Need some suggestions

Oh, puddle! My heart is breaking! You're asking for opinions, so I'll give mine. You can take it and play around with it. I'm sure others will give you their opinions also. But, personally, I would continue to drain it myself IF it's not causing him any pain. He is an older animal, which is cause for concern regarding surgery. A big concern. One of my dogs got deathly ill at one point a few years ago. The vet actually wanted me to put her to sleep. HELL NO. I took the medicine home with me, took my dog home with me, and I spent DAYS with no sleep giving her medicine with a syringe and giving her water with a syringe because she was too weak to lift her head. I called in work and missed days. She was way too important to me to let ANYTHING stand in my way of her recovering. Puddle, after days of endless worry and concern and 100% care just from myself, she recovered fully. I know you love your cat. And I know you have the knowledge to drain it yourself. I think you can do it. I know this is probably killing you. I'm so sorry. But, I personally (just me here!) would do it on my own. I just have the belief that our pets are more comfortable with US not vets. And I believe that we can do it with the knowledge. That's just my opinion, puddle. You do what you think is best for your kitty cat. You could extend YEARS on his life just by taking care of him yourself. As long as he is not in any pain. And you won't cause him stress - those vet visits will. I will keep you and your kitty in my heart. I hope he feels better. And I hope you can make your decision. It's always hard when deciding what to do with someone you love so much. :rose:

I agree with Cannr...I would take care of it myself and make him as comfortable as possible.

Puddle...this touches me as I have a cat (Tom) who is creeping up on age, he is 8 and now qualifies for a "senior cat exam" :lol: We got a vet reminder card for his checkup and I just went "senior cat"????

I know he is going to have some health problems due to his weight...he is 22 pounds (tabby/siamese mix) and he hasnt been able to lose weight.

I would do whatever it takes to keep him alive as long as possible, and if I have to drain a cyst every day, etc...I would do it in a heartbeat! As long as whatever is in the cyst isnt a danger to cause any toxic issues, then I say go for it.

Thank you for your suggestions!!! I was thinking that I would take care of this myself first and see where it goes from there. Today it was drained with a needle (not like the reg. vet did) and so far so good,it isn't getting bigger again. So I am going to do this myself. I had some issues with having the surgery because hubby and I both agreed that because of his age we did not want to put him through that.

It is hard to think that he is really that old and that his time is coming to an end. But then I look at my son and see how much he has grown since we got the cat. When I got the cat my vet told me his birthdate I just about died, because it was the same as my sons. So with my son coming up on his 16th birthday I know that so is the cat. So my son knows we have had the cat as long as he can remember, which is true. He was upset when the vet told us about his heart. I felt so bad. But I guess things are looking up a bit because it is not getting bigger, yet. :)

Thank you again :hug: , now I have to have hubby go and get some more needles, just incase I need them tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes.

You should do what is best for your cat. What did your vet suggest?

The vet wanted to do surgery, but also stated that because of the heart murmur and his age he may not make it through. But they did say that they do have a lot of docs. there and that if something did happen there would be someone to help with him. The vet also said that if I felt comfortable with draining it myself I could do that also, as long as it doesn't bother the cat. Well he isn't in any pain from the cyst and he just sits there while you are draining it. So the vet really told me it is up to me, but if I wanted it gone completely then have surgery and take the risk of losing him.

puddle, I think you can do this, my friend! It's not hurting pretty kitty and he probably feels so much more at ease with you doing it and not traumatized by the vet's office. I'll have you and your pretty kitty in my prayers. Please hug him for me.

Yes I will too have you and your kitty in my prayers. I had a dog that had lymphoma. Vet gave me the option of putting him down or giving him meds that would just keep him comfortable, but said that there would come the time that he would no longer be able to fight the cancer and then i should have him put down. He ended up passing away at home about 6 months after he was diagnosed. But those 6 months were good months. He just quit breathing and that was that...

OK now that i am done crying...I currently have two dogs..boths strays (some how they all find me) and a cat.. Dogs are getting up in years and one is partially blind..but they keep me going.the little fat dog likes to chase the cat.. the cat then decides to do the sneak attack and get him when he is least expected. So they keep me amused.

Ok I looked for a pic. of him and here he is. He is the tan one. The kitten in this pic. is the one that I have on here sometimes of the one laying on my desk (this is before she weighed 22 pounds lol) His name is Lucky her name is Wiskers then we have the 1 year old named Missy.

