Surgery for a pet - what would you do?
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| Fri, 05-25-2007 - 5:59pm |
Hi all,
If you were in this situation, what would you do?
A few of you are familiar with my situation. I have a cat whom I love and is part of our family. She has cancer. She saw a vet oncologist this morning.
The good news - her cancer is localized. They can do surgery on her and remove it and do cat chemo. It won't CURE her cancer, but it would significantly slow it down and she could live for several more years.
The bad news - this would cost a total of about $5,000.
???
I *have* half of the money, but it was going to partly go towards a vacation later this year, and it's most of my savings. My BF can put up the rest of it.
SO... Do I spend the money on a pet that I love, knowing it won't CURE her but it will slow her disease way down...
OR... do I let her cancer metastize and watch her waste away and die, KNOWING I could have spent the money to help her?
If there IS a god (which I personally don't believe in but in times like this I wonder) he/she is laughing their rear end off at my expense. I used to be able to laugh at life, but I don't find it very funny anymore.

When I adopted my dog 5 yrs ago, I had no job. I knew I was stepping into a big responsibility for I knew I always had to at least feed and walk her a couple times a day. At least with children they eventually grow up enough to take care of themselves.
I also knew that if my dog needed medical attention then I would have face the same moral-ethical dilemma you are facing. What is the upper limit that I will be willing to spend for my dog? Fortunately I did not have to face that when I was out of work.
However I just have spent $3,400 for an ACL-knee ligament surgery for Chili. Thank god I am working now and will be getting a tax refund that will cover most of it.
I remember when I was growing up there were fewer options for pet owners where the most common option of such a severe diagnosis (cancer) would be putting the pet down. Nowadays medical technology has proliferated and reached down to the pet world, e.g. MRI, chemo, knee replacements and the like.
I think the best way of deciding is what you can live with? If she was my cat I would not spend the money because it won't cure her. Prolonging life is not always the best way of caring for another sentient being. I believe in letting go if it is truly our time to move on.
Good luck,
Mark
I don't envy you this decision.
I believe you said before that your cat is 12 years old? That's getting up there for a cat, I've read that the average age of a cat is 12. Anyway, when my kitty was 17.5 years old, the vet thought she had cancer. Just to find out would have cost about $1,000, then to do surgery would be thousands more, and there was going to be no guarantee. Sad as it was, I declined any diagnosis or treatment, feeling she had led a good life and why prolong the agony? The vet thought she had six weeks to live, and so I started saying my goodbyes. Well, as it turns out, she didn't have cancer after all and went on to live 2 more years, at which point I put her down due to kidney failure.
A few years before that, I had a beloved kitty that developed a liver problem. I spent about $600 trying to save her (the vet felt she had a chance of saving her) but she died anyway a week later. She was fairly young--8 years old---and so beloved that I probably would have spent anything to save her. But, I also had the money to do so.
I know of a couple who had a golden retriever they dearly loved and they treated her for cancer...even traveled down to the Univerity of Gainesville to have special treatments. I'm sure it was mega bucks, but the dog lived two more years and they were glad they did it.
As to what you should do...so very hard to advise. On the one hand, I say the cat is pretty old and even without cancer might not live that much longer. On the other hand, with the cancer and with treatment, she could live anywhere from months to years. You say the treatment won't cure her. Is there any alternative to the surgery? (probably not). If you could take a "wait-and-see" approach, that would be ideal, but sounds like if you don't operate, it's a sure thing she will die.
One of the things that helped me decide about my cat that they thought had cancer was I really considered what she would want. I figured she didn't want to live through the agony of diagnosis, surgery and treatment, only to possibly die soon after. I thought she'd just want to go with dignity. But she was much older than your cat.
$5,000 is a lot of money, even if you have it to spend. This just can't be ignored. But it has to be considered.
I don't know if you can talk more to your vet, if that would help at all. I also don't know if they would allow installment payments...probably not.
