One of our cats has a mammary tumor, a particularly virulent form of cancer in cats. We first found the growth in July and I was told she would be OK for a while but as the tumor grew, it would open and drain. Things had been good until this morning.

I started finding small drops of blood on the tile and, sure enough, it had done just what the Vet had told me. We went to the office around 11 and thankfully, the Vet and I are on the same page. He said that she has multiple tumors and that surgery would just prolong the inevitable.

For now she's on steroids, antibiotics and a special cream to decrease the swelling. If she responds well to this treatment it could buy her at least a few more months, maybe as much as a year. Currently her quality of life is good... eating, playing, doing all the fun cat things. I wasn't ready to let her go while she's like this.

As all my cats get older (like their owner ) my house is starting to resemble an animal hospital. I knew this day would come but having it actually be here is hard. If you could think some good thoughts for Prissy, I'd appreciate it.

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I will keep good thoughts going for you! It is very hard to know the animals we love so dearly are near the end of their lives. My oldest cat is almost 19. She was a birthday gift for our oldest daughter on her 5th birthday. It seems like just yesterday that we brought her home, and she became a member of our family. So far, Miss Pickles is holding her own. She does have some issues with arthritis,and occasionally leaves us a little *surprise* next to the back door! Our long, cold Maine winters are hard on her, but she snuggles near our pellet stove and keeps warm, and makes sure to let the other cats in the house know that she is the boss!

Aww. I'm sorry for you and Prissy....will keep you both in my thoughts.

I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I'm going through the same thing. I work at a vet office and one of our house cats has a huge tumor on his left hip. He's had it for almost 2 years and we have bought him time w/surgeries twice now. Our doctor says she doesn't want to put him through another and it is only a matter of time until the next rupture. We noticed today he is limping.

My own office is where they hang out daily since I'm in the back w/them the most. My heart breaks to think of how little time I'll have with him. I guess we are in this one together. Keep us posted and we'll keep you in our prayers.

Awwwwwwwwww Virgo sweetie my heart breaks for you and Prissy has I know the feelings your feeling right now. Your talking to one of the hugest animals loves around there truly are no words to truly say except to say, offer as much love and attention you can , offer some extra treats , some extra rubs a more comfortable place to rest, perhaps and this one I know is just right for you, take many many many photos of your beloved pet and bring them to the cafe to share with us and you will see many wonderful comments and those comments will lift your spirits. Also some of the photos you take put them in frames you can never have too many photos of your children, yes I said children for I consider my animals my babies so lets see at this point I have 13 children in all 10 are animals lol.. So get busy because you take the most amazing photos , we are waiting to see those lovely wonderful fantastic photos of Prissy... till then dear friend I offer you many hugs ........ and prayers..... Peace. Catherine

Sending out good thoughts and positive vibes to Prissy!

Thankfully, one of my cats spared me having to make any hard end-of-life decisions, I found him dead last Thursday morning. Looked like he just went to sleep and never woke up, no signs of a struggle and he seemed just fine the night before. He was 15 so I guess it was natural causes but it was quite a shock. Rest in peace, Ed, I miss you.

My other cat, Hannah, is also 15 but she has been having medical issues for the past year or so. She has problems with her kidneys, has to be on a special and expensive prescription diet, and has lost a lot of weight. Truth be told, I figured I'd have had to have her put down long before this. She looks like a rescue case but she acts completely normal-eats good, runs around, jumps up on the furniture and beat on Ed till the day he died. The vet says we'll just monitor her for now and that being very thin isn't really harmful as long as she's active and enjoying life.

Sorry to ramble on. I know how hard it is to have elderly pets. Give Prissy lots of love and enjoy the time you still have her.

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My prayers are with you. I sort of understand what you are going through. I just posted a thread a while ago about my dog, Duchess. She is still having the same issue, but we don't know what it is yet. The vet said cancer right off the bat before any testing was done. Kinda heartless really. Turns out it isn't cancer. But we still don't know what it is. We are taking one day at a time. I guess that's all we can do really.

Hugs for you and kitty

Thoughts and prayers being sent your way!

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~~just open your eyes and see that life if beautiful~~

You'll know when she is "ready".

Don't make the same mistake I did when my cat was dying. I did not want her last minutes to be in the vets office (she is so afraid of it) so I kept babying and nursing her so she could die peacefully at home. But she ended dying in my arms during a horrible seizure (she never had one before).

I wish I had just had her put to sleep peacefully, even if it meant having her stress out because we were at the vet.

Again, you'll know when it's time. Till then, I hope you have many wonderful days/weeks/months with her.

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Mary

Awww.... I feel for you. I've been there. Most of you know my little dog, Mo, we had to put him down after 17 years with us in March. It was like ripping our hearts out. Like you, OP, our side yard is beginning to look like a little cemetery. I have him and our kitty, Miss Kitty, buried there. I keep flowers on their graves all the time.

If you feel Prissy isn't in pain and you want to continue the treatments, that's up to you. However, if Prissy is in pain, sometimes I think we keep them alive simply for US -- not them. You'll know when it's time. It's hard to do, a hard decision to make.

Sending good thoughts your way today....

Take care and I am sorry to read this about Prissy.
Hugs to you both.

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Just a quick update. Prissy is doing good. The opening on the tumor has healed up. She's still eating, playing and enjoying herself.

I have to call the Vet on Friday to tell him what's going on. We'll see what he wants to do about the medication she's on then.

Thanks for all the good thoughts!

This is Prissy on the left with Legs on the right.

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I am so happy you posted an update! What good news. Prissy is a cutie!

They are so cute! They are SOOOO much like 2 of my 5 babies!!

Virgo so glad to hear the good news and the pictures they are soooooooo adorable thanks for sharing and please please share some more pictures of your babies god bless. Peace. Catherine

Still keeping Prissy in my prayers....wanted to share an update on my guy - Jove. I got the call from work yesterday (on my day off), they were going to put him down because his tumor ruptured again and he was in bad shape. They waited for me to get there so I could hold him as they gave him the injection. There were 6 of us present and not a dry eye my office where we said goodbye. It was were he spent the most time.

I'll be back to work Monday and my office will not be the same w/o him. He was such a lover. He will be missed.

So sorry about Jove.....

Hope Prissy keeps going strong....

Oh Ritz, I'm so sorry about the kitty. He must have been greatly loved.

The Vet continued Prissy's antibiotics for another week and she'll be on prednisone for the long term. Except for one little opening on the tumor the other day which healed up quickly, that area has been dry. She continues to do well and is enjoying all the extra attention (and food!) she's getting.

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Thank you all for your kind words. He was loved very much. He was there when the business began 11 years ago. I hope Prissy gets extra time like Jove did. He was diagnosed about 2 years ago and at first, they wanted to amputate his leg to stop the tumor from growing. When they went in, it was already to his spine, so they couldn't. They thought he would go about another 6 months. That was a year and a half ago, so we got more time than we could imagine. He got a lot of extra attention this past week as we all knew the end was nearing. As hard as it was, I was grateful he was surrounded by so many who cared when the time came.

Prissy sounds as though she has a longer time left too. I'm glad she is so loved.

I am so sorry