WWGPD: difficult pet decision

iwalktheline · September 2013

So I have been struggling with this decision recently and I just don't know what to do.

Here's a little background. I have 3 cats. My male cat is the oldest (I got him my senior year of college). He's 6 now. I brought him for his annual exam in May and he weighed 14.3 lbs. shortly after that, he started losing weight. I wasnt too worried about it... until early July, when he just started going downhill very rapidly (within 2-3 days really). When I brought him into the vet, he was down to 8.1 lbs. he wasn't eating/drinking, he was vomiting bile several times a day, he was hesitant to walk and seemed off balance and weird in his hind end. He was hospitalized for 3 days and had multiple blood tests, X-rays, and an ultrasound. They didn't come up with a definitive diagnosis. They said it was most likely IBD, or some sort of cancer. They sent us home with a topical steroid gel and hypoallergenic food.

Now here comes the hard part. We have been giving him his meds every day, and he's responding well. He's eating and getting back to himself (though he's really not the same. He seems much flightier and more pushy on the meds). He HATES it though. He runs and hides every night... He knows it's coming. When we try to catch him, he growls and hisses and has even swatted at DH (which is so out of his character). And, on top of that, if we miss even a single dose, he starts puking bile again.

I just don't know what to do. I hate putting him through the stress of chasing him every single night, but he is just so much better on the meds. Idk if I should just try my best and keep it up, or if it would be more humane to just accept that he is very sick and is not going to get better (the vet told me that he will have to be on the steroid for the rest of his life), and to let him have a peaceful end. He's my first baby and I can't imagine putting him down at only 6... But I don't want him to suffer.

Ugh, idk what to do. So what say ye GP? WWYD?

(And I apologize if the formatting sucks... I'm mobile)

ILoveRedVino · September 2013

We put my first dog down when she was 13. The vet said she was miserable, and that was enough. I never wanted my pet to suffer. It was really sad, but actually an easy decision.

I think if the cat has a happy life, aside from a few minutes each day, I'd keep up with the meds. If the cat starts to resent you, for more than those few minutes, I would reevaluate.

I'm sorry. This is a crappy situation and every option is hard.

Ewenice83 · September 2013

Can you get a second opinion? I would continue to give him his medication as long as his quality of life was not compromised. The second he starts to go downhill, I would go back to the vet and reevaluate his future care. I hope your kitty gets better soon. We had to deal with a kitty and chronic kidney failure last year. It was a lot of work, but I'd do it all over again just to have her here.

iwalktheline · September 2013

@ewenice83 we did bring him to a specialty vet referral hospital (where he had the u/s)... They gave us the same possible diagnoses. I wish we had a definite answer as to what he had, because then we could possibly come up with a better treatment plan.

callitcompulsive · September 2013

He runs from topical medication? Well, shit.

I went through this with Jack a couple years ago-- he had lost 3lbs (down to 10 from 13) in a matter of months, and would vomit frequently after eating (hence the weight loss). His bloodwork came back with indicators for cancer but I didn't pursue it further bc of $$. I had already shelled out close to a thousand bucks for diagnostic tests and had zero answers besides "some sort of cancer" they'd have to go in and surgically poke around and try to find. So I said nuh uh we're not doing that, and they gave me a steroid (pill) to give him to stimulate his appetite. He did well on the steroid for a good year and a half, and gained back some weight and did not vomit much anymore.

The steroid could work, and buy you another good year or two, but honestly if he's fighting the meds and running from you and your h thinking he's going to get nasty medication, I really don't know if it's worth it. Eastwood HATES pills. I'm trying to have faith that I he ever requires some sort of daily med (ie: a thyroid pill or steroid later in life) id get something topical so I wouldn't have to get him all worked up to put a pill down his throat. ::sigh::

ANYWAYS. This is a shitty situation, and only you can determine what's best for your family. The steroid is only a bandaid, postponing the inevitable. If his quality of life (and yours!) is suffering with and without the band aid, it's better to do the thing no pet owner wants to do. ((Hugs)) I hate this part of having pets, it really is never easy.

Ps I'm sorry if this is funky formatting or has weird typos, I'm on mobile.

iwalktheline · September 2013

@callitcompulsive- we started out on the oral pill which just definitely wasnt working... i used to work as a vet tech, and im pretty good at pilling stubborn cats, but i would still have to make 2-4 attempts per pill (he would just struggle and manage to spit it out). I think the real problem is that he hates being cornered/picked up/held down in any way. He's always been like that. So idk if its the actual meds that he doesn't like, or if its the 2 minutes that we have to hold him still (I don't even pick him up... I just keep him in a light scruff and pat him while DH does the gel).

I hate these situations.

I just want him to be ok

callitcompulsive · September 2013

I know you've probably already tried this but I'll just throw it out there anyway.

What about if he jumps up onto the couch to be pet, and you just casually give him the meds while petting him? Does it smell? Where does the medication go? Can you bribe with lots of treats and a big fuss when you're done administering the meds?

I'm so sorry you're faced with this situation. I wish we never had to deal with things like this.

iwalktheline · September 2013

The meds are a gel that we have to rub on the inside of his ear. It's in a pen form that we have to rotate around once (it makes a bunch of clicks). He's too smart for his own good. If we try to surprise him, as soon as he sees the pen, or hears clicks, he's running for it. The other issue is that we have to give it at (roughly) the same time every day... So he knows it's coming and is highly alert around that time. He's also not a treats kind of man. He might eat them, but he's never really been interested (too bad because then I could just do a pill pocket!)

callitcompulsive · September 2013

Ack! I figured. He really is too smart for his own good! What a little shit! :-P He sounds just like Eastwood.

way to make things exceedingly more difficult, IWTLCat.

