My cat is dying from large cell lymphoma of the distal colon. He only turned 10 a few months ago.
He was handling chemo like a trooper, then last week he collapsed in his litter tray. We took him to the vet straight away and they injected some opiates. My mom and sister wanted to put him down after that but he's too special and I seriously believe he's capable of dying naturally. I had a huge fight with them and physically stopped him being taken to be murdered.
And guess what happens? A few days later and he fricking rallies, acting all normal. He's eating and drinking a bit, even passing a few shits (this all started with constipation) and he even gained a bit of weight. I don't think he needs to have his life ended for him. He's not even crying out in pain and just rests a lot. I really hope he can just die in his sleep.
Can someone tell me how he will die if he isn't euthanised? The tumour surrounds his bowel. Pre-arranged death never felt right to me, especially for a cat as special as him. We're doing all we can with chemo, prednisone, gabapentin to make him comfortable and relieve pain, I just don't want him put down. I don't think I'll ever find another cat as loving and affectionate as he is.
So dying from cancer is almost akin to a xenomorph coming out of you as a chestburster, is that right?
Stop Anon, I can only get so erect
OP, you're gonna have to let them help put kitty to sleep if you want what's best for your friend. We'll be here to share our kots with you when it's over. Stay strong fren.
I have nerve damage down the entire left side of my body. I'm in constant pain. The amount of painkillers (oxycodone, tramadol) I've even got these morphine patches but the amount I have to take to numb the pain is so high it's a recreational dose that turns me into a zombie so I don't take them and instead I live with a constant 7 or 8/10 pain which is ever changing every couple seconds. I've been in pain for so long I don't even know how bad it is any more and yet I don't want to die. If someone tried to I put me down because my life is in their eyes torture because of my severe pain I would defend myself against them. I would fight to the death to survive.
The people who say an animal that is in this type of pain should be put down are saying that I should be put down.
Nerve damage sounds like hell, anon, I'll admit. Pain is manageable and I agree you shouldn't just put down an animal based on pain alone because there are options. Cancer is different though. If I told you that you'd been poisoned and there is no antidote, cure, etc and you're going to live one week but you'll be completely bed bound with blood coming out of every orifice and incapable of basic tasks like eating, sleeping and drinking before you die, would you take that over just having a nice meal, spending time with family and then not waking up the next day? You have to remember the cat doesn't know he's being euthanised but he definitely knows he's dying from something right now but there's nothing and noone he can fight against.
But will that nerve damage end your life in the next couple of months/weeks/days? Not 100% comparable but it's still a good perspective to have. Animals want to live as badly as we do even under extreme pain/stress. I don't know how terminal illness feels. I assume you'd be so far gone that the pain of vomiting, bleeding, losing all strength and having seizures wouldn't register all the way through. Would animals care to die sooner if it meant not going through that? They can't make an informed decision.
>Would animals care to die sooner if it meant not going through that?
I guess maybe since animals can demonstrably show affection and love, and of course fear and disgust, then clearly if they die a horrific death then they'd register all the feelings running up to that.
Consider the following anon
>Lymphoma, a nasty and terminal cancer
>He seems to be doing fine now, but cats are good at hiding their symptoms so it's hard to judge.
It's not a question of if anymore anon, but when. You also need to consider this.
>You don't know when lymphoma will take your cat, but it will be slow and horrible
>Euthanasia is far gentler; so long as you spend the extra money to make sure he feels good before the lethal dose. Your friend will die with dignity.
I'm not telling you to give up anon, but just like every pet owner you really need to think about your cat's comfort.
Just put him down, anon. It's not nice to hear but ultimately it's better for him if he's going to suffer from cancer. Cats don't like to show they're sick and if they get incredibly sick they'll often just find a dark hidden corner and lie down before spending the next couple of days in extreme pain starving and waiting for death. I know it hurts to know that he's going to be gone but he's going to be gone one way or another within a very short space of time. It's better if he at least has a comfortable death now rather than a torturous one within days or weeks. You've already said that you've stopped chemo and medication. He definitely isn't going to get any better if that is the case. Just plan one last nice night for him with really nice food and a comfortable bed and if it helps, you can get a vet to do a home call for euthanasia so he's in a comfortable environment
Cancer kills by growing uncontrollably and sucking out the body's resources for itself. Unless it fricks up some organ/system with other damage (like squishing the heart) it will be a slow and shitty death.
