Kitty Crisis - Has she given up?

[decodelighted]

I''m not sure what I''m looking for. Maybe reassurance I''m doing the right thing? Guidance if I''m NOT doing the right thing .. but here''s the situation.

My nine 1/2 year old sweetie girl has been a bit glum lately but eating & drinking fine. We thought it was because of a scuffle she got into with one of the boy cats. We were giving her lots of extra affection & stuff but she didn''t seem quite "herself". Last weekend we went out of town on our yearly long weekend in the mountains. Before we left I checked on Clementine ... made sure she was eating okay. She ate treats out of my hand. She slept with us. But seemed mopey. We had two great housesitters/catsitters/dogsitters that stayed with everyone - one of which has been around Clem since she was a kitten. At some point they noticed she wasn''t eating much and moved her food closer to her best napping spot but otherwise thought she was fine. They said she came into the living room & visited with them etc. We get back Sunday evening & as we''re settling back in we notice she''s very quiet ... very withdrawn. Also she''s drinking a lot of water - so fast that she''s gagging herself a bit. But won''t eat treats. This is worrisome. We take her to bed with us and she''s not responding, not purring, & keeps jumping off the bed & sitting on the floor. I''m up almost all night with her -- feeding her the juice from wet food, which she does eat & watching her, petting her, seeing if she''s peeing/pooping normally. She pees - but no poop. She''s very lethargic. I pinch her scruff & realize that despite all the water she''s drinking that she''s dehydrated - but I question myself because scruff is always a bit loose. Anyway - hindsight is 20/20. The moment the vet hospital is open, I''m there with her. Eight a.m. Monday morning. She''s been there ever since. Her kidney #s are off the charts. They''re trying to rehydrate her so they can get an accurate reading but its a very bad situation. And she hasn''t eaten anything since she''s been there. She''s going downhill, not recovering. And I fear she may have given up. I spent a half-hour there visiting with her yesterday and trying all her fave foods & petting her & whispering to her & loving her. At first she went & sat on my purse like "don''t forget me here" - but then she curled back in her basket & seemed to want to be left alone. She barely makes eye contact. Her tail is totally limp. She looks awful. It all happened SO FAST I can''t believe it. Her sister passed away suddenly in April of a cardiac issue and that was devastating. Now Clem is fading before my eyes and there''s nothing I can do. It kills me to leave her there & have what could be her last days away from us (in addition to the Thurs-Sun we were out of town). But I also want to try everything we can to SAVE her ...even if its just for a month or two, so we can give her more love & attention at home & let THOSE be her final days. Not THESE awful ones. In the hospitial, hooked to an IV, not knowing what''s happening.

Today they''re going to try to put food in her mouth. And I''ll visit again & try myself. They''re not supposed to take her #s again until Thursday afternoon to give her every chance to hydrate & bounce back. I just hope I''m doing the right thing by leaving her there for them to TRY to help her - rather than taking her home & being with her ''til the end. I can''t even believe I''m thinking about this right now -- she was SEEMINGLY NORMAL a week ago ... running around and begging for wet food and cuddling under the covers and stalking the new crop of mice.

Any guidance would be very welcome ... I love her so.

 

[bee*]

I think that you''re doing the right thing leaving her there so they can try and help her. What I''d probably do if it were my kitty is that I''d leave her on fluids until they run the tests again on Thursday and then see what her levels are like. They''ll have more of an idea how things are going when they rerun the tests. After that they''ll have a more accurate result hopefully and you can go from there. Sorry to hear about Clementine, and I know how upsetting it can be to have to leave your baby in the clinic when you really want to take them home with you.

 

[decodelighted]

Thanks Bee. I was so hoping the IV fluids would make her feel better enough to get some appetite back. Should I take over human baby food? Read about that somewhere online but I''ve been reading so much its a big blur.