Anyways, sorry I couldn't be more help, I hope you guys can find something that works for all of you SOON!

transponster · September 2013

I don't have any pets, so I really can't give any advice, but I'm so sorry you are dealing with this.

iwalktheline · September 2013

Thanks everyone! He's my boy (and the wild beast in my siggie). I just want to do what's best for him

LuckyAngel07 · September 2013

Sorry I'm just seeing this now!

Have you tried different types of treats for him? To try and find one he'll really get into it? Even if it's not a commercial cat treat, giving him a bit of cheese, a Cheerio (yes, one of my cats is obsessed with cereal), a little shred of chicken or tuna, could be the magic treat that he goes nuts for. A friend's dog will do damn near anything for Kraft cheese slices.

If you find a treat that works for him, start positive reinforcement conditioning. Get something that makes clicky noises (like a pen or something, similar to the gel dispenser), and give a little click and quickly throw him the treat. He'll start associating the sound with awesomeness and be less prone to run for cover when he hears it in the future.

Also, don't underestimate his love of food (if you're able to find something that really works for him). I had to give one of my kitties a steroid course several months ago. After a couple of days fighting to get it down her throat, I decided to try giving her a couple of treats, slipping the pill in with one treat, then giving her one more. I learned that as long as she's getting food, she's not even going to stop to care that one of the "treats" I just gave her was really a pill. I ended up just mixing her pill in with her wet food dinner (another great way to see if you can get your kitty to gain some weight back), and she'd just gobble down everything.

GL! I'd definitely keep trying and not give up on him yet. Just work to find a way to give him his medicine without stressing all of you out.

sandollar1010 · September 2013

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this, and I don't really have anything else to add. It is hard to know how sick a pet really is because their instincts tell them to be stoic and not show pain/illness. I think you are from MA, and if I'm right, you might want to try Angell Memorial. I don't go there for regular visits, but with my last dog and one of my current dogs I have gone there for specialty diagnosis/treatment, and they have been amazing in helping to determine the best treatment for the best outcome.

iwalktheline · September 2013

@sandollar1010 I am from MA

i did bring him to Tufts Vet Referral Hospital. We've spent over $1000 on diagnostic tests to this point and my DH has really reached his financial limit for that I think. But thank you for the recommendation!!

@luckyangel07... I'll really have to try to find something that he enjoys. He is so not food motivated and does not really like people food (he won't even touch tuna. what kind of cat does that?? lol). he likes dentabites, but he is very, very cautious and would sense the meds coming from a mile away and just wouldn't even touch them. he won't do the pill pockets (i've even tried sneaking the pill in a pill pocket into his wet food. no dice) he's just too smart for his own good. i'm also worried about introducing other proteins if he really does have IBD and not cancer.

LittleLady77 · September 2013

Im so sorry you are dealing with this decision. It's a very difficult choice but no mater what it sounds like you clearly care about him.

amccul20 · September 2013

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I can't imagine having to make that decision. If he is truly unhappy I would probably consider putting him down.

if he is just pissed at you when you're trying to give him medicine I would push on with treatment

lb1117 · September 2013

I have no advice, but I'm really sorry you have to make these decisions. They suck!

sparklingdiamond · September 2013

I am so sorry you are having to make this decision :-( It's never easy.

islandmonkey8 · September 2013

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I have no advice that hasn't been already given. But I hope it gets better all around for you.

amandaf6383 · September 2013

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. :-( I wish I had good advice.

MadeOfAwesome · September 2013

I'm sorry that your kitty isn't feeling well.

It's always hard. Could you do the clicking outside where he can't hear it?

Xan921 · September 2013

I'm so sorry! My cat is my whole world so I can't even imagine what you're going through. As long as he isn't in pain then I'd keep giving him the medication without even thinking twice about it. If he gets to the point where taking the medicine is causing severe anxiety issues or he is hiding all day because of it, then I may reconsider, but a few minutes of him being uncomfortable each night seems worth it to me for a longer lifetime overall.

DangerMuffin23 · September 2013

I used to have to give my dogs shots everyday. She really disliked it, but after a month or so she just put up with it with quiet dignity. And shots are very quick. Since you're a tech could you give her a steroid shot that might last longer, and maybe not have to do meds so often?

Apollo11235 · September 2013

So, I may be very late to this, but I wanted to jump in and say I'm so sorry you're having to make these decisions.

You may have seen this before, but our vet taught us the following for pilling a cat: put him on a surface he's not allowed on (for us, the kitchen table or the counter) so he's sort of disoriented/surprised, pick him up, front paws only, by the back teeth on his upper jaw so he has his mouth open and has to look up but is reaching down to get his bearings, then drop the pill in the back of his throat, hold his mouth shut and blow on his nose. His reflex will be to swallow, and you should be set.

We felt a little weird about all of this and slipped up a few times, but the way the vet did it was super quick and painless. We never really got it down since we were only pilling him for a couple weeks, but I think over time it would be pretty easy to figure out.

Good luck with your little guy, and I would keep up the medicine as long as it's helping him and not making him resent you.

WWGPD: difficult pet decision

Re: WWGPD: difficult pet decision

Choose Another Board

Search Boards