Again I thank you all for your input. But so far it is going down :shock: Maybe I should have posted this earlier because I think all of you are really helping him. Because normally at this time it is back to the original size it was before he went to the vet. But today it is getting smaller :D :D :D So THANK YOU!!!!! :hug:

they are so cute!!!

Puddle, I c an only speak thruogh experience. My sweet boy cat had crf. Chronic renal failure. They dont know that cats have it until the kidneys are almostc 90% gone. I had choices also. I chose to medicate him myself and administer IVs to him 2 times a day. He unfortunately did not make it, but the last months of his life were filled with love. I know that in some way HE KNEW i was making him feel better, and the rewards I felt were great.
Take care of him yourself. YOu will fee so good knowing you are helping him. BY the way I got 2 new kittens. Not to replace the ones I lost , but just to add new life to my home. I am here if you need a shoulder
Jan

puddle, thanks for posting a picture of your baby! Now we know who we're talking about! And we are all pulling together to help him get better. Please give him a hug from me.

kash, I'm happy to hear you got two kittens. My heart still goes out to you; however, I'm glad to know you have some "friends" there so it's not so empty. :rose:

Puddlejmpr, I'm sorry to hear of your dilemma. Looking at things from a medical standpoint (more like a physicians stand point, but keep in mind I don't know a whole lot about veterinary science) The key point that physicians refer to when it comes to deciding if surgery is warranted is if the benefits outweigh the risks. In this case you have these risk factors.

1. The cat's age, this not only is a issue in regards to general complications (such as cardiovascular events) but also to the possible adverse effects of anesthetics.

2. The problem in question, is it merely an inconvenience which would only cause minor health related issues(if left unchecked or with minor procedures) or if the condition/illness would result in the patients death.

In this case the cyst (which is more or less a pocket of fluid) may even be benign in nature.

Without further analysis of the cyst (to determine if it is benign or cancerous) at this point I would suggest draining it as needed and avoid surgery. Even so you still have to consider the cat's age.

Ultimately the choice is yours, I hope I don't sound too cold or uncaring in my post but I am trying to approach it from a logistics standpoint.

Puddljmpr, I still have tears in my eyes as I'm writing this. My heart really goes out to you right now. I was faced with this same decision in July of 2006 when a tumor was discovered in my best friend (yes she was a cat, but she was my best friend) Endorah. I guess you can tell by the name, I'm a big Bewitched fan (TV show, not the movie) and she was a black cat.

I noticed there was a big problem, when in the space of a week she lost a lot of weight. She slept with me every night, all night, and I noticed she had stopped doing that too. I took her to the vet and they discovered a tumor in her abdomen. The vet offered me the choice of surgery; however, she told me there would be no guarantee of her being able to get the tumor and that Endorah would have a good quality of life after the surgery.

I still second guess myself on the decision I finally made but in the end I still feel it was the right one. She was 16 Years Old and I didn't want whatever time she did have left to be any more miserable for her. I held her in my arms while I had the vet put her to sleep, then carried her home and burried her in my back yard. I just didn't feel right putting her through the misery of a surgery like that, and then still having no guarantee of her not being miserable for whatever time she did have left. I also wanted to be there while she was put to sleep as I didn't want her being scared and thinking I abandoned her. She had been trough so much with me and given me so much love, I still miss her to this day. For the first week after she was gone I could swear I still felt her in the bed; I usually sleep on my side and she would always settle in the small of my back. It was kind of disorienting to wake up and night and not feel her there.

Now your decision is slightly different in that you do have the option of continuing to treat him at home yourself. If he doesn't mind letting you drain the cyst and you are able to do it, then I would give it a go myself and see how things work out. You never know, a whole other option may present itself at some point down the road. Of course the difficult decision is yours, I'm just saying what I might do in this situation.

I should point out, however, after losing Endorah, I swore I would never get another new cat or get attached to one. I had two boys, Toonces and Lil' Tony(Don't ask where I come up with the names), and I figured they would be enough for the rest of my life. I just couldn't take getting attached to a new cat and having my heart broken again.

You know what they say, though. Never say never.

