on him.

Also the big one was the pain meds buprenorphine, without it I couldn't keep him going. Eating was a challenge and his teeth shifted which gave him pain. I fed him anything he wanted and could handle.

I'm sorry I don't know your past history with Shadow, but is this in fact a cancerous tumor?

My old thread had some tips in it.
Tumor / SCC: Defying the Odds with Hospice Care - Living with a Terminally Ill Loved One, I share w

I'm not sure how to post a link to a thread like the old forum. It's not pasting right.

I wish you all the best. Please keep us informed. I know others will offer words of advice and support.

Best to you and Shadow, Warmest regards, Hope

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

If you old Vet is up to date on what is wrong with Shadow, can you CALL them and ask for advise, or have them contact your new Vet?

You might ask your new Vet if they offer "at home euthanasia" for when the time comes. Many Vets do. If they don't, you might see if they know of a service that does offer it.

 

[arouetta]

Denial is a wonderful place to be, which is why I haven't come back to this in so long.

While a biopsy hasn't been done it's almost not worth it to biopsy the lump. The biopsy 8 years ago was malignant, mammary cancer. She managed to go 4 years before it came back. When I found the two lumps one was ulcerated, and since I was on a budget the vet said to not even bother with the cost of a biopsy due to her history. The new vet found the new lump 6 months ago and we've been doing watchful waiting, and it's in the right area for scar tissue from the two previous surgeries (she keeps getting the lumps in the same area). During the watchful waiting I found a second lump, though I'm not convinced that one is a tumor, it doesn't feel right. But Shadow had a very hard time recovering from the last surgery and she was only 14 then. Now that she's 18 years old it just feels like surgery would be a cruelty for not much gain in lifetime length, it'd take away quality of life instead of giving it.

Weight is not a problem, she's actually a pound overweight which thrilled the new vet to no end. Shadow was 17 six months ago and the vet said that when she saw a 17 year old cat they nearly always were skin and bones.

 

[darkhorse321]

The main focus is comfort. That means pain relief--I had a collection of medications for both my babies, which included:
1. Buperenorphine--tip for people, put it on your finger from the syringe to get onto the kitty's gums. This helps application become far more effective
2. Cerenia--anti nausea
3. Pepcid AC--also an anti nausea--helps with pancreatitis and excess acidity in the tummy due to CKD
4. Gabapentin ---another pain med, can be used with bupe and all other meds here.

Check with your DVM first before using any of these, and make sure your vet shows you how to use these and what dosages.

Next, get a nice comfy cat bed. Bandit hid under my bed and joined me on the bed for his last few months, but Skye preferred her Christmas gift--a very nice orthopedic dog bed. She had arthritis and it soothed her joints.

Move water, food and litter box closer to them--it makes walking when tired or sore far easier.

Lots of cuddles and love--self explanatory. I know it sounds stupid, but I was leave for work, and then be down the street and drive back home to give them more cuddles and kisses. I'm glad I did. I miss mine both so much.

Comfort and love is all they want. Life span means little to animals--it means more to us, and we love our babies because they are family. Hugs to you!!

(also ask about sub Q fluids---I did not do this myself with these two, but did for my first kitty who had CKD)

 

[arouetta]

I will keep all that in mind when she gets to that point. She is hurting from arthritis, to the point that she lives downstairs and won't go upstairs to join us in bed. However her pain level is just low enough that when the vacuum is turned on too close to her downstairs, she'll be upstairs waiting for it to turn off, and she has no problems getting into the seats of the chairs and couch. She doesn't really groom herself well anymore, so mat cutting is a regular chore and baths happen occasionally. But that also means the hairballs that were happening on a regular basis are now rare. I'm thankful of the mindsets of all my cats as she is the boss and neither of the other cats have ever taken advantage of her being sick/recovering from surgery to start squabbling for a new pecking order. If either of the new lumps are cancer she's not feeling it yet, she is as b****y as ever. (Even her meow is b****y. A vet even asked "Has her meow always been so raspy?") The food and water are already very close to her favorite spot, the litter box is very close to her other favorite spot (a distance of roughly 25 feet between litter box and water, 8 feet between water and her food dish. Another cat's food dish is only 3 feet away and they all swap dishes after the initial face-stuffing when food is put down). She sleeps a lot, but not really more than the other two. I will ask about those medicines when I take her in. Water right now is not an issue, she's at the water dish a lot and it shows in how big the clumps are in the box. But she is one of the best at hiding when she doesn't feel well, the first cancer was found at a routine vet check and the second had two tumors and one was already ulcerated when I found it as after 4 years my monthly checks were a bit lackadaisical. Neither time did she show the slightest change in behavior.

 

[darkhorse321]

That sounds good. My girl got quite stiff as she slept more, so perhaps talk about options to manage arthritic pain too--there are other meds for that, but gabapentin and bupe will help, but medicam is the best for arthritis. You can't use bupe and medicam together though, so your vet will advise you based on your kitty's needs.

Is your girl good with a brush? I got the furminator for my girl and she LOVED it!!! It kept her hair down (she was a DSH tabby/torbie, but had LOTS of hair!!) and her shedding was low. She loved being brushed any time, but her hind limbs were sore over time. I found it a nice bonding with her, but she always loved being brushed.

Hugs to you!