 

[movie zombie]

re baby food: make sure there is no onion/garlic flavoring.........try Gerber''s 2nd Foods, chicken or turkey.

see if the vet will allow you to come visit with her on the days she is there......our vet allows me to do so and i spend as long as they''ll let me. i''ll even curl up on the floor with my cat. the vet believes my cats always appreciate theses visits. and i appreciate them as well as i know it might be the last.

mz

 

[bee*]

ditto MZ on the baby food with no onion/garlic. You can definitely try her on a little bit of it. Also sometimes we have cats/dogs that just won't touch any food in the clinic and they'll eat fine at home so that could also be a reason for her not eating. Try bringing in anything really tasty to her-chicken/tuna/turkey to see will she even sample any of it. They might have a recovery food in the clinic also-it's normally quite high in protein/fat and if she could eat a tiny bit of that it could give her some energy. They tend to like it heated a bit. Have you noticed a difference in her on the fluids at all? We often have clients visit their pets while they're in the clinic as well and it can be great for them. If they have a spare consult room or somewhere quiet where you can try and sit with her and tempt her to eat would be great.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 9/23/2009 9:55:08 AM
Author: movie zombie
see if the vet will allow you to come visit with her on the days she is there......our vet allows me to do so and i spend as long as they''ll let me. i''ll even curl up on the floor with my cat. the vet believes my cats always appreciate theses visits. and i appreciate them as well as i know it might be the last.

Thanks MZ ... I''ve seen her every day so far & plan to continue. Was able to spend just over a half hour with her yesterday but by the end of the time she kept turning away from me like she didn''t want to be touched anymore. Heartbreaking. I took over her own bed/basket so there are smells of home etc and I''m hoping that is comforting her some when I can''t be there. I''m sorry you''ve had to go through this as well, MZ. Thanks again for reaching out to me now.

 

[Kismet]

You might trying bringing in her own food dish too or at least one made of the same material. I know when my boss'' cat was away getting the radio iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism she wouldn''t eat off of the paper dishes the clinic used. They had to bring out the special crystal dish before she would eat.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 9/23/2009 10:51:36 AM
Author: bee*
ditto MZ on the baby food with no onion/garlic. You can definitely try her on a little bit of it. Also sometimes we have cats/dogs that just won''t touch any food in the clinic and they''ll eat fine at home so that could also be a reason for her not eating. Try bringing in anything really tasty to her-chicken/tuna/turkey to see will she even sample any of it. They might have a recovery food in the clinic also-it''s normally quite high in protein/fat and if she could eat a tiny bit of that it could give her some energy. They tend to like it heated a bit. Have you noticed a difference in her on the fluids at all? We often have clients visit their pets while they''re in the clinic as well and it can be great for them. If they have a spare consult room or somewhere quiet where you can try and sit with her and tempt her to eat would be great.

I''m going to bring some of the baby food with me on today''s visit & try again re: tempting. I had all sorts of yummy smelling things yesterday and she wanted NOTHING to do with them.

Yesterday I didn''t really see any improvement after 1 day of fluids. By the time I see her today it''ll be about 2 1/2 days so ... I''m hoping against hope she''s feeling/looking better. We did have a spare room all to ourselves yesterday & probably will again today. DH is going with me today if possible. He stopped by to visit her Monday evening so this will be our third visit since I had to leave her Mon a.m.. We miss having her here! There''s a lot of moping going on with the two boy cats & our tiny girl doggie. They know something''s up. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your advice, Bee. I really appreciate your opinions.

 

[Bliss]

I don''t have any advice but I''m praying for your kitty!

 

[cellososweet]

oh deco (((hug))), you''re sweet little one will be in my thoughts.

It''s so rough with pets because they can''t tell you what''s wrong and you can explain to them what''s going on, but deep down you know that you can''t really explain it to them in a way that they''ll understand. I hate seeing my babies in the hospital. It breaks my heart. I feel for you so much. It''s terrible

I agree that keeping her in the kitty hospital is the best thing. That way they can monitor her, re-check her numbers, make sure she is keeping up on her fluids. Let us know how things work out.

((hug))

 

[Haven]

Deco--I''m so sad to hear about Clementine. It sounds like you''re doing the right thing by keeping her in the hospital so they can treat her.

