UPDATE:Worried about my cat

amyjoy18

Update: It's kidney failure.  They gave us the options of hospitalization with IV fluids, further testing, etc.; learning to give her fluids at home; or having her put down.  The vet said her number are really bad. And anything we did would really just be a band-aid as nothing short of a kidney transplant would actually fix her.  I'm struggling with what to do.  I feel like I should try giving her fluids at home--that would be daily at first and then we'd need to re-check and see if they're helping--if they were it would be every few days indefinitely.

Making the decision to have her put down is so hard.  Right now she seems pretty peaceful, but the doc said with the kidney failure it's usually long and drawn out and there is no chance of her passing on her own until it's awful for her. 

It's so hard to figure out what is the right course of action.  I almost feel like prolonging the inevitable is more for my immediate benefit rather than hers.  What would you do?



The past few months my cat has dropped some weight.  It was OK because she was overweight to begin with, and I attributed it to us being in a bigger house and her getting some exercise and moving a lot more.  Now it seems like just overnight she's dropped a significant amount and last night she's started meowing--which is not like her because she's usually so quiet. 

I'm taking her to the vet today, but could use some good thoughts!

AmandaJLewis

I hope it turns out to be something minor Amy, keeping you in my thoughts today!

MrsAmers

It sounds like my husband's cat Effie. She was diabetic, and with insulin, she lived happily on for years. Sending good thoughts!

waltsgirl102503

Something similar happened to my cat, Jack.  We thought it was either diabetes or thyroid, but all of the tests came back negative.   If he kept up losing weight the vet said we could do further, more intrusive tests, but I'll be honest and say that he seems fine otherwise and I didn't really want to put him through it or spend the money.   Is she older?  This happened once Jack was more of a "senior", he's 15 now.   I hope it's nothing with your kitty, too!

amyjoy18

She was a rescue, so we're not sure how old she is, but we're guessing she's around 10.

sarahandtim

I agree with amber. That's what happened to the cat we had growing up. Hopefully that's all it is for your little one too!!

denalea

Kitty prayers!!

amyjoy18

Update in original post

billiburrows

sorry to hear this. we are in a similar situation with my dog. he has congestive heart failure. he needs a new heart valve. so we are left with medicating but its not a cure and the medication will either cause him to go into kidney failure or the congestive heart failure will kill him.  we are doing what we can with medication and keeping an eye on him but not going crazy and getting his kidney levels checked every week. i figure for now he is 'ok' and we'll know when its time to put him down as time goes on and we run out of options and it seems like he is suffering. 

smynings_bride

I'm so sorry.  I also had a cat with kidney failure.  I wasn't given fluids as an option that I recall, my vet recommended changing to this very expensive food, which I did (she wasn't selling the food she just told me what to buy).  However, she continued to decline and started going right next to the litter box instead of in it, which my vet said was her way of telling me she was not comfortable, even though she didn't look like she was in pain per se.  The vet told me "I give you permission to put down this cat."  For some reason that helped me greatly with the decision because with it comes with guilt even if you are putting down an animal that is suffering.  I think there's no wrong choice here, you have to do what's best for your family and if that's putting her down, that is okay.

denalea

smynings_bride said:

 I think there's no wrong choice here, you have to do what's best for your family and if that's putting her down, that is okay.

This.

I'm so sorry.  I've been wondering about your kitty.  It's so hard because they can't tell us they are uncomfortable.
What would the fluids at home do?  Would they prolong her life weeks?  months?  If it was just delaying in inevitable a few months, I think I'd be inclined to let her go now.  If they could potentially give her a year/years, then maybe I would attempt it.

I am SO SO sorry you have to make this decision. 

amyjoy18

The first week of fluids would be a test run.  After the first week of fluids we'd do more blood work to see if her kidney function improved at all.  If it didn't there would be no reason to continue the fluids.  If it did, we'd need to continue with the fluids probably every other day or two.  If it worked it would prolong her life for at most 1 year. 

But yes, it would be delaying the inevitable.

Meghan&Rich

I'm so sorry!  I'm sure whatever you decide, it will be difficult, but I think you will know what's right when the time comes.  Best of luck!

lala5507

I am so sorry you have to make this decision.  This is the one thing that terrifies me as our dog gets older.  I agree with others, I don't think there is a right or wrong decision here.  What does your dh think?  Are the fluids expensive? 

kris356

There is no easy answer.

Last year when I lost my lab, I knew that the time was coming but it still was soooo hard. When we took him to the vet, I knew in my heart that he wasn't coming home with me. The vet gave us the option of trying different meds to make him comfortable but the fact that he was was going to the bathroom on himself meant that it was nerve damage and anything we did was a bandaid fix. But he had other issues and he was 14 which is ancient for a lab.

I chose to let him go. It was the easiest and hardest decision I have ever made. He was my heart dog and writing this makes me cry but while it was incredibly painful for me to let him go, I knew that it wasn't fair to him to let him suffer anymore. He trusted me to take care of him and it was the right thing to do. My comfort was that for 14 years he was by my side and I was by his until the end and the fact that he was loved from the day I got him.

There is no right answer, you have to make the decision and none of them are wrong. You can try it for a week or two and see what happens, there is no harm but if you feel that it is right to let go, that is okay too. I am so so sorry that you are here. Lots of hugs.

waltsgirl102503

I'm sorry that it wasn't good news.  I know that it's a difficult decision to make.  I always hope that Jack just goes peacefully in his sleep some day because I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the choice to let him go. He has been with me longer than DH.  I hope you're able to come to a decision that is best for all of you.  

sarahandtim

I'm so sorry. My parents' cat i mentioned before eventually had this happen. We did the fluids at home for a while, but when her time came it was a long and awful process as she passed at home. My parents swore they'd never do something like that again. If that was one of my cats I'd probably do the fluids until they seemed to get worse. So sorry you have to make this decision.

egpitt22

I'm sorry to hear that, Amy  

AmandaJLewis

I think Kris put it better than I could.  it is the hardest and easiest decision to make when it comes time.  And the last thing you can do to take care of them, in a loving way. Good luck with your decision and I am so sorry that the news wasn't better.  But remember whatever you decide is ok. 

gwennythepooh

I agree with Amanda and Kris. We were in a similar situation with our family dog a few years ago. He was just to the point where it seemed like he was miserable. It absolutely broke my heart, but at the same time to see him just kind of relax at the end was confirmation we'd done the right thing. I think Sarah's approach of trying the fluids until it gets worse could be a good median. I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this:(

MrsAmers

If the cat seems unhappy, uncomfortable, or upset, I would probably make the hard decision sooner rather than later.

But if there are no real symptoms other than the weight loss, I would probably try the fluids for a couple of weeks and see if it helps. I've had a couple friends who gave fluids to cats with kidney issues, and it seems like they could both tell when it was time. When they started, the cats still had good quality of life and it was worth the effort, but down the road it wasn't.

I guess my point is, that it is likely that you'll have to make the decision at some point. There is no right or wrong answer. But you might find a point down the road when it is more clearly time.

Hugs. I'm currently watching my 18 year old cat for signs of being uncomfortable. She's lost weight due to hyperthyroid issues and she also has high blood pressure. I don't want to wait too long, and yet I don't want to give up on her just because she's old and slowing down.