BF's cat has cancer and is dying

by looking_glass 19 years ago 8 Replies latest 19 years ago jw friends

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  looking_glass 19 years ago

  I know that several of you have recently lost a pet (lovelylil, alana & aude). I have spent the last several days w/ my BF whose cat has cancer. Actually a malignant tumor on his lungs. He is unable to get rid of fluids and is on a diuretic. My GF knows that it is only a few days if that before she will have to put him down. Her vet who is a great man, gave her signs to look for to know when it is time to put Sam down and when it is time, she is to call him and he will come to her house and administer the meds to put Sam down.

  First of all to those who have recently lost their pets, my heart goes out to you all. I have never cried as much as I have over the last two days. When my father died of lung cancer, it was sad but I always knew that he understood what was happening and was at peace with everything. The same with my grams, when she passed. But with a pet, you feel so helpless. It is up to you to decide when it is the right time. You never know what is really happening with them physically, you can only guess and hope that you are right.

  Sam is a great cat. He is only 12. He is a gray cat w/ black stripes. He was always indifferent to the women that filled his life. We would hold him and kiss on him and drag him out of his favorite spot (the closet, sitting on my GF's shoes). He would just give us a look of general disgust and go back to what he was doing before (generally sleeping)

  Even though I am not Catholic (I am agnostic) my GF is and we said a prayer to St. Frances of Assisi who is the patroned saint of animals (and environment).

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  KW13 19 years ago

  thats very sad, pets become part of the family

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  nsrn 19 years ago

  I'm so sorry you are going through this! I, too, have a feline family member with cancer. Spunky has a mass in her jaw, and I am trying to decide when to put her down. She's lasted much longer than the vet predicted.

  It's hard to judge what their quality of life is, isn't it? Are they hurting? Are they short of breath? Do they enjoy eating and purring and watching birds and teasing the dog? What if I wait too long and she suffers needlessly because I'm selfish?

  I's so glad for you that your vet will come to your house. That will be one less stress on the cat, and more privacy for you folks. All my sympathies...

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  looking_glass 19 years ago

  nsrn, thankfully my GF does have a great vet. she has been in contact w/ him a lot. we have a great group of GFs that have been rotating thru staying and supporting her. she has never been married and has had some great sadness in her life, and Sam has always been there for her in her time of need. so this is really very much a loved one that is going to be a great loss to her. the only thing we can do is support her emotionally. my kitty is still very young and naughty, when i heard that Sam was sick, i grabbed my kitty and kissed her and hugged her (thru all her screaming!)

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  Kaput 19 years ago

  Just had to have my cat of 16 years put to sleep. He had developed a fibrosarcoma on his back alongside his spine and I was told it was basically inoperable, so I tried improving his quality of life by having him hydrated and getting a steroid shot to encourage eating. Still, he began to lose weight rapidly over the last month or so as the cancer began robbing his body of all the nutrients he was taking in from his food. I wanted to wait until he died in his sleep, but the vet told me there were other possibilities. 1) The tumor could break and at that point he would be in tremendous pain, 2) The cancer could spread to his lungs, at which point he would begin wheezing for breath, 3) In his present state of just drinking water and not eating, he would starve to death. So rather than allow him to suffer any further, I went with the odds and had him put to sleep. Never want to go through this again.

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  Double Edge 19 years ago

  L.G. ...

  Sorry for the dreadful time you're going through.

  she is to call him and he will come to her house and administer the meds to put Sam down.

  that's the way to go....at home where love surrounds you... what a nice Vet. I had to put down my "little friend" a few months ago....it's very hard, but it was harder to watch them stuggle for a breath.

  take care....

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  lovelylil 19 years ago

  So sorry you are going through this. Animals do become part of the family. I still cannot look at a photo of my beloved cat who died almost 2 weeks ago. I had him for almost 15 years, he was 16 1/2. He had diabetes and was in kidney failure so we knew he had a short time left. But, when it actually happened, it was still devastating. So my heart goes out to you and your bf. Lilly

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  AudeSapere 19 years ago

  LG-

  Oh how I feel your sadness. I cried and cried when I lost my little friends. (First Scout in October. Then Sylvester in May.) I still miss them and my eyes tear up even now as I'm writing to you.

  Sam is lucky to have people who care so well for him (even if he doesn't always agree!).

  When they stop eating and stop purring, and nothing can encourage them to do so, they are not enjoying their lives.

  It's nice that you have a good group of friends who understand and support each other.

  {{{{Looking-Glass}}}}

  -Aude.

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  Dansk 19 years ago

  If your boyfriend's cat has cancer and is dying then I think the kindest thing to do is to put it to sleep in the home it knows and surrounded by the people who love it.

  I came close to dying of cancer some months back. It's a dreadful disease and it robbed me of my dignity. I had lost an incredible amount of weight and couldn't breath properly. I would gladly have taken my own life to relieve myself of the suffering.

  A great doctor persuaded me there was a better way. I took his advice, accepted treatment and fought like hell to stay alive. I'm still here - but your BF's cat doesn't have any way of recovering. It's hard, I know, because I had to have the vet put my beloved German Shepherd Dog to sleep after he contracted cancer. I was there for him right through to the end.

  Putting the cat to sleep really is a kindness!

  Love,

  Ian

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