Hi

I'm very worried about my 16 year old cat. A few months ago she started getting blood in her stools. She's always been very tiny but has lost weight recently. Her "normal" weight was 2kg. Now she's dropped down to 1.3kg and is just skin and bone. The vet gave her some tablets because she thought it might be her thyroid but they made her lose her appetite and she stopped eating. She is also constipated. The tablets have now been stopped in an attempt to get her appetite back. The blood tests were inconclusive.

Over the last week she seems to have lost her spark. She hasn't got the energy to jump up on a chair and just lies on the floor. She's always been very active and playful. She had work done on her teeth a couple of months ago which improved her appetite. Nothing seems to work now. It's the lethargy that's worrying me. It looks as if she's given up. The vet said she could feel something in her abdomen. Could this be a tumour? Is there a way to ease her constipation? I don't want to give up on her yet but she's well and truly fed up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

If you have looked back at some of the other posts on this site you will see that I hold strong views about keeping pets alive when they no longer have an acceptable quality of life. Part of our responsibilty towards our pets is to save them from suffering, and we have the privilege of being able to do so when their suffering has destroyed any quality of life thay may have.
An animal's life span is so much shorter than ours, and we have to go through the trauma of parting with our cats and dogs several times over during our own lifetime. I always regard this as the price we have to pay in return for the love and companionship given to us by them.
With the signs you describe, togther with the vit's comment that he could feel a mass in her abdomen, I really think that the time has come when you will have to shoulder your responsibilty and consider sparing her further suffering.

W

Hi

Thankyou for your reply.

I thought I'd update you on Blackie. She was weighed last Friday and whereas she was 1.32kg before she had gained some weight and weighed 1.37kg. The vet couldn't feel a lump in her abdomen anymore so thought it must've been constipation that had now cleared. The vet said she wasn't suffering. She wasn't constipated anymore and was eating. She seemed perkier and was purring when i stroked her and was wandering about more often. She still wasn't herself but we decided to give her another week and see if she improved further.

Yesterday afternoon she took a turn for the worse. She vomited what looked like faecal matter and couldn't stand up. She was taken straight to the vet to end her suffering. She went peacefully without a struggle so she knew it was her time. She must've had a blockage (or most likely a tumour). Although it's sad, she had a long and happy life and I'm grateful that she isn't suffering anymore.

Hi,

I am sure that you have done absolutely the right thing for your cat.

W