My cat, Garfield, hasn’t been well since Wednesday. He had rapid breathing, so I took him to the vet on Thursday. The diagnosis was devastating: pleural effusion. He had to have the fluid drained.
It is apparently either cancer or heart failure, so it’s terminal.
He’s been back home since then. He was very lethargic on Friday; yesterday he seemed alright, but today he’s just not himself. He’s eating and sleeping a lot, but moving in slow motion...
I know I’m going to have to make a decision soon and it’s just heartbreaking.
He’s such a big presence in the house, a real 'velcro cat'. His name is Garfield and he certainly lives up to it—always full of mischief...
Translated from French
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Hi Isalys,
My heart goes out to you. It takes so much courage to make such a heart-breaking decision. My baby passed away from a cardiac arrest; he had been ill for two years and was 15, and I loved him so much that I don’t know how I would have reacted if the vet had told me he was suffering. I think when you are in that situation, seeing your beloved pet in pain, you just can’t let them suffer. You end up making the hardest choice possible, but it’s for their sake, to end their pain. It’s so difficult to deal with; the absence is just awful for me.
Sending you lots of strength.
I’m joining you all on this difficult journey of navigating end-of-life care for our beloved pets. I’ve had to make this choice twice recently—ten months ago for my cat Wiky, and again yesterday. I had to say goodbye to my little girl Isalys, my 15-year-old sweetheart, whom I only adopted because she basically insisted on it. She appeared out of nowhere and pestered us to take her in; she would hang around the house, meowing through the windows and the door, until after a few days I finally said, "Alright then, come on in"... and that was the start of our story!
She had fluid on her lungs and in her tummy; she’d stopped eating and was barely drinking. After three days at the vet's, they told me the diuretics hadn't worked as hoped. There were two options: leave her as she was until the "natural" end, which was coming soon given her heart failure, but she would be in pain, or have her put to sleep. I decided to bring her home to spend two final days with her and then have the vet put her to sleep here at home, in my arms. That’s how our story ended yesterday.
Like many of you, I wonder who are we to decide when to end a life? If they could speak for themselves, what would they choose? we always wonder if we’ve done the right thing, if there was still some hope. You end up searching for second opinions from vets who give you false hope and charge you £600 (which is what happened to me last year), and while you’re pinning your hopes on that, your cat is just suffering a bit more. So for her, I decided to trust my vet, who is very kind, and to be brave, because you have to be strong and resilient when facing illnesses like this.
My heart is so heavy, believe me, because I loved her so much. But we have to part ways eventually, and I had to think of her, not myself. Seeing her struggle for breath was making me feel even worse.
I hope my experience helps you see things a bit more clearly and helps you make your decision. Only you truly know your pet well enough to know when it’s time.
Sending strength to you all—from a heartbroken, grieving owner.
MeL
If I may, if you don't see any improvement, don't wait around – call a vet clinic.
The first time my kitty did this, he had to stay at the vets for 24 hours. He was put on oxygen to help with his breathing and given some treatment. Do look into it; every cat is different when they’re ill, but we only have the one cat after all.
I hope everything goes well for you and your furry friend with this problem. Cats get really tired out by it. Personally, I used to let mine rest quietly on my bed; he loved snuggling up on my pillow. I'd pop in and check on him every now and then, as peace and quiet is essential — my vet really stressed that.
Thank you Milaly for your reply, thanks 🙏🏼 I'm so sorry about your kitty... it's always such a sad time... it's awful not being able to do anything, especially when it happens out of the blue like that...
We're trying a treatment, so we'll see... he's on diuretics to clear as much of the fluid as possible and some heart support... no, the vet didn't try to find out the cause, but focused straight away on reducing the fluid... I think it's his heart, it probably isn't pumping properly... I just hope he pulls through...
Hi Mel44,
I hope your cat gets better. I know how incredibly difficult these times are.
In my case, I unfortunately lost my little girl; the vet had also found a pleural effusion, but every case is different and thankfully some cats do pull through. Apparently, it also depends on the underlying cause of the effusion.
Did your vet say what caused it? It’s a good thing that you’ve got a treatment plan in place; it gives him a fighting chance. In my situation, no treatment was even suggested as the vet gave us no hope of saving her.
Hang in there and keep hoping. My heart goes out to you and your cat, and I really hope he pulls through. Wishing you lots of strength.
Thank you Sann for sharing, and I’m so sorry about your boy. No, mine isn't "ill" as such – last week I noticed he was struggling to breathe, so off to the vet... X-ray showed pleural effusion... a lot of fluid... no drainage. Just a treatment to help the fluid be reabsorbed and clear... He’s only been on the meds for 2 days but I’m not seeing any improvement... He’s tired, doesn’t really want to eat, but he’s still drinking and comes for a few cuddles...
I hope the fluid clears up but I don't have much hope...
My little cat was 15 when he passed away a month ago. Last year he started coughing and struggling to breathe; I took him to the vet and he stayed in for 24 hours on oxygen and treatment. Is your cat ill? Is he on any medication? My boy was being treated for hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure and heart problems. He had his first episode last year, then another and another until a month ago. I don’t want to scare you – some cats have one turn and then nothing else, especially if the cat is in good health, but my boy’s health was very fragile.
Hi everyone, I’ve been reading through all your stories. My 15-year-old boy has pleural effusion... I was hoping there might be a bit of hope that things would improve, but from what you’ve all said, it seems it always ends the same way... 😪😪 We’ll have to see how it goes. The most important thing is that he isn't in any pain...
I’ve been through the same thing; it’s been a month since my cat passed away and I’m still crying and in so much pain. There’s such a huge void now. My heart goes out to you.
