Advice Please.
I need advice about my older cat. She is 16 (we found her at 3 as a dump cat). She has been losing weight for the past few weeks and no matter how much I feed her she can't keep the weight on. She often throws up her food even though it is the same food she has been eating for years. She doesn't have worms or anything like that. She has started going to the bathroom in the basement instead of the litter box. I have 2 other cats and I wanted to make sure it was her so I followed her downstairs today and even with me standing there she went on the carpet. Last year she had 1 of her large front teeth removed because it had died (they don't really know why). I talked to Vet today and they asked if I wanted to put her down. I said I didn't know. Vet said it sounds like kidney failure and they can do some tests and such but that if that is what the problem is then there is nothing they can do short of dialysis for a cat. Which will cost a fortune and will not cure her. So basically I need to decide if I should just put her to sleep or make her go through tests and such with the possible outcome being that she needs to be put down anyay.
posted by Polka Dot Ponies @ 12:25 PM
2 Comments:
We are going through the same thing with our old dog. It cost us a fortune to leave him with the vet for the weekend and run some tests to find out why he is losing weight, peeing on himself, vomiting, pacing, drooling, panting, and falling down. When all was said and done, none of the tests revealed anything, so they wanted us to bring him back for even more tests.
With both my husband and I at risk of being laid off while trying to put a kid through a $20,000 a year college, we have to be careful with our money. We love our dog, but he is now preventing us from being able to sleep at night and whimpering and squealing like he's in pain. I'm ready to put him down, but my husband isn't. The dog is obviously dying. We could pay another fortune to run more tests and put him on medication once they figure out what is going on, but he has lived a full life and doesn't have many years left as is.
My mother just put her cat to sleep for kidney failure. This was a cat that was normally very overweight and he shrunk to a skeleton in no time. He was on medication for years for one thing or another. Now her dog has kidney failure. I suspect some of the pet foods out there may still be harboring something that is causing it.
Usually, my advice is: you will know when it's time. The cat will let you know. If she has been meticulous about the litter box in the past, this new behavior is an unhappy one for her.
Kidney failure is a common cause of death in older cats, I fear. Could be the diet, or just the natural course of things.
It's honestly not worth getting any tests done if you find out she has an incurable illness. I have done that with cats in the past and lost them anyhow.
Look into her eyes and she will tell you if she is happy going on or would rather leave quietly. At 16, she has had a good long life for a kitty, and perhaps the most love you can give her is a peaceful end. But, let her tell you.
I know this isn't the easiet answer. Putting a beloved pet to sleep is never a simple decision, but sometimes it's the best one. With most of my cats, once they start to stop eating or start to lose that weight, it's been time for them to go. (in several cases, they just passed on themselves.)
Whatever you decide, I send my love. You will make the right choice for your girl, I'm sure.
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