What quality of life would the cat have after surgery?
One of my cats required surgery to remove a swallowed thread that had wrapped around his tongue and lodged in his gut [Cat people, be very careful with thread, string, and yard. You cannot be too cautious.]. That was years ago, and Wilbur is fine, and now 10 years old. The surgery was not cheap. Do I regret it? No.
Another cat became diabetic. For years, I gave him insulin twice daily, which meant I had to be there to give him an injection twice daily, and routinely use the same kind of glucometer human diabetics use. People thought I was crazy, but I kept him going this way for nearly 3 years, then managed his condition with a drastic diet change. [Cat people, DRY FOOD IS NOT FOR CATS! All dry food contains higher levels of carbohydrates than felines can properly handle. Cats are obligate carnivores--dry cat food leads to diabetes in felines. www.felinediabetes.com (they aren't selling anything!).] The meat-based diet isn't cheap either, but Pyewackett has slimmed down and bounces again. He's 13. Do I regret paying for these things? No.
In both cases, the cats have excellent quality of life--they play, they sleep, they have several windows to watch tasty birds walk across porch roofs. I would not keep an animal alive for my sake alone--in the past year I euthanized one aging cat who was fading before my eyes.
Ask your vet if you can work out a payment plan in advance.
Hello fellow diabetic owner! I have been with the FDMB since Dec. Couldn't agree with you more about dry food. Dry Food companies should be sued for the problems they cause cats (wishful thinking).