The problem with chemo is that cancer gets used to it as it rapidly mutates. You need to rotate the substance to something else every few months so it doesn't learn how to live with it.
There's hyperthermia treatment which is a recent discovery but I don't know if they perform it on cats. Basically you heat up the body to high temperatures and force the cancer to scream for help to your immune system, which promptly realizes there's a cancer growing and starts fighting it naturally. The thing with cancers is that they're good at hiding from your immune system and this basically circumvents that.
Your cat is 10 so I don't know how much you'd wanna frick around making it suffer. Honestly euthanasia might be the best option.
cancer is like this. it comes in waves, and each wave is worse. it happens fast. your cat is definitely dying.
Do homosexuals not own something like a simple .38 special anymore to take their own pets out into the woods and do the needful??
I never let any of my animals suffer.
They get the best fricking meal ever then I find a calm spot in nature and wait till they doze off and send them on their way.
OP here, UK, it's fricked, you know
Get this; most citizens in most countries in the civilized world aren't hillbilly fricks who own guns
Right, they just let those who hold power over them have the guns.
>mmm yum onions i love basedlet and being a slave
>ooga booga me need Boom Stick to fight against a government who's wiener i suck anyway
Lol. Lmao.
I'm Australian and even I own guns. Agricultural land in this country goes up 10-12% in value every year. Every hillbilly is rich as frick here.
Australia sounds like a better UK in a lot of ways. Shocking what local governments did during lockdown though.
My father and grandfather did the gun strategy. It's disturbing but it's better than sending them to some weird place with a stranger that has a syringe imo.
>Can someone tell me how he will die if he isn't euthanised?
My cat had intestinal lymphoma and my dad held out on euthanising him because he had this romantic idea of having him die at home with all of us by our side.
It was a horrific experience and I never want to see it again. If you love your cat get him euthanized.
Let me explain to you what will happen to your cat if you don't euthanize him. From my experience with gastrointestinal lymphoma.
>the cancer will quickly spread to the rest of his body
>he will experience rapid extreme weight loss and his skeleton will be exposed
>he will be urinating constantly
>fluids will build up in his lungs
>he will begin to bleed from his nose and anus as he experiences internal hemmoraging
>days later the terminal phase begins
>he will lose all strength
>he will be fully aware something is happening to him
>he will be terrified and you'll see it in his eyes
>he will scream in agony for hours
>he will make attempts to stand on his own but he doesn't have the strength to do so
>suddenly his breathing will slow
>he dies with his eyes wide open staring at the wall
>you won't be able to close his eyes so you'll be looking into them all the way to the vet for cremation
Please get him euthanized. You don't want this.
>I seriously believe he's capable of dying naturally
He has cancer, it's over. Send him off peacefully or you WILL regret it.
You'd be euthanazing the cat because there's a chance this might happen, but you aren't a hundred percent sure it will
Cancer is unpredictable especially with cats. My cat was gaining weight and was seemingly fine just before it spread to the rest of his body, and then it was over.
Considering OP's cat already collapsed in the litter box I would suggest that he's not ok and the situation is getting worse underneath the surface. If I were OP I wouldn't gamble.
Damn... so it really is that bad. Does this all happen at once? How likely is it to go this way? We've stopped chemo now since the tumour just keeps growing but he still seems to be doing alright, we're watching him really closely.
>but he still seems to be doing alright, we're watching him really closely
As we've said from the start of this thread cats will instinctively not show pain or discomfort no matter how sick they are or how much they're hurting. They're not at all like dogs. Dogs don't have too many predators bigger than they are and moreover they can rely on the protection of their pack. Dogs will let you know if something's wrong with them. Cats don't do that. Evolution has programmed them not to. They're solitary hunters, they won't ask for help.
