Very sick pet

I know there have been a lot of too-personal personal threads here recently and I'm sorry if I'm just adding to that but I could use some input from those in-the-know.

My cat - 9 years young - stopped eating last week. He had no energy at all, just hung when I lifted him but held on when I cuddled him. I took him to the vet who has done numerous blood tests.

Well, little Adams is extremely anemic. They got him to eat, but his red blood cell count is way down. They did a test for 'baby' blood cells and hoped for a number near 50,000. It came back at 15,000, meaning his body is not producing new red blood cells. The doctor called it 'lymphoma'.

I'm dying over here. Adams is too young to be so sick but I have a decision to make and it's so difficult. Do you let nature take it's course and hope by sheer luck this disease goes into remission? Or do you accept it as a death sentence and help make it as quick and painless (for him) as possible?

I'm so upset I don't even know what questions to ask the vet, and internet research only makes the whole thing more confusing and frightening. They talk about Chemo as an option but say it only adds about 6 months to the cat's life. On the other hand, the diagnosis without treatment is usually followed by the cat's death within 4-6 weeks. I don't want him to suffer but if there's a chance of him surviving this... I guess I'm dreaming.

Has anyone dealt with this particular disease? Does anyone have a success story to share? Is one even possible?

So... chemo will only give him a further six months to live? I suppose that means that, no matter what, he has little to no chance of survival. As much as it sucks, I would say put him down instead of having him go through the misery of a treatment that won't really help anyway.

My condolences.

Oh my! That is so upsetting. I think you should ask your vet what the chances of him surviving if you just leave him, he is quite young..most cats live a good 7 years more at least. I don't want to advise you to put him down but if he's going to suffer then..i think you should find out more about it, and ask your vet what he would do.

I'm so sorry.

I am so sorry about your poor cat. I had a similar problem with my cat two years ago. I would ask the doctor what his chances are of surviving. If there is only like a 5 percent chance he'll survive, I would put him down. It's not worth the pain. However, if your doctor says their is like a 20 percent chance he'll live, I say go for it. When my cat was sick, we put him on an electric blanket and the heat from it kept him comfortable and out of pain until we made our decision. Good luck.

Well, our choice has been made clear. The vet called with today's blood results and the red blood count is even lower than yesterday. He said we can pick Adams up tomorrow and if he continues to eat then we can have him with us for maybe another two or three weeks.

He said we'll know when it's time. Those aren't the words I wanted to hear, but they take away the guess work.

This sucks big time.

I can't think of anything to say but give you my condolences. I'm so sorry. :-(

I am so sorry. You'll be in my prayers.

Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that.
My aunts cat got this illness. He stopped eating and just hung his head, he was so ill. In the end my aunt and uncle came to the conclusion that it would be kinder to have him put to sleep.
It’s horrible loosing a pet, but don’t loose faith, you never know for sure, miracles do happen.

Thank you all. It helps to be able to 'talk' about it somewhere. I'm trying to be strong for my daughter. She is so torn up about this.

Thanks for your well wishes.

I'm so sorry to hear that. :( My cat had a tumor on his hip, unfortunately the horrible vet did not get rid of it in time and he passed when he was only six.
Rip Moonpie

Sorry to hear about that. =(

It truly hurts letting a pet go, but allowing them to go through all that pain just so we could extend their life to a longer period of suffering is not particularly the best for them.

It actually hurts more witnessing how they go through all that pain until they reach the end of their lives.
I know exactly how you must be feeling, but sometimes letting go is the best thing to do.

I personally think that this is something that applies for humans as well, but I think our society still considers such a thing some kind of murder.

:( omg, I'm sorry...

Seeing animals suffer is heartbreaking. I agree that if there is no other sollution, you should shorten the suffering of your cat... :(

[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Mr.Jingles wrote: [/QUOTENAME]It truly hurts letting a pet go, but allowing them to go through all that pain just so we could extend their life to a longer period of suffering is not particularly the best for them.

It actually hurts more witnessing how they go through all that pain until they reach the end of their lives.
I know exactly how you must be feeling, but sometimes letting go is the best thing to do.

I personally think that this is something that applies for humans as well, but I think our society still considers such a thing some kind of murder. [/QUOTE]

Everything you've said here makes sense and I agree. Eight years ago this week, I had to make this decision for my 16 year old Shih-tzu. She was my best friend for 11 years - I rescued her from the pound the day before she was to be put down. I agonized over the decision, but it was cruel to force her to stick around while she suffered. My vet said something to me at the time that has stuck with me since. He said, "Sixteen years may not be long enough for you, but it's long enough for her. She's lived her life. It's time to let her go." It was the most brutal decision I ever had to make but it was the right one for her.

I will make the right decision for Adams, too, but sometimes the right decision feels so wrong.

Thank you all for your support and understanding.

Well, it's not exactly the same thing, but I have a story to share. Back in June of this year, my cat, Frisky, who we've had since she was six weeks old, stopped eating and drinking. My Mom found her up in the rafters in the basement close to death. She managed to get her in the cat carrier and brought her to the vet. Frisky had to stay at the animal hospital over-night, and we were all very upset because there was a possibility that Frisky wouldn't be coming home the next day. My Mom told me that she would bring her home if she wasn't suffering. Anyway, Frisky did come home the next day. From the x-rays we found out that she has a very large tumor attached to her heart, liver or possibly both. Plus she has hyperthyroidism and she had an infection. The vet sent her home with anti-biotics, a pill for thyroidism and some chicken flavored Pepsid. Frisky is doing ok, but she still has her days. She doesn't take her pill anymore...she got too smart, lol. We've had her for fourteen years, and luckily she's not suffering,so we are blessed to have her a little longer. As soon as Frisky starts getting sick again though, we will have to have her put down.

I'd say that if your cat doesn't seem to be suffering much, then maybe you could wait. It sounds like he's not doing well though. I'm sorry you have to make this decision. It is a very difficult decision to make.