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I also hope that you get a better answer from the vet today. This sounds like a bad practice; they're not being straight with you about options and treatment for your cat. And I really can't wrap my head around $600-1000 per day for a small animal. Any decent vet practice should be able to sit down with you and give you a full accounting of what your options are, why they're recommending them, what each will cost and so on. Especially where so much money is concerned.
When one of my Rottweilers was diagnosed with bone cancer, the vets at MSU quoted me $3600 for amputation and the first round of chemo. This was on top of the almost $700 I'd just paid that day for the x-rays and evaluation. I simply didn't have the money (especially considering that continuing chemo, if it worked at all, was going to be costing me over $1500 per month.) My regular vet told me he wasn't comfortable doing the surgery and chemo and referred me to another vet, who was an oncologist and board-certified orthopedist. MSU sent all the records on my dog to him and he charged me about $1500 for exactly what MSU was going to do for $3600.
In a perfect world, we'd all be able to pay for whatever veterinary care necessary at the drop of a hat but sometimes that's really not possible, so we have to price shop and/or look at other options.
Is there another vet you can go to? If this were one of my pets, I'd seriously be looking for a second opinion. If not a different vet.
Wishing for a happy outcome for you and your cat, I hope you get answers today.
Every pet I've had (and there have been many cats and dogs),the ones that lived a VERY long time and had life threatening diseases such as diabetes,thyroid,kidney and cancer were always the hardest. End of life decisions are never easy and vary according to the personality of the pet and your financial situation. You just do the best you can with what you have at the time and no matter what you decide,you will always second guess it later on and wonder if it was the right choice. I know what you are going through as I have felt it many times. Just go with your own gut feeling of what is best for you and your "furkid". My heart goes out to you and you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Thanks to everyone; you have made me feel better. What I have to report is in its way good news.
The vet was very nice to me. She cleared up things that I didn't understand. First of all, she truly believes that hospitalization would be the worst option and the at-home treatment I chose was better. The stress would have worsened or killed him. (She agrees with the head vet). She says the treatment I gave would have worked if he had an upper respiratory infection. The fact that he is still so sick (and he is really sick, she called him 'failing') means that it never was an upper respiratory infection.
She thinks he has either cancer or else the somatisis has spread to his bones.
The blood work shows everything normal. So a tumor, which wouldn't show up in the blood work, is the likely cause. (she says)
There is no reason to do the X-ray series to look for a tumor, because we aren't going to attempt to treat one. (We both agreed on that)
I thought we would just put him down, but she wants to try a few things.
She made a list of curable or manageable things that he could have, on the off chance it isn't cancer or somatisis. This includes pancreatitis, or perhaps an infection that just isn't showing up in the blood work.
We are going to aggressively treat these things for a few days. If we see any improvement, we will keep treating. If none, we will release him from his suffering, poor thing.
Interesting! she gave me subcutaneous fluid to give at home! She also prescribed anti nausea medicine. Also pain medicine. Also, a full list of at home instructions.
We will reevaluate of Friday. She thinks I will have to put him down on Friday.
I guess the reason I feel good about this is that--as so many of you have noted and probably you have gone through this--the worst is the second guessing and the guilt. I was already beating myself up that I robbed him of some good years, I didn't make the right decisions, I didn't manage this well, I should have just brought him in earlier, had him hospitalized, etc.
Now I see, it was always out of my hands.
Well, that's it. I have my fantasy that everyone who beat up on me for the last four days will one by one call and apologize (ha!) You might wonder why I never called the head doc. I guess I didn't realize that she thought the at home treatment might have value. I thought she meant that, yes, hospitalization was the only chance, but my cat is too sickly wouldn't survive it, i.e., nothing could be done, and maybe that is what she meant, after all.
If I get a new pet one day, I'll be switching vets anyway. This morning I called around to find another vet (this was before I had this good conversation) and I talked to a vet that I really liked.
Well, that's it. I might report in if we euthanize him, but I suppose if you don't hear from me with news of his miraculous cure, that's what we did.
Thanks again to all of you. It's nice to find people who understand. Three Wolves, I will take your advice for the next two days, anyway. Thanks, everyone, so much.
Karen, I am so glad you were able to have this conversation, and that your cat will be getting good care with you at home.
I thought elevated white blood cells and calcium in the blood were an indicator of cancer, but perhaps that's only certain types of cancer. So I shall cross my fingers that your old guy rallies and is feeling better very soon, and I agree that for an elderly pet, the stress and cost of trying to treat cancer is not usually worth the outcome (mainly, quality of life for the animal. Been there, done that.)
FWIW, you did nothing wrong...it can be so confusing and emotionally difficult trying to make the best decision for an ailing pet!
Karen, I am so glad you were able to have this conversation, and that your cat will be getting good care with you at home.
I thought elevated white blood cells and calcium in the blood were an indicator of cancer, but perhaps that's only certain types of cancer. So I shall cross my fingers that your old guy rallies and is feeling better very soon, and I agree that for an elderly pet, the stress and cost of trying to treat cancer is not usually worth the outcome (mainly, quality of life for the animal. Been there, done that.)