I posted about my sweet little girl Bootsie a while ago. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and risk of kidney failure around age 15 after we noticed similar symptoms to those you describe--drinking a lot, withdrawn, peeing a lot, stopped grooming herself, weight loss, dehydrated. We feared the worst at first, too, because she had lost some weight (and she was tiny to begin with) and she just looked scraggly and as if she had lost all will to go on.

I also posted about Bootsie''s sister, Mazi, who was diagnosed with kidney failure around age 16. Both girls had outrageously high kidney numbers when we first brought them in (this wasn''t at the same time, by the way) and we were able to get both of their numbers back to the normal range within a month of diligent treatment at home.

Well, our vet prescribed meds (that we eventually started administering in a gel form in Bootsie''s ear, I highly recommend it) and taught us how to hydrate both girls ourselves at home using those saline (?) bags and needles. The GREAT news is that both Bootsie and Mazi responded very well to their treatments, and they both lived to age 18, so Mazi lived two years with her illness, and Bootsie lived three years with hers. Since your little Clementine is younger I''m hoping that she can bounce back even better and live even longer.

In retrospect, my only regret is that we didn''t do the radioactive iodine treatment for Bootsie when she was first diagnosed. We thought we didn''t want to put her through that and the three day stay at the hospital because she was older and we weren''t as hopeful as we should have been about how long she''d live with her condition. We ended up spending over $100 a month on her meds for 36 months, so that $1500 radio iodine treatment would have been a bargain, and it would have saved her the stress of those regular medicine smears in her ear. You never know, though, we thought we were doing what was best at the time.

I guess what I''m trying to say is: Don''t give up on your baby girl Clementine. If you''re willing to spend a bit of money and time nursing her back to health and then maintaining her numbers, she may have some good years left.

I''m so sorry she''s sick, and I hope she gets better very soon.

 

[Allison D.]

Awwwwww, Deco, I''m SO SO sorry. I''ve been faced with this exact situation with my first dog, and I honestly believe it''s a no-win position. I think it''s hard to feel that''s there''s a clear right choice, and if things don''t go well, I think it''s hard not to second-guess whichever choice you make.

I pray for you and Clementine and hope that she takes a turn for the better.

 

[Mara]

deco i don't have too much to say in the way of advice, but i am so sorry you are having to go through this, and poor Clem. do you have any idea on what could have happened? in terms of feeling like she has given up... i feel like pets don't get what is going on and want you to fix it. so when you can't they look helpless. that is how Portia is. she just kind of hangs around me and mopes and I know it's because she doesn't feel good but she doesn't know how to fix it. you're doing what you can, just keep loving her and letting her know she is special. hang in there sweetie.

 

[decodelighted]

Thanks everyone. Sadly Clementine took a dramatic turn for the worse this afternoon and the vet recommended we rush over and make a very hard decision. She''d pulled out her own IV at some point and was crashing hard. By the time we got there all her muscles had stiffened and she had end stage low temp & twitching. She was lying on her side all cold & rigid. Only her eyes moved a little. They ran the numbers again and she''s gotten much worse in the past couple of days. She''d gone from 44% red blood cells in her blood to TWENTY. They urgently recommended we end her suffering & told us she''d need to have a full blood transfusion and transfer her to a different facility to try "heroic measures" but that there was almost no, if not no chance of her getting better. After we saw her the answer seemed clear. This isn''t something I''ve ever had to do before but we opted to let the doctor help her pass. I''ll be back to write out individual replys but I''m going to be breaking down a bit first. I hope we did the right thing for our sweet baby girl. And I TRULY TRULY TRULY wish I hadn''t gone away last weekend so I could have spent those days with her *myself*, if this is what was to be.

 

[Mara]

oh deco i am so sorry to hear that. reading your post brings tears to my eyes. one of our close couple friends had a dog pass on friday of heat stroke, quite suddenly while out with the dog walker (at night of all things)...and they were totally beating themselves up for not being there with him instead of out enjoying themselves at dinner. it is hard to not blame yourself or think ''what ifs''... but please don''t be hard on yourself. my heart goes out to you guys. big hugs.

