What your friends have chosen has nothing to do with the case. They are the arbiters of what they can do, what they have to give. You are the arbiters of what you have to give. You can't give more than you have. There are some limits that a reasonable person accepts when they adopt a cat -- one doesn't choose euthanasia because one has redecorated and doesn't want cat hair on the new furniture, or somesuch -- but you're already a long way past that minimum.
Sometimes they surprise you, also. I had a ferret once with pancreatic cancer... almost a universal for male ferrets if they live long enough, but he was fairly young for it, only about 3. The vet told us that there was a $1500 surgery which might make it go away, thereby letting him live a normal ferret lifespan of about 5-6 years... or might kill him on the operating table; these things could be tricky. Or there was a medication which was less expensive, and might keep him alive for another 6 months to a year. We chose the medication, after ascertaining that the slow deterioration involved wouldn't cause him pain... he'd just get sleepier and less active, and eventually wouldn't wake up. Well, that's what happened, but it took more than three years. He was a nice old ferret before the morning he fell asleep for good. No way we could've predicted that, when what we thought we were giving was basically palliative care with perhaps a bit of a slowdown effect.
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Sometimes they surprise you, also. I had a ferret once with pancreatic cancer... almost a universal for male ferrets if they live long enough, but he was fairly young for it, only about 3. The vet told us that there was a $1500 surgery which might make it go away, thereby letting him live a normal ferret lifespan of about 5-6 years... or might kill him on the operating table; these things could be tricky. Or there was a medication which was less expensive, and might keep him alive for another 6 months to a year. We chose the medication, after ascertaining that the slow deterioration involved wouldn't cause him pain... he'd just get sleepier and less active, and eventually wouldn't wake up. Well, that's what happened, but it took more than three years. He was a nice old ferret before the morning he fell asleep for good. No way we could've predicted that, when what we thought we were giving was basically palliative care with perhaps a bit of a slowdown effect.
Good luck with your kitty, whatever you decide.