FWIW, you did nothing wrong...it can be so confusing and emotionally difficult trying to make the best decision for an ailing pet!
((hugs))
Thanks, chiroptera. I guess she doesn't know what it is, but it's something 'serious'. Not a head cold. He's hardly moving and is clearly dying. He's down to 9 pounds, from a high of about 20--(he was never fat, just big, long legged and muscular.)
I guess she mentioned in passing an option was to do an aggressive series of tests to see if we can find the cause of this. I just shook my head and I guess I'll fight the temptation to take him back and do that. He cried pitifully on the way to the vet yesterday, and I promised him he'll never have to go back. He's declining in so many ways--arthritic, blind, the constant swollen gums. So many things.
But up until Friday he still had a lot of good moments.
He's been on the decline for a few years. I don't know why so young. He always was getting every possible illness a cat can get. (But then I'd treat him and he'd be okay) Someone said maybe the first year of his life was hard (he was found on the street) The vet said in her experience very big male cats like mine do tend to die sooner. Is that true?
Edit: Would anyone here keep trying with him? I guess you can't know being that you can't see him.
I do love him and I'm a little pathetic in that he is my only companion--I'm single now. I will be very lonely this summer because I really spoiled this cat. I think I was somewhat the cliche of a single woman who loved her cat to pieces! And it was somewhat one sided, because he 'tolerated' my hugs only. He is letting me hug him, so I know he is just not here, actually. Poor thing.
Edit: he's been below ten pounds for a year, because of thyroid and kidney, it's not because of this new thing.
Thanks, chiroptera. I guess she doesn't know what it is, but it's something 'serious'. Not a head cold. He's hardly moving and is clearly dying. He's down to 9 pounds, from a high of about 20--(he was never fat, just big, long legged and muscular.)
I guess she mentioned in passing an option was to do an aggressive series of tests to see if we can find the cause of this. I just shook my head and I guess I'll fight the temptation to take him back and do that. He cried pitifully on the way to the vet yesterday, and I promised him he'll never have to go back. He's declining in so many ways--arthritic, blind, the constant swollen gums. So many things.
But up until Friday he still had a lot of good moments.
He's been on the decline for a few years. I don't know why so young. He always was getting every possible illness a cat can get. (But then I'd treat him and he'd be okay) Someone said maybe the first year of his life was hard (he was found on the street) The vet said in her experience very big male cats like mine do tend to die sooner. Is that true?
I'm not enough of a cat person to know if what your vet said has merit. But I do know that while cats can live quite a bit longer than that, a 16-17 year old cat is still a very senior animal.
Were this my cat, I probably would not do aggressive tests or treat for cancer. I'd do just what you've done - ruled out all of the obvious and treatable causes, then let him go if he didn't improve. If he's been sick a lot in the last few years (arthritic, blind, the constant swollen gums), you may not be "buying" him much quality time going forward and in fact, for sure, your good care has kept him alive and happy all these years. I'd focus on that, honestly.
If the best he's going to have going forward, even if he rallies for a while, is having good moments, the kindest thing would be to let him go before he gets to the point of feeling unbearably bad. Cats are very stoic and don't show pain, so by the time they are, they're not feeling at all well.
I agree with chiroptera. And as someone said earlier in the thread, when it comes to end-of-life issues, we tend to second guess ourselves and feel guilty no matter what choices we make. Your promise to your kitty not to make him go through any more was a good one, I believe. Taking him through this final stage of his life is so hard, but it's our final act of love. I wish you strength at this difficult time.
Honestly, at this point it doesn't sound like your cat is living a quality life. I understand it's your buddy but it's not fair to the cat to continue to live like this. You gave him a great 16 years and now it's time to let him go. You'll see him again one day. I wish you the best but I personally wouldn't allow my cat to suffer another day.
I do love him and I'm a little pathetic in that he is my only companion--I'm single now. I will be very lonely this summer because I really spoiled this cat. I think I was somewhat the cliche of a single woman who loved her cat to pieces! And it was somewhat one sided, because he 'tolerated' my hugs only. He is letting me hug him, so I know he is just not here, actually. Poor thing.
Loving your cat is NOT Pathetic at all. You have had him in your life all these years and of course it will be hard to lose him. I feel the same way about my kitties. Some cats do not like to be hugged, but that doesn't mean they don't like us If he was about a year old when you got him, he might have never had any type of human physical affection when he grew up and sometimes if they do not get this as kittens, they don't like it later on in life. One of my kitties is a TNR cat, that clearly cares about us, he greets us at the door and comes up to us every morning to say hello and get pets, but he does not like hugs or being picked up.
I am so glad you feel more comfortable with the answers you got from your vet and from everything you have said, it would be a miracle if he improves... but at least you will know you tried everything you could and you do not have to wonder "what if". Best wishes to you and your kitty. You gave him the best life.
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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. ~Henry David Thoreau
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If he was about a year old when you got him, he might have never had any type of human physical affection when he grew up and sometimes if they do not get this as kittens, they don't like it later on in life. One of my kitties is a TNR cat, that clearly cares about us, he greets us at the door and comes up to us every morning to say hello and get pets, but he does not like hugs or being picked up. 
