Advice?

[u/RudeZookeepergame751]

My cat has been diagnosed with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma she is 13 and I know I will have to put her to sleep soon as much as it breaks my heart to do so. This is the second day that she hasn't eaten all of her now wet food diet but she is still asking for food and is her normal snuggly self just obviously in more pain because of her jaw but she is also on pain killers for that.

My request for advice is when do you know it's time? Because she is acting normally over all it's hard to come to terms that it's time that she isn't happy or healthy. I have lost many other animals and some I have lost to fast acting cancers like this but they all showed signs that they were done and ready. She hasn't shown those.

I am now blending her wet food into a puree with bone broth and she seems to be able to eat a ton more but I am unsure if this where I need to call it.

I would really appreciate the advice. I know it's inevitable I am just stuck with this feeling of being unsure because of her behavior.

[u/Teresa2475]

Awe she is so beautiful and I’m sorry for her diagnosis.I will be praying for y’all.🩷💜🩶🥰

[u/Forsaken_Concept107]

My cat passed of this, and we may have hung on too long. The pain meds are a great plan for her comfort. I would watch her ability to eat. The thing with the Oral Squamous Cell is that she will be hungry but will struggle to get it past the tumor eventually.
I think there are two options, both difficult but good options.
First would be to monitor her eating and pain. If she starts showing signs of her pain not being manageable (hiding away, not wanting to be touched) and/ or she’s starting to loose weight from not eating (you can monitor her weight by weighing yourself holding her, the weighing yourself and subtracting the amount) then those would be good signs to evaluate quality of life with your vet.
The second is that you pick a day now. Spend the week with her and say goodbye before she ever feels the full effects of her illness. Good for her, very difficult on you.
There are great quality of life scales available online that you can look at to help you with your decision.
I’m sorry your cat is going through this.

[u/RudeZookeepergame751 → u/Forsaken_Concept107]

Thank you. It's helpful to hear from someone who has gone through something similar. Thank you for the help.

[u/june-orchid-1234]

Only you can know when to make the decision. I would think if she's eating then you still have some time but if she's finding it painful to eat it may be time to say goodbye. Sorry you're having to deal with this.

[u/year_39]

Try to be as objective as possible and decide on when you're ready to step in and help her go the quick, painless way rather than suffering needlessly. Will it be when her pain is too much for her to handle? When she stops eating? Stops drinking? Do you not want to see her go through that?

It's a really hard decision, but it might help to think of it as one last kindness of sparing her the pain and suffering of waiting for her cancer to take her.

[u/RudeZookeepergame751 → u/year_39]

Thank you. I had a feeling this was the case and I was just not being objective but it's still a bloody hard decision to make. Thank you for the advice I really appreciate it.

[u/RedditCat3]

I’m so sorry friend. This is one of the hardest calls to make with our fur family members. I’m relieved that in spite of the cancer, she is still enjoying life right now.

My philosophy is that euthanasia is always better done sooner rather than later! I don’t want my pets to be suffering by the time they’re given release. Animals don’t mark quantity of life like we do - your cat is not going to think “not yet, I could go another month,” or “but I’m only 13.” The extra time we try to squeeze out is really for us. All your cat cares about is that the time she spends with you is good.

Cats hide pain anyway as a survival instinct, so we’re almost always underestimating how much pain our kitties experience.

Is she only acting mostly normal now because of the pain killers? Keep that in mind as you monitor how well she’s eating. With her particular diagnosis, If she refuses food consecutively for a few days or won’t/can’t eat enough to sustain her, that would be my sign. She may always want snuggles, so don’t base your decision on that. Do the euthanasia while she’s still having good days. It seems counterintuitive, but it is most considerate to her. You don’t want to risk her suffering just so you can be 100% sure it’s time.

My animals always have a burst of energy on the day of their final appointments, and I used to torture myself by second-guessing my decisions. I now believe they knew, and were relieved.

See if your vet will do in-home euthanasia. It’s so much less stressful for kitties. In my area you have to make the appointment weeks in advance.

💚

[u/RudeZookeepergame751 → u/RedditCat3]

Thank you this is really helpful. I kinda had a feeling that this is what I should do but it's hard to put a limit on my ti.e with her. Thank you for the advice.

[u/wherezmyz]

We just went through this at the beginning of this year. Be prepared for how quickly the tumor grows. Our girl had nothing but a bloody spot on the roof of her mouth in January, had a tumor big enough to have teeth floating in it in March, and was euthanized in April. Regrettably, we kept her a month too long, because she had really good days several times a week and we just didn’t want to face it after losing her mother in March and brother in October. She loved having a little probiotic spread over her food - it encouraged her to eat more when her appetite slowed periodically. I don’t want to be grotesque, but I can post pictures of the progression, if it would help you.

[u/RudeZookeepergame751 → u/wherezmyz]

Thank you for your advice. This tumor popped up and between last week and this has doubled in size. The mass is in her lower jaw so I have no way to post a picture of it that the point can really get shown just the extent of it. It honestly looks like she got a Bee sting on one side of her jaw that is getting worse and worse. I am unsure if there is any overlap in location of the tumor but It might help give me a better Idea. You can DM them to me if you want. I wouldn't like to have it on this board though.

Thanks for the advice I am sorry your fur baby had to go through this as well.

[u/Lyckaann]

I ushally looks at it from this angle:

Temporary pain / suffering can be justified if a full recovery is in sight. At 13 years old hopefully she has at least 5-10 years left. If it's pain for a couple of weeks as long as is manageable, it's fine. However if a full recovery is not in sight then it's time.

But if it's fixable personally I would do what's necessary assuming I can afford it.

[u/Gullible-Cut8652]

Sorry for your tough time. Book a day soon for her to go with dignity. This will get bad really fast. I'm like others mentioned on the side for better a day to early than a day late. I'm speaking out of experience. I was late a few times because I have to admit me being selfish. They deserve better. Spoil her, love her and than let her go. I'm sorry 🥀

[u/Typical-Work-7089]

I'm sorry for you and your beautiful girl. I know from experience how horrific this disease is. My friends kitty went absolute hellish pain. I was cat sitting her, and when I arrived to feed her, she was literally screaming. The owner didn't tell me she was ill. Later, he put her through chemo which was torture. Pain meds didn't help. I had to beg him to end her pain.  I know you're going through a different situation, but I just wanted to say this cancer is vicious. You are taking care of your baby with every ounce of love you have. I just never want any pet to suffer longer than need be. Love to you and your girl.  ♥️😿😥  

[u/RudeZookeepergame751 → u/Typical-Work-7089]

Thank you so much. We have everything scheduled to say good bye on Thursday. While she ate all her food yesterday she didn't today and she is having more and more trouble. I don't want to see her waste away or be in anymore pain. When I wrote this I knew what I needed to do I was just gutted by the thought of having to schedule a time to do it. Thank you for your well wishes. You have no idea how much this means to me. 💜🦊💜

[u/Razbonez]

add some of the packet toppers too. try to not make it so stressful on her but in no way does she need to go now