In the middle of my own health problems, probably about May of 2007, this stray cat shows up in the yard with 3 kittens in tow. I live in a rural area and I think people just abandon animals all the time out there, which really makes me angry. I notice the little black and white "runt" of the litter seemed really sick. His mother and two brothers were all feral, so I couldn't get anywhere near them; however, he walked up to me in the yard one day looking right at me and crying. I really think cats know a sucker when they spot one, and how to manipulate them. So, even though I couldn't afford it, I brought him in and took him to the vet. Got some antibiotics to give him and it was really touch and go as to whether he was going to live or not. I think the only thing in his favor at that point was he had a very good appetite. So after about three weeks, he finally began to show improvement and started growing. Even though he had been the runt, he quickly outgrew his two feral brothers and is now bigger than they are. They still hang around the house but still won't let anyone near them. And, of course, sucker that I am, I feed them too. I named him Velcro because the first month or so he had trouble walking on the carpet; his claws kept getting hung. He did outgrow that, though.

Just wanted to share my own personal experience and hope I can at least help you reach a decision. I really do sympathize with you and all you're going through. It's very hard when it comes to someone or a pet you love being miserable and the choices you have to make about it.

My heart goes out to you and please keep us posted on how things work out.

:rose: My heart is just breaking. I'm so sorry.

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Sorry, didn't mean to upset anyone. I know everyone's heart is going out to Puddlejmpr right now.

It's funny you should say that about your boy Tom, waking you up. I finally had to start closing my bedroom door at night because Velcro started coming in at about 3 AM and biting my toes. It got so that he did it every night, or early morning as the case may be, without fail!

That got old pretty quick.

Yeah, I got the name "Toonces" from SNL. I named him that because he would "drive" me crazy by being extremely vocal in the middle of the night. I actually adopted him from the Humane Society and it took some time getting used to him just deciding he was lonely in the middle of the night and walking up and down the hall crying. I'd try getting him to come get in the bed and lay down, but he seemed more interested in being vocal than actually having attention paid to him. He still does it to this day, 10 years or so later, just not nearly as bad. Oh yeah, and he does that when he thinks one of his meals is late too.

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Would you believe I'm actually allergic to cats? Strange thing is, I must get used to my own after a while as they don't bother my allergies. If I go to someones house that does have a cat, though, they kick in with a vengeance.

Doubly so if they have carpet.

Yeah, my boy Li'l Tony had a hard time adjusting to Velcro joining the family. He'd been the youngest for so long, I'm betting he was a little jealous. And I really do believe cat and dogs have the same emotions as people. You hear "experts" saying they don't, but I just don't buy that.

I absolutely do believe they have the same or really darn close to emotions as humans. Jealousy, sadness, joy, etc...they are reactive.

Are you kidding me? Cats and dogs are people - they just have fur and walk on all fours! My dogs show emotion all the time. And they are the first to know if I'm feeling low or sick. They come right up to me and get as close as they can and lay their heads on me and just stare into my eyes. They know.

It was funny I saw a garden sign that read "Dog's have owners and cat's have staff" I laughed so hard.

Thank you very much everyone. I have started to treat him on my own. He is so good about it. It almost seems like he knows I am trying to help him. But heck if I would let someone stick me with a needle without numbing it first. I will say this though, it did not get any bigger over the weekend. :D :D :D :D . We bought him some new toys and some catnip for being such a trooper during this. OMG I swear he is acting like he's 5 again lol. I am glad that I decided to do this myself. I know in the future I may have to put him down, but at least I know I gave him the love and support he needed, when he needed it. Oh and when I went to the store to buy the needles, they didn't want to sell them to me, but then I told her the whole story and she was like awwwww, and she sold me some really cheap :)

Thanks again!!! You all are the best :hug:

I'm relieved things are going well, for you and your cat. I'm also glad you aren't having any problems with him letting you drain it. Geez, my cats run when I come at them with Advantage. Not to mention if I get the cat carrier out of the attic. I have to do that about a week before I do plan to take them to the vet, as I usually don't see them for a few days after I get it down.

Wouldn't sell you needles? I've never heard of that before. My mother has to buy needle and syringes to give her diabetic cat insulin shots. I don't think she's ever had a problem buying them.

Great news, puddle! :D I'm so glad kitty is feeling frisky again. And, buy him LOTS of toys and give him hugs from me!

Just an update, he is doing great :) it is getting smaller :) I can't call him my bubble head anymore. I am so glad I decided to do this myself :) He is having a ball with is new catnip toys.

Hi, puddle! :D Thanks for the update! It's because he is getting the loving care from YOU that he needs! I'm so glad you chose this route. I'm proud of you for being brave enough to do it and I'm soooo happy he's doing well! HAPPY DANCE! HAPPY DANCE! :D