I have two cats right now, both of them 12 years old. One is my favorite, and I would probably spend the money to save her. However, I would really want to talk more to my vet about how her quality of life would be during and after the surgery. Would her strength and spirit be diminished? I couldn't bear to watch her walking around weak and fragile. The other, although I love her, I would probably let go...she also has diabetes. So, if you choose not to treat your cat, you can just let her live as long as she is happy, and when she starts declining, you can make the tough decision to put her down. (By the way, euthenasia really is very peaceful and a gentle end to suffereing. I was in the room when they put my old kitty down.)
Hey, and don't feel like you are being punished by a god you don't believe in. If there is a god, I believe he/she is merciful and would want to comfort you in a time like this. Don't beat yourself up.
Take care. --FG
It's tough - hard to answer.
I've seen two people allow their beloved pets to go to the bitter end and I have difficulty with that. Both are adamant that the pets weren't in pain but I don't know.
One was my grandpa and his beloved becky - - she was grossly obese and deaf and blind and
her heart was causing difficulty. Vets tried to tell him he needed to let her go but he couldn't do it. My dad tried to convince him but poor grandpa just couldn't bring himself to do it or let my dad do it. Finally they woke up one morning to find becky dead on the bedroom floor. I can't imagine how that could have been anything but traumatic.
Then my friend - we are so much alike in so many ways it's scary. Both have (had) two cats who we absolutely adore . . . can't imagine life without them. She lost one of hers to kidney disease. She was told it was incurable but continued with the treatments for about 3 or 4 months. It was brutal - having to administer IV fluids twice a day . . poor S coudln't pee regularly so often messed. She went from being a fat fluffy girl to skin and bones. Finally she died at the vet's kennel when my friend was out of town (she got delayed in returning otherwise she'd have been there).
I'm not sure I would have done what my friend did. It seemed to be too much effort when the reality was, the kitty would in fact die. Mind you this is in reference to prolonging life by a few months.
You say yours could go 5 years more. That is a long time. $1,000 per year in theory.
But what if ?? I don't trust vets too much - - - someone else mentioned the expense involved just in diagnosing - - how much has this already cost you ?? There's got to be a cut off point.
I know this sounds harsh and I've not yet "been there" - - - but the golden rule in being a pet owner is accepting the fact that you will undoubtedly outlive it. Period.
I like to think that when the time comes for me I will use logic over emotion to make the decision . . I can't say for sure that I will but I hope to. My mocha is experiencing a serious weight loss right now and I will need to get him checked - -- and I absolutely DON'T have the excess money for treatment if needed. I am in school and need to finish - - I owe income tax of $7,000 . . . those two payments have to take precedence in my life
My dad's dog had a leg issue about 7 years ago . . . some tendon thing. The vet said surgery "could" fix it. If the surgery failed the leg would need to be amputated. The dog already showed a tendency for this tendon issue so it could have presented in her other leg. The surgery would have been thousands of dollars and typically there are absolutely no guarantees from the vet. SO what to do - spend thousands on surgery followed by potentially thousnads more to amputate if the surgery wasn't successful . . . followed by the reality the other leg could develop the same problems . .. Dad opted for no treatment and just limited the length of their nature walks and the dog has lived happily with all four legs for years.
I don't know what to say - it's tough. I'd like to think I would not spend the $5,000 and accept the fact that my kitty would pass - - watch her very closely and at the first sign of pain in her life I would opt to put her to sleep. She's had a long life by cat standards and judging by how you speak of her you've given her a very loved and pampered life.
She's had a very good life. People opt out of cancer treatment all the time for the reasons I'v ejust said - that they've had a good life and don't want to subject themselves to the misery of treatment in order to only delay the inevitable.
I'm sorry I'm rambling -- it's a very tough topic. As much as I can say I would not spend $5,000 on my angels - - I'm not in the position so I can only speak in hypotheticals.
I think only you can answer that... but I completely understand your situation. I lost my cat last summer to cancer, and he was 17 years old. I got him the year I graduated college and he was my only roommate for 17 years and my best friend. He was there for me through breakups, job stress, happy times and those rainy days lounging on the couch. He truly was a member of my family.
