Several years ago, it was diagnosed that Luna, my cat, did not have very long to live and had an enlarged heart. We'd also learn that she has the feline equivalent of irritable bowel disorder. She was informally diagnosed as being obsessive-compulsive too, and to this day she'll scratch so hard she causes a scab, and lately will eat or groom until she's so full of food or hair that it has to come back.
She was actually doing pretty well most of the last year or so, with her barfing episodes infrequent and short. Now in the last two weeks or so the frequency has increased, though the length is still pretty short.
I struggle with this. She's really a little crazy, but she's very friendly, and seems to be pretty happy most of the time. When I look back through my blog I can see that she's had periods of time where she was not well, and she always seems to bounce back.
One thing that came up recently with Catherine (you know the professors already call them "doctor" even though they're first year?), is that animals can't tell you when and where it hurts. The whole ethical dilemma about when you put an animal down is so blurry because of this. Is it selfish to put an animal down because you can't deal with them or because you want to keep them alive and suffering? There's no way to tell for sure.
The fact that she'll chase Cosmo (the cat) around an hour after throwing up leads me to believe that she's not suffering. She's an enormous burden and has caused in the neighborhood of $8k in damage to the house (because all of the carpet needs to be replaced), but I love her to death. I'm pleased that she's quickly gained weight too after losing a bit last summer. It's just that in the last week or so she seems to have taken a step back.
So having impressive veterinary resources at my disposal, we'll see if we can't treat the IBD so that her attacks are less frequent. Some kind of steroid therapy is one of the options, but as was the case a few years ago, there's risk that over time it may not have much effect.
I can't believe she'll be five years old in a few months. She wasn't supposed to see two.
Wow. That's quite the life for a cat that wasn't supposed to make it.
I know exactly what you mean regarding the blurry area that exists when trying to figure out what's best for the cat, in terms of overall quality of life. I adopted a cat (from my cousin who has cats of her own, and thus couldn't care for this one) that was a stray - very underweight, sickly and generally very skittish. After visiting with the vet a few times, we've found that the cat has FLV, and quite possibly FIP, as the two often go hand-in-hand. We opted not to do the tests, as we can generally get an idea of the cat's state of health through careful observation, but that's where the whole blurry area comes into play.
We have to deal with the inability to keep food down at seemingly random times, which have gotten less frequent as time goes on. And there's the occasional coughing/wheezing fit that sounds absolutely horrible, but for the most part - like yours - the cat seems happy, energetic and generally healthy, considering.
I've encountered a lot of people who think we're crazy for keeping the cat, but I simply can't deal with the idea of putting the cat down because he has occasional bouts with an upset stomach, or things of that nature. If the cat has a quality of life that is generally good, how could anyone?
I just hope that my cat can defy the odds as your has done.
I have had cats all my life. Fluffy, my first cat, was 13 years old when she had to be put down. At 15, it was devastating to me.
Since then, I've had to put down 4 more, and it doesn't really get any easier to deal with. Only one was put down because I could no longer deal with the issues. He was peeing everywhere, furniture, carpeting, he even soaked a friends jacket that was draped over the sofa. It wasn't a medical problem but a psychological one. After two years of dealing with it, his un-adoptability due to his age, his penchant for biting, and being very pregnant with Ian, we opted to put him down.
People who think of their pets as "just animals" seem to have an easier time dealing with it. Those of us who become very attached to them feel the pain more succinctly.
When Chubby was diagnosed with feline leukemia, I knew he didn't have much time left, but I opted to keep him until I could tell his quality of life had deteriorated to the point where he would be better off if I ended his suffering.
When Sassycat was diagnosed with kidney failure at 20 years old, it was a different story. I could have put her on dialysis, spent thousands of dollars and gotten another year or two with her. But to me, that was simply keeping her alive for my benefit. Instead, I opted to put her down, holding her in my arms and comforting her while the vet gave her the injection. I cried for days. But I never regret making that decision.
I guess what I'm saying is you know Luna well enough to know when the time will come. Look at the extra years you would have missed if you had put her down after the diagnosis. I know dealing with the mess, damage and cost is a burden, but it sounds to me like you care enough about her to deal with it.