# To euthanize, or to remove tumor?



## MinkShadow (Mar 5, 2021)

Let's say you have an older female rat (2yrs) who gets a tumour. This tumour becomes big enough to impact her quality of life severely. Would you euthanize her or risk anaesthetic to remove a tumor that might come back anyway? Now that I've got a female I finally need to worry about this 😓


----------



## _dizzy_ (Mar 28, 2018)

Its your personal decision. You can base it on personal feelings or how your vet funds are doing. Personally I'd choose euthanization and take the rat on an adventure the day before euthanization.


----------



## MinkShadow (Mar 5, 2021)

_dizzy_ said:


> Its your personal decision. You can base it on personal feelings or how your vet funds are doing. Personally I'd choose euthanization and take the rat on an adventure the day before euthanization.


That's a nice idea <3


----------



## 511958 (Feb 11, 2019)

I would euthanize her. If she's already quite old and her quality of life isn't very good anymore, I wouldn't want to make her suffer through surgery which she could possibly not recover from. Of course I would probably be very sad to see her go, but at that point it'd be more about the rat than me.


----------



## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

It depends on the tumor and the size. Tumors can be treated with prednisone, so it doesn't always have to be surgery. But when it becomes so large that they can't move around and become immobile, then I would probably euthanize. Quality of life, always


----------



## Enne (Dec 12, 2020)

If they were younger, I'd consider surgery... But at 2 years old, they probably are not going to live much longer, and with the pain from surgery recovery plus the risk of the anesthetic, I would probably choose euthanasia at that point.

It's hard to let a pet go when they're suffering, but thinking realistically about the animal's quality of life, sometimes trying to save them isn't the best road to take. Sometimes letting them go is the "best" decision you can make for them, even though it's extremely taxing emotionally.


----------



## Rats4All (Feb 4, 2021)

You should take her on an adventure in a bit with lots of blankets and food and stuff then put her to sleep.


----------



## ratsbian (Feb 4, 2021)

I’ve also found that when considering surgery for a rat, you should also consider how they are with taking medication and that kind of thing. If they’re going to pick at their surgery site, get really upset by the whole ordeal, and potentially refuse meds, I personally would not opt for surgery for that rat.

But I agree with a lot of other posters, at 2 years, surgery could be a lot on them. I had a tumor removed from a girl who developed a mammary tumor at 1 year and 5 months because she still had a good amount of life in her. That being said, at 2 years I’d likely opt for making her as comfortable as possible, give her yummy foods, and just make sure she doesn’t reach a point where she is suffering.


----------



## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

MinkShadow said:


> Let's say you have an older female rat (2yrs) who gets a tumour. This tumour becomes big enough to impact her quality of life severely. Would you euthanize her or risk anaesthetic to remove a tumor that might come back anyway? Now that I've got a female I finally need to worry about this 😓


So this is a hypothetical question, you don't have a senior lady with a tumor, right?


----------



## MinkShadow (Mar 5, 2021)

Tinytoes said:


> So this is a hypothetical question, you don't have a senior lady with a tumor, right?


Yeah, a hypothetical question, my girl is just 1.5 and no tumors yet.... hope it stays that way


----------



## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

MinkShadow said:


> Yeah, a hypothetical question, my girl is just 1.5 and no tumors yet.... hope it stays that way


Aw, just love her to pieces for now and don't worry about what may or may not happen


----------