About a year before he passed, he developed a sore on his mouth. I didn't really notice it until the vet wanted to biopsy it. The biopsy actually came back benign, but the growth got bigger and bigger. My kitty was eating, sleeping and playing as usual so he did not seem in pain, but the growth kept growing! Finally, the vet determined that it was cancer and suggested surgery. The benefit? No growth on the mouth, and perhaps some extra time. The downside? Putting my beloved cat through the trauma of yet another surgery and no guarantee that he would, in fact, be any better than before the surgery. Cost was not the deciding factor for me (although I did consider it)-- I just could not justify putting him through that. So, I let nature take it's course.
He did really really well for a while, then last summer he just... well, I won't go into details because it still makes me cry, but I finally had to make the horrible choice of whether to wait it out or to euthanize him. I opted to euthanize him and it was the hardest damn thing I've ever done. Still makes me cry. My vet and I had a long relationship and she let me start the process at home, which was both difficult and beautiful at the same time. I wouldn't have done it any differently if I had to do it all over again. Truth be told, I may have done it sooner.
When struggling with what to do, I found an amazing website that helped make my decision easier. If I can find it, I will email it to you.
I guess I'm rambling a bit (sorry), but I think you need to decide what's best for your cat. It's so hard for us to let go of the creatures we love, but sometimes, letting them go is the most loving thing we can do for them.
I agree with most of what Flordiagirl said.
My baby is a 14 year old chihuahua and except for about 5 dental surgeries I've been rather lucky! But she does have back problems starting and I'll just take that one year at a time (it's worst during the winter with the cold).
Peronally for me - if you could have the surgery and the "situation" were fixed I would say $5k is nothing! They SAY the cancer is localized but doesn't it seem logical to think if there is cancer in her system it might show up somewhere else!? And then the thought of kitty chemo - eh, just what I know about humans going through chemo... I'd hate for my beloved pet to have to go through it! :( That's just my thinking though!
And so agree with the person who said "I would not spend the $5,000 and accept the fact that my kitty would pass - - watch her very closely and at the first sign of pain in her life I would opt to put her to sleep. She's had a long life by cat standards and judging by how you speak of her you've given her a very loved and pampered life."
It WILL be hard - I can ONLY imagine! :( But at least you will have had 12 years with her (or however many you had her) and she will have had a GOOD life! Love the stuffing out of her until it's time to say goodbye!
Best of luck - let us know what you decide and we'll be here to support you either way!
Thanks again to everyone who has responded.
I think what my BF and I have decided to do is to let the cancer run it's course and at the FIRST sign of distress, we'll take her to the vet and have her put to sleep.
When they told me the cancer was localized I was optimistic. But I can't rationalize putting her through two surgeries (one initial surgery to remove the lower nodes and then another one several weeks later on the upper ones) and then chemo. If/when the cancer returned it would most likely return in the same areas and then surgery again, chemo again, and so forth down the line. She's diabetic and being on the chemo will compromise her healing ability and her immune system.
I can't do it. I can't put her through that torture just to keep her around because I can't say goodbye.
She's had a darn good life. She was a stray kitten who had been dumped in the middle of a cold, icy November in 1995. My friend found her scrounging food from a dumpster. She was covered in oil and was skinny as a rail. She obviously hadn't eaten or drank any water in a long time because when I brought her inside she drank three bowls of water consecutively and ate two cans of tuna fish. She endured the bath and has been around ever since.
I had hoped she'd be around until I graduated at least, but the doctors tell me the cancer will probably progress pretty rapidly - two to three months at the most. So I'm looking at the end of August at the latest.
I had planned to go on a vacation in the middle of August but I'm putting that on hold. I need to stick around until it's over. There will always be another time for a vacation.
Thanks again.
Hugs!
For what it's worth, I think you made a good decision. Surgery would be one thing, but the chemo on top of it... That's painful and invasive for humans and we can understand the purpose of the treatment. All your poor friend would know is pain.
Maybe you could get her all spiffed up and take her to PetSmart or Proex and have some professional photos done of the two of you.
Good luck! It's a horrible decision to have to make, but you've done it with love. She came into your life by chance but the two of you have made the most of it! :)