>tumor is growing
>but he still seems to be doing alright
???
>Does this all happen at once?
It happened in a 3 week period. The bleeding began a week before death.
>How likely is it to go this way?
Pretty much guaranteed. It will spread to his liver and chest area given enough time.
Your cat may seem fine but his health IS deterioating. Don't be fooled otherwise.
Christ, biological life was a mistake.
Like a third of us here are going to die like this. I wonder what everyone's perspective will be on euthanasia then. The only reason every country in the world hasn't legalized medical euthanasia is because people can be pumped full of morphine until they're practically comatose, then it's just a matter of waiting for their hearts to stop. They'll never realize what's happening to them.
My perspective on euthanasia will be the same. The problem is different because I will be the one dying and not the one killing the animal, so I can just kill myself and still maintain a coherent set of beliefs
OP here. Full confession - this actually all happened over a year ago and I made this thread to get closure. Yeah, he was put down eventually. Two weeks after what happened in OP post and seeming better - the tumour got so big, was shitting everywhere, wasn't eating, couldn't bear to be touched etc - not as bad as but was starting to go that way by sounds of it. I wasn't there when it happened sadly but that's a different story.
Thanks for all your responses. Especially the negative ones - those were the best. I really just needed to know what else would've happened so I could move on. Ever since he was put down I've reflected deeply on euthanasia and I still think it's fricked and wouldn't usually countenance it, but I guess cancer really is that bad. If it was anything else - kidney failure or whatever then yeah, maybe he could've died naturally. I don't know. I'll never really know. This thread is / was about as close as I'll ever get.
RIP my little buddy. I'm sorry you had to go this way, but it could've been worse.
>he had this romantic idea of having him die at home with all of us by our side.
there are vets who will come to your house to euthanize your pet.
I don't get why there are so many posts advocating for killing the cat. Even if he really is in pain and just hiding it, is that really a reason to kill him? What if he doesn't want to die? Since we can't know whether that's the case or not I strongly agree with OP here.
I used to be on the fence until my neighbors were about to euthanize their dog because of her failing kidneys under the strong suggestion of the vets. They just couldn't and brought her home to die peacefully surrounded by her family. She then made a full, miraculous recovery. I can't blame OP.
I was ambivalent about euthanasia until I had a cat with kidney failure, one vet strongly recommended euthanasia. Got a second opinion from another vet who instead just tried to help me figure out if the cat was still enjoying life. Ended up not euthanizing, and got another three weeks saying goodbye to the cat during which he purred more than he had in most years. They were the best weeks I ever had with him, I had never seen him so consistently happy and friendly, and his natural death was still quick once his condition finally declined.
Euthanasia is fricked, no one has any right to decide when someone else is ready to die. Animals are perfectly capable of giving up when they are ready.
Many such cases. Euthanasia is fricked but I understand from
's heartbreaking account why some would rather not see their loved ones suffer.
>Euthanasia is fricked, no one has any right to decide when someone else is ready to die.
and that's why pot is legal in Holland and you've still got trillions of cops and endless umming and ahhing from politicians despite ALL the facts, to deal with
Cats are known to purr when distressed, not just when happy.
I know, purring wasn't the only reason I had to believe he was happy, it was just the most succinct way of putting it.
Impressive seething. But sorry, I'll trust my own judgement about the quality of life of an animal I knew for many years over that of some angry idiot on the internet. Even if you apparently have enough magical powers to read an animal's mind and know with absolute certainty what it wants, what it feels, what it understands, and what it's goals are.
also,
>those strawmen arguments
lmao
>durr my cat was happy because it was stress purring so I prolonged the agonizing pain it was in so *I* would feel better
have a nice day you sadist before you torture any more animals.
>got another three weeks saying goodbye to the cat during which he purred more than he had in most years.
Cats that have been hit by cars will purr you goddamned fricking moron. Purring doesn't mean a cat is happy, it's more much complicated than that. Stress purring may be one of the only indications they give that they are hurting.
