I just don’t know how to deal with it. He is my baby. This was Dhs and I first child. We adopted him from the human society when we were in college. We have had him our entire marriage and then some.
He is only 13.
He came up with what we thought was an abscess on his leg. We noticed it for the first time on Saturday night. He is a big cat and has a lot of fur. He began to lick at it and it revealed the mass and we took him first thing this morning.
Its huge. The dr said the size of a tangerine.
They believe it to be a rare form of vaccine cancer. Even sadder was we had been irresponsible about vaccines for about 2 years and we just got him back on the schedule 9 months ago.
And now its going to kill him.
The tissues are going off to the lab, but he expects it to come back confirmed as cancer by the end of the week and we can choose to remove Sebastian’s leg to slow it. But that the cancer has “legs” and spreads through his body, even from what we cant see.
I asked flat out if he was going to die and the dr said yes, but they dont know when yet.
I mean..this is our BABY.
I don’t know what to do.
I feel sick.
We just lost Mei Sei less then a year ago and I swore I would NEVER put a cat to sleep again. It was horrible.
And now I am facing the same decision.
He doesn’t deserve this.
I am so sorry!
Ugh, I’ll never go through putting an animal to sleep again if I can help it. I say do whatever you can (without killing your finances) and help him live out his days in comfort. If in the end you can’t afford to do anything else, then you’ll have to stop his suffering, but hopefully he is ok at home.
(((hugs))) It seems like he lived a good life, I know its hard- but he shouldn’t have to suffer from any pain. I’m so sorry
Oh Trisha I’m so sorry. I just can’t fathom putting an animal down so I’m here if you need to cry.
I’m confused. Did a vaccine give him cancer, or lack of vaccine?
Lee
the vaccine. IT was the rabies vaccine. Its injected with something in it, a live virus, and that caused cancer.
IM sorry trisha I really am I know its soo hard as they are our families but he doesnt need to suffer!
I am so sorry… my thoughts and hugs are with you right now. Losing a pet is always so hard. When my cat passed away from a stroke two years ago on New Year’s Eve, i cried for hours…it is always so hard to lose your beloved companion. My thoughts are with you right now. *hugs*
Oh, no. I’m so sorry.
Oh, I am so sorry.
I’m so sorry, Trisha! I’ve lost pets before that were my best friend, especially when I was a teen. It’s so hard. I still mourn over my horse, she was amazing. I had to sell her when I was 19. Different, I know… but she’s gone and I’ll never see her again. And she was older, so I’m sure she has passed away by now.
Anyway, I’m sorry you guys are dealing with this!
I’m so sorry Trisha! We’ve lost 3 pets in the past 3 years and each one was a huge loss to us. You just have to think about his quality of life. How much will he suffer if he continues to live, even if you opt to remove his leg? The doctor needs to help you evaluate his level of comfort before you can make this difficult decsion.
I’ll be thinking of you. (((BIG HUGS)))
I’m so sorry Trisha. It’s heartbreaking when our kitty babies leave us…we don’t realize how much they are a part of our lives until they get sick and then we are so helpless . :*(
So sorry, I know what that sick pit in your stomach is. I found a cat on a playground just a rat no fur little baby…and fed it bottles every 3 hours and made the thing poop. It was my baby then at 6 months they said she had feline leukemia…and could live 1 year or 15. Then in her 17th month she had lumps all over and stopped eating…we took her in on the 4th of July. I did nothing but cry and swore I wouldnt have a pet because of having to eventually do it. I am so sorry….*big hugs*
Well, calm down a bit…just wait and see when the results come back. In the meantime don’t agonize over what u did or didn’t do. You gave a homeless animal a wonderful home to live, love, purr and grow. Yes, it is difficult to have a pet put to sleep. Find a vet who can come to the house to euthanize if it is affordable. That’s what we did. It is somethimes is so stressful on the animal to take them to the vet. We wish u all the best!!
the dr said that its def cancer…he hasnt seen this kind in about 3 years though. They just are really sending it off for “confirmation” but he has already looked at the cells under the slide. Sigh.
Oh honey, I am so sorry, especially after what you recently went through with Mei Sei. Pets really do become a part of the family so I totally understand. My parents had to put one of their dogs down (one that they got when I was in high school) because he had cancer and was suffering. It was so hard.
{{{{{HUGS}}}}
The same thing happened to my cat Damian. I felt like shit. Here I was responsible and bringing him vaccines and he got cancer right where they put the shot in. After lochlan was born, Damian hated him so he went to move in with my friends mom. She is the one who found out he had cancer, I had to fax paperwork to her dr with the vaccine records. Anyways, they did successfully remove it, but it may come back. No more vaccines for that big boy. He is only 7 now.
thats terrible. I’m so sorry.
Oh, this is such a sad one….It sounds like your cat has lived a long and wonderful life. Having pets stinks so much sometimes. I hope he is as comfortable as possible and doesn’t have to experience any pain. The first pet my DH and I had together was a cat as well and she actually died in the care of the vet before I could get back to her to hold her and say goodbye. It was really tough for me, but I have also held a cat and dog while they were “put to sleep” and it is terribly difficult. Whatever choice you make, big hug to you!
I won’t suggest what you should do because I think you already know what the answer is….and I’m really sorry you have to make that choice. I know exactly how you feel about your kitty. ((Hugs))
Wow…that’s horrible! I’ve never had to put one of our pets to sleep. I am sure it is a very hard decision…but you have to do what is the most humane thing for your cat. Whatever that may be. So sorry you have to make that decision.
He doesn’t deserve it Trisha, but sometimes it is the responsible and loving thing to do, to help him go before the pain gets worse….because as a cat, he doesn’t understand what is going on and why. And as a 13 yr old cat, will the pain and time involved in recovering from amputation be worth it?
Tough love here, but would you be keeping him here for your sake or his?
I’m sorry, our pets are like family too and it is terrible difficult.