My cat won't eat. How do I know if it's time for euthanasia?

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.

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.

I am so sorry for what you and Leo are going through. If the prednisolone was going to work, you would have seen an improvement within the first week. I'm so sorry. You can seek the opinion of a veterinary internal medicine specialist to see if there is anything more that makes sense to try, but I do not think it is wrong to consider euthanasia. I am so very sorry. If you would choose to seek out a veterinary internal medicine specialist, you can find one here: https://find.vetspecialists.com/ Best wishes to you both.

Poor guy. It is tough when you are in these situations where you are deciding on continued care (which isn’t 100% guarantees to work) or Humane euthanasia. Unfortunately we don’t have enough information about your cats particular case to help you decide things here. Perhaps a consultation would be best to comb through all of the details such as lab work findings (even seeing the normals is quite helpful), medications tried so far, and his physical exam findings would also be helpful. But generally speaking if your pet is ill from liver disease, which can be any condition such as hepatitis, hepatic lipidosis (carries a poorer prognosis unless aggressive treatment is implemented including a feeding tube in most situations), liver cancer or even gallbladder disease can cause elevated liver enzymes, then it’s best fo an abdominal ultrasound to determine what specific liver condition is present. The prognosis of your pet should be determined by your vet and then carefully considered when determining if continued care should be done or if Humane euthanasia is the better option. I hope this helps and best wishes moving forward with a good decision regarding Elmo’s care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If she really is doing this poorly, it is very important to have her seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible as I worry she may be unstable. If this is all confirmed to be due to her cancer and you are not proceeding with treatment of the cancer, euthanasia may need to be considered.

I am so sorry you have to go through this. It is so difficult to make these choices for our pets because we want them to be with us forever. Sometimes, we need to make a tough decision that will end their pain and suffering. Our thoughts are with you at this difficult time.

It sounds like the poor chap is going to pass away so according to the duty of care stated in the animal welfare act you will have to prevent further suffering and take him to your closest veterinary surgery that it’s open. I would not wait any longer. Hope this helps giving you the strength fir making that trip to the vet !