I've lost a twenty year old and a nineteen year old cat to kidney disease. I had both since they were kittens. I held off on euthanasia as long as they had a decent quality of life but ultimately they were only going to be in pain. They don't understand what's happening to them, they don't have any romanticized ideals about what a good death is, they're not happy to share their last days with the people they're close to. All they are doing is suffering and if you're only prolonging it for your vanity. You're selfish and irresponsible and you shouldn't have any pets. Absolutely no different from the idiots who are happy to let shelters fill up with unwanted animals because spaying/neutering is "unnatural". Stick the naturalist fallacy straight up your ass. If you really cared about what's "natural" you wouldn't fricking have any domesticated animals in the first place. It's your job to protect your animals and you failed to do that for them.
>cat is dying
>let's just prolong his suffering by subjecting him to chemotherapy and constant medication
Euthanise your cat and then yourself homosexual
>your grandma is dying
>let's just prolong her suffering by subjecting her to chemotherapy and constant medication
>euthanise your gran- oh wait that's illegal
Not in Canada it ain't!
You ever had someone close to you die of cancer?
You ever visited a palliative care ward?
My father was so pumped full of morphine and unresponsive, not eating or drinking in his last days that he literally shrivelled up and died in a hospital bed. I'm all for euthanasia in end-of-life scenarios; humans, pets, whatever.
I've had to put pets down and it's not easy, but I'd rather see them go out painlessly than suffer for days and/or weeks as their bodies slowly shut down on them.
Honest question to those defending OP, would you want to suffer in your final days or be cleanly put out of your misery with a shot that puts you to sleep?
>it's illegallllll thoughhhh
>b-but hooomuunnnss
There is no comparison between the suffering of humans and the suffering of an animal. If a human is within their right mind it should be their own choice whether or not they want to continue living. For what it's worth, I think they should be able to go out on their own terms if they want to, and I think that if they can't make that decision themselves, then a trusted family member should be able to.
Your animal cannot make that decision for themselves. Your cat is clearly in a lot of pain, and you are choosing to prolong that because you want him to go 'naturally', as if 'naturally' automatically means 'better'.
You are abusing your cat by prolonging his suffering
We should have a Wake thread for all the anons' dead & dying pets
I wish I was rich enough to give my cat regular chemo treatments and long term prescription drugs.
Either that or OP is going broke or in debt so his cat can live a month longer.
Pet insurance. And it's not even me, it's my mom, since technically she's the legal owner.
It doesn't feel that way though. I get that he is sick but that's what medications are for. We have plenty of the insurance money left as well for hospice stuff, may as well use it. How will he die if he isn't put down?
When the bad days greatly outnumber the good days, it's time for the little buddy to be put to rest.
In the meantime, tell that b***h of a mother that you'll remember this shit when it's time for a nursing home or hospice for her.
cats hide their pain well. you will never know how much pain he’s in until it’s so bad he can’t take it. i can’t advise you on anything but any abnormal behavior: not eating, hiding, lethargy or peeing in weird places are all signs he’s not feeling good. i wouldn’t put him down if he’s acting normal.
OP just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it's good in any way, shape, or form. As says cats are prey animals that will disguise their pain no matter how much agony they're in so they won't stand out to bigger predators. Euthanasia really is the greatest kindness you can do for a pet that's suffering. You can't keep them in hospice being drip fed morphine. I just recently put my 19 year old cat down after her kidney disease had rapidly worsened. It was hard but having her die painlessly in my arms before she got even worse was the best thing I could have done for her.
I don't fricking know man. He only really voices his pain if you touch where the tumour is, but other than that he's just very quiet. He goes long periods without eating but he eats eventually. He mostly just spends the day under a blanket.
>You can't keep them in hospice being drip fed morphine
But why? Can't they just go under their own power? What specifically do you avoid by just giving them the needle?
>What specifically do you avoid by just giving them the needle?
pain and suffering you idiot
you're not a good pet owner if you can't make a decision that's painful to you and freeing for your pet
pet euthanasia is like a caring mother calling out to her child playing in the setting sun
you may ignore the call but what's fun about playing in the darkness?
>you may ignore the call but what's fun about playing in the darkness?
>t. has never played in the darkness