My cat has kidney cancer and is on steroids. How long will she live?

Poor Kitty! Since she is already 17 years old and she is having such a tough time with her inflammation in her GI tract, I think steroids will be the best choice for her. If her blood work looks okay now, then I think she can tolerate the steroids. Unfortunately, if you don't put her on steroids the lymphoma or IBD may continue to get worse. It is true the steroids will not CURE lymphoma, but it certainly give her a better quality of life right now. It could keep the IBD under control and eventually you may be able to decrease her steroid dose to a lower dose. The concerns of long term steroids are much lower since she is already geriatric. If she was 4 or 7 years old, then I would be much more worried with starting her on long term steroids at that time. At the age of 17, our goal is to give Kitty are good quality of life. If you want more options about the lymphoma and interested in seeing an oncologist, I would ask your vet for a referral for a oncology consult. I hope this helps!

Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that you and Bonnie are in this situation. Bonnie's weight loss could be caused both by her lack of appetite, as well as any cancerous process and/or subsequent kidney disease. You can try to tempt her to eat with bits of boiled white meat chicken, small amounts of tuna, or even meat-based baby foods. Also discuss appetite stimulant medications (cyproheptadine and mirtazepine are two commonly used drugs) with Bonnie's veterinarian since they may be helpful. However, if none of these strategies improve her appetite and her overall quality of life is declining, it may be time to consider euthanasia. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Bonnie.

Given her age, steroid side effects from long term use tend to become less of a risk if the benefits are clearly improving her quality of life. Depending on the nature of the growth, low level chemotherapy medications may provide an opportunity to halt growth or even reduce the mass but this would require assessment by a specialist

I am so sorry that you are having to go through this with your cat. As long as your cat is eating and drinking and not losing weight I would continue palliative care. Once he starts to decline, like acting sick and not eating or drinking, then it may be time to consider euthanasia.

I'm very sorry that Persephone has been diagnosed with cancer in her spleen and intestines. You can talk to your vet about putting her on pain medications, but if she isn't eating and not responding to appetite stimulants or antiemetics, then it may be time to let her go peacefully. Not eating will cause her to slowly starve, which will be painful in itself, and she will be suffering from that. From what you have told me, it sounds like her quality of life has declined to a point where humane euthanasia should be considered. Because I work for a home euthanasia service, I face these types of decisions frequently with my clients, and I'd be happy to have a consult with you to discuss this further if you'd like. Just click the "consult" button under my answer. I wish I had better information for you, and I'm very sorry :-(

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry to hear that. Lymphoma is an aggressive disease in cats, especially when in the gastrointestinal system and in circulation. Usually even with chemotherapy you are looking at a prognosis of 2-6 months depending on the exact type of lymphoma. You could try prednisolone as a palliative treatment to make her feel better for the time being and perhaps extend her survival time for a few weeks. If she is already anemic, she may also require a blood transfusion making things a bit more complicated. If she is not doing well and you are not interested in pursuing therapy knowing the prognosis then euthanasia is a good option. Let me know if you have further questions regarding her disease. Sorry for the sad news!

First off, I'm very sorry Iggy has lung cancer! If he's stopped eating, unfortunately it may be time to let him go. It's actually very serious when a cat stops eating because they will develop a fatty liver after 72 hours of not eating. A fatty liver is fatal without treatment. It's not fair for him to starve to death either. You need to look at his quality of life, and ask yourself if he's having a good quality of life when he's not eating. I think you know the answer, but it is the hardest decision to make. Should you let him, know you are giving him one last, great gift: You will be letting him go peacefully without any further pain. I hope this helps.