Sick kitty D:

[ReneeM]

Above is my baby girl Sasha. I have had her since I was 15. She is 13 years old now. In February she was diagnosed with Pancreatic problems. I took her back two weeks ago to the vet for a check up, she weight in at 9 pounds, she had been 11 pounds in Feb. I took her back today for a second opinion with a vet I trust more (he also sees my chins), and she weighed 8 pounds. She lost 12% of her body weight in two weeks. He is running a general blood test now to see what he can find, thinking it could be her pancreatic problems or thyroid. She is still eating and drinking as normal. She still behaves normally, although she is skinny . Her teeth are bad as well, but my vet told me to just start brushing them, that she could go without a dental right now (the other vet said she needed one it would have been like...$400). Many of you know I currently don't have a job, I had to borrow money from my mom to to the blood work for my kitty. I'm afraid she only has a short time left to live, but I need to wait until her blood work is back tomorrow or Thursday.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Aww, she is adorable.

I hope the vet finds out what is wrong with her. To help with the vet fees, you might look into carecredit.com, members on here use to help with their vet fees and if gives you 6 months to pay the bill off without interest.
I'm thinking of getting one myself as a just in case card. =)

 

[ReneeM]

I actually have signed up for that card, but my vet does not take it D:. He tries to cut me a break though, when he can.

 

[addictedtochins]

She's beautiful! I have had cats since I was 10. My Fluffy and Pepper lived to 16 when I was 26. We have 2 older girls now, 15 and 13. I know what great companions they are. I hope she gets better soon.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I actually have signed up for that card, but my vet does not take it D:. He tries to cut me a break though, when he can.

That stinks. Had he mentioned any other type that he does accept? Maybe even payment plans

 

[ReneeM]

My kitty had blood work done, but it didn't show anything wrong with her. The next step is an X-ray that I'm going to schedule next week. I really hope it shows something

 

[mercynursie]

warning long and possibly controversial post

Okay guys,please hear me out on this one.Animal healthcare seems to be going in the same direction as human healthcare to me.It's getting to be more about what they can do "to them" than "for them". I have many pets and believe in giving them the best care I possibly can but I also feel that the good Lord has given us the responsiblity to care for all of his creations.Before I move forward with tests/treatments,etc I have to ask myself first what am I going to accomplish with the test results/procedure?Is it going to do anything that will improve my pet's quality of life,not just it's length of life? Here is an example of the people version- elderly woman with end stage lung disease(not cancer but COPD),multiple other chronic health problems,maxed out on oxygen/meds/etc but yet she is not willing/ready for Hospice care and her family respects her wishes.So she continues to see all of her multiple specialists who at each visit tell her there is nothing else that they can do for her problem yet they continue to tell her to come back to see them in 1-2 months,order expensive and painful tests that when she returns for results either are "nothing has changed/we didn't get enough sample/we need to repeat it in two months" and repeat themselves again saying there really is nothing else we can do. Now I am seeing the same things with vets. I am a Christian and no I do not believe in human euthanasia but I also don't believe in torture.With my pets I pray that they have a long and happy life.If they have done that,then I will do no extreme measures to prolong life.They will have all of the food/water/play that they desire and when aging and dying process begins I will not intervene unless they are/or will suffer .Kidneys,heart,pancreas,liver failure are all part of the aging/dying process.As long as an animal is still enjoying life the natural processes of aging and dying are as expected.At the first sign of pain/suffering I will humanely euthanize,but if the aging and dying process is not disturbed as a general rule I have found that the animal will usually pass easily and quietly with the dignity they deserve.When an older animal stops eating,drinking,enjoying life they are letting us know that they are tired and we must prepare ourselves for their passing.I have had to have elderly animals euthanized when I know that they will suffer agonizing deaths(twisted bowels,large tumors causing pain) but otherwise I let them die with the same love and dignity that I feel they deserve.Sorry for my rant and I know I have probably smashed some toes,but I had to say it.Physicial bodies begin dying the minute they are born.For some reason it seems our society has developed a "live forever,no matter the cost" philosophy instead of a loving caring death with dignity.And as I am sure you have figured out,the elderly woman in the earlier example is my Mom who I love dearly but every day wish that she too could die with dignity but continues to suffer more pills/tests/procedures because the Drs that tell her "there is nothing else we can do to help you" will continue to order the tests/pills/procedures for nothing more than what I see as gaining monetary profit. Think about it,do you see or hear "death from natural causes" anymore?

 

[ChilliPepper]

Renee, I am sorry. The best advice I can give you is love the heck out of your cat. One thing you can do is start giving your girl wet food and monitoring her intake. It may help you have more time with her. Did the vet give you some A/D food for weight gain? adding some of that may help too.
Like I said, at this point nothing matters more than quality time with her.
Background- we just lost our dear boy on Dec 3rd after a very hard few months. We took him in in August with nothing more specific than he was losing weight. We did a urinalysis, he had a kidney infection so we did antibiotics. Come October, he was still losing weight, but eating well. The vet's diagnosis was possible kidney cancer based on the physical exam. We had him for just over a month after that, and we did euthanize him because it was a quality of life issue at that point. I knew he was in pain and suffering.
My heart is broken, but I know I did the best I could for him and gave him the best life a kitty could ask for.
The kidney function levels will not tell you anything until it is too late. At your next appointment, go over kidney diseases with your vet, there are some things that will help, but again, it depends on how much you want to intervene. We chose to let him be comfy and dignified in the end. We did fluids at home once and at teh vet once when he was still actively eating. Once he started eating less, we chose to keep him comfy and we let him tell us when he was ready to go.
I hope this is not the case with your girl, but it sounds eerily similar. He showed nothing until his early November bloodwork that it was in fact kidney problems. In the initial visit in August even the physical exam showed nothing out of order yet. You may also be able to give a kidney diet, but Dickens wanted nothing to do with it.

 

[ReneeM]

Her xrays showed one of her kidneys was larger than the other, and her intestines were larger than they should be. My vet sent it to a radiologist who might be able to read it better. Some good news too, she went from 8.1 pounds to 8.5 pounds in a week! She has been getting wet food everyday for about two weeks now.

 

[Jenn]

Good luck with your beautiful kitty. I hope that whatever is found is treatable. It's a great sign that she is starting to gain weight again! I hope that continues!

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Glad to hear that she is putting on some weight.

 

[Christemo]

My girl has one kidney that's about 4x the size of the other, but my vet seems to think she's had it since she was born. The only thing that's different about her is that she can out pee a race horse.
Sending the best to you and your kitty!

 

[ReneeM]

Her xrays showed everything was normal. So I'm back to square one. My vet said to just keep an eye on her weight. Since she gained half a pound. I'm frustrated. She needs a dental but I can't afford it right now, and I'm afraid of putting her under anesthesia at her age and with the possibility of underlying health problems, considering she is 13.

 

[Angelyco]

I'm going to have to agree with mercynursie here. When our kitties start getting up in age, it's natural for things to start breaking down. If she was much younger, it might be worth putting so much money into vet bills, but I wouldn't start over at this point. You did what you could, give her whatever she will eat, and she'll figure out the rest on her own. Putting her through more tests and draining your already empty wallet won't do anyone any good, especially for a dental. If she's eating wet food, then her teeth aren't bothering her enough to justify it. You can try brushing her teeth, but don't bother with a vet doing it.

I know it's hard, we've all been there. I love my pets like children, but at some point, nature has to win out and we don't have to go bankrupt trying to fight it. It doesn't make you a bad owner, but giving her all the love and comfort she DOES need will make you an excellent owner.