I'm posting this on this blog - one I haven't posted to in more than 13 years! - because I want to talk about something and don't want the person it's about to see it.
A friend of mine has had a rough time with her pets recently. One of her cats got sick back in October. It turns out he had a tumor behind his eye and he didn't survive it.
Then in late December another one of her cats got sick. She initially thought he was still mourning the death of the other cat. When she took him into the vet she was told they thought he too had a tumor. A series of tests showed that wasn't the case - he only had an ear infection. But, during the tests they discovered he also had a heart condition, something they didn't previously know. Between the sedation for the tests and the antibiotics, the can got backed up. He wouldn't eat. After a couple of days of him not eating, she took him back to the vet. They decided to give him fluids. A serious mistake for a cat with a heart condition because his heart couldn't pump out the fluids like it normally would. So the vet said they needed to do something (I can't remember exactly right now what it was) to force the fluids out. Whatever it was that they did was a fatal mistake. Her cat started having seizures, followed by cardiac arrest. They revived him once but he didn't survive the second heart event. And all he had was an ear infection.
Well, a couple of weeks ago they took their third cat to the vet for a scratch on her nose. It seemed to be getting infected. During the exam the vet thought they felt a lump and did a bunch of testing. Several things were found on the test. Most were benign but she did have cancer of the lymphatic system - a terminal diagnosis. My friend told me that she may only have weeks or months left if left untreated. But, if they do an aggressive chemo treatment, she may add six months to her life.
My friend didn't ask for my advice but I offered it anyway. I tried to steer her away from the chemo treatment if it wasn't going to do more than she told me because otherwise, in my opinion, she was just putting her cat through torture and making the quality of life her cat lived in the meantime worse than it would be.
She's doing chemo anyway.
Over the weekend her cat was throwing up and not eating. This is pre-chemo treatment - the cat has not had any chemo yet. She took him back to the vet who, after doing tests, says the cat has pancreatitis that needs to be treated before she does chemo. She's going to contact the oncologist to see if they agree and do whatever the oncologist - who makes no money until they start treatment - says to do.
I hate that my friend is going through this but I wish she wouldn't put her cat through anything more than is necessary because the end result will be the same and will likely make the cat's last days more of a nightmare than they already will be. I think she will regret it later.
Don't get me wrong, I know she wants what's best for her pets. And I know I would move heaven and earth for mine so I get why she's doing it. I just think she's too close to the situation to consider the toll it will take on her cat when the result will be the same.
I hope I'm wrong and that the cat will do well and recover nicely, I just fear it's not likely.
