Cancer in ear. Cat died.

I recently put our beloved cat Benny to sleep after a tragic event that I am describing in this post. At the time I put Benny to sleep I absolutely felt that I had made the correct and humane decision. I feared that Benny would suffer needlessly if I took him home. My housemate feels that I gave up too soon and that had I brought Benny home he might have survived.

In the months running up to the tragedy I was treating Benny for ear polyps in his right ear. Due to a bleeding incident in his right ear the night before, I took my 13 year old (had him since he was 3 months old) neutered male cat Benny to the vet. While at the vet, our Benny had an even more severe bleeding incident. The vet recommended emergency surgery to stop the bleeding and to remove a tumor in his ear which was bleeding. At this point I had no knowledge of any pre existing conditions that could have affected the outcome of the surgery. I only wanted to save his life. The doctor did an ear ablation as he described it and removed the vertical ear canal. The doctor also ordered a biopsy on the tumor. Initial post surgery seemed hopeful although Benny was not eating while at the hospital for two days prior to taking him home. I was told by staff that sometimes cats will not eat until they get home. Benny was receiving post surgery medicines and electrolytes while at the hospital. Taking Benny home he ate a little then threw up. After that I could not get him to eat. Neither the Tramadol for pain nor the Mirtazapine appetite stimulant I brought home worked. I even went out to buy yogurt and gave him Pepcid. I got up throughout the night petting and stroking him but he would not eat.

The next morning I called the vet and was told to try giving him Mertazapine first and to wait 2 hours (time enough for the Mertazapine to work) before giving him Tramadol. Still Benny did not eat. Shortly thereafter I took Benny back to the vet. The biopsy report was back and indicated that the tumor was cancerous. The vet did an x-ray to see if the cancer had spread (it had not as far as the x-ray could determine). Benny did, however, have an enlarged heart and was anemic. The vet proposed another surgery at no charge to remove the horizontal ear canal but wanted to wait on the radiologist's report. The radiologist recommended against further surgery. The vets outlook suddenly became pessimistic. At this time the vet mentioned euthanasia. With a heavy heart I approved euthanasia but I still do not know why a hopeful outcome went so wrong.

My questions are:

1) If he was eating before surgery (despite the pre existing conditions of the cancer and enlarged heart, both of which I was not aware) why did he stop eating after surgery? The vet stated that underlying conditions such as the enlarged heart, cancer, and anemia resulted in Benny not responding to the pain meds or the appetite stimulant. He also told me that anesthesia is in many respects more dangerous than the surgery. Does that statement mean that anesthesia is implicated in Benny's failure to eat. The vet also stated that due to the enlarged heart, the anesthesia for the second operation might have killed him.

2) Why did the pain management not work? I never understood the explanation as to why Benny would not eat after surgery.

3) Did I act too soon and was I acting responsibly when I let Benny go?

Thank you for your response. Your comment about Benny being ill before the surgery brings up another question. I can accept the premise that an advanced cancer could cause Benny to not heal after surgery. However, if Benny's cancer had advanced to that point wouldn't I have noticed a change in his behavior? He did shake his head from time to time but I assumed that was related to his ear discomfort due to the polyps. Benny was socializing, eating, and purring right up to the trip to the vet. I did not mention that he was taking Tapazole for hypothyroidism for months prior to the incident. I don't know if that is relevant.