My sweet Ragdoll has a lung mass - I’m heartbroken and don’t know what to do 💔

Hi everyone,

I adopted my Ragdoll boy in September 2016 when he was 6... right before his 7th birthday on October 9. He’s 15 now and has always been my little shadow. He has IBD but has done really well for years on a D/D diet and with occasional shavings to help manage hairballs.

Recently, he started having asthma symptoms that worsened because he refuses the inhaler (I’ve tried everything). We took him to the vet, and X-rays showed a large caudal left lung mass. The specialist visit was $3,700 for repeat X-rays, an echo (they heard a gallop), and an abdominal ultrasound. The imaging showed a big lung mass with mediastinal shift, which sounds awful.

They’re recommending a CT scan with FNA, but it would cost another $6,000, and I honestly don’t know what to do. I want to give him every chance, but I also don’t want to put him through more stress or invasive tests if it won’t change much.

Has anyone gone through something like this with an older cat? How did you decide when to keep going with diagnostics or focus on comfort care? I’m devastated and just want to do right by him.

Thank you for reading and for any love or advice you can share ❤️