 

[HOUMedGal]

Oh Deco, I''m so very sorry about your sweet Clementine.

I''ve got 3 kitties myself and just imagining the heartache you''re going through brings tears to my eyes. Take some time to allow yourself to grieve, and don''t beat yourself up about doing away over the weekend. I''m sure that she knew how much she was loved...you did your best to give her loving care at the end, and ending her suffering was also the most profound act of love you could have shown her. Big hugs.

 

[bee*]

aww Deco, I''m so sorry to hear that she''s gone. Don''t beat yourself up, there was nothing you could do and you did the best thing for her today by putting an end to her suffering. A transfusion can be extremely traumatic and I wouldn''t put my own cat through it if he was in the same position. Sending lots of hugs-I know how upsetting it is when you lose one of your babies.

 

[Allison D.]

Oh, Deco, my heart is indeed breaking for you.

Please don''t be hard on yourself; you can only make decisions based on the information you have in hand, and when you went away on your long weekend, you did look for all the obvious signs to indicate that all was well. You just couldn''t have known this would happen; if you had, you''d have changed plans. Please be kind to yourself in acknowledging this.

You did the right thing. You brought her immediately for care, you did all you could for her, and when it came to making the hardest decision of all, you didn''t shirk on that either. I can assure you that you DID do the right thing by her.

You''re both in my thoughts. (hugs)

 

[Steel]

I am so sorry Deco. I don''t know what to say to you, I can''t imagine how you feel but wish I could make it better.

God bless Clementine.

 

[isaku5]

Date: 9/23/2009 4:45:48 PM
Author: Allison D.
Oh, Deco, my heart is indeed breaking for you.

Please don''t be hard on yourself; you can only make decisions based on the information you have in hand, and when you went away on your long weekend, you did look for all the obvious signs to indicate that all was well. You just couldn''t have known this would happen; if you had, you''d have changed plans. Please be kind to yourself in acknowledging this.

You did the right thing. You brought her immediately for care, you did all you could for her, and when it came to making the hardest decision of all, you didn''t shirk on that either. I can assure you that you DID do the right thing by her.

You''re both in my thoughts. (hugs)

Aw, deco, I''m so sorry that Clementine has passed, but really you did everything right. Please listen to those of us who''ve had similar kitty crises and stop thinking that you were neglectful in some way. It was her time. Period.

I know that you''ll miss her so very much, but that''s what we pet-owners do...and in the end, the only thing to do.

We have a large backyard flower garden where unfortunately we''ve had to bury several of our furbabies. Call us crazy, but we even have a short ''service''. I know, I know...you non-pet lovers think that''s taking it too far, but it helps us, and we''re the ones who''ll have to live with memories.

However you grieve, you''re entitled to every source that gives you comfort.

(((((BIG HUGS))))

 

[deegee]

I am so, so sorry. This exact thing happened to my Kiki last month. She was on IV fluids at the vet for 3 days and got significantly worse, and we had to make that decision too. I have given it a lot of thought over the last month, and I genuinely believe we did the right thing. Doubt creeps in every now and then, but deep down I know hubby and I made the right decision, and you did too. Take comfort in knowing that you gave her a good home and that she was loved.


I am so sorry for your loss. You''re in my thoughts.

 

[Haven]

Oh Deco I''m so sorry.
I''m crying big fat tears for you and your sweet Clementine.

 

[rainwood]

Deco -

I''m so sorry to hear about Clementine. She occupies a place in your heart that will be hers forever. You did the right thing in all respects. You gave her a great life, and you shouldn''t kick yourself about any of it.

 

[CJ2008]

Oh, no, Deco...I''m so sorry to hear about Clementime...

I can''t even imagine your heartache...

I''m sorry.

 

[purrfectpear]

You did the best you could for her and she''ll greet you at the Rainbow Bridge when the time is right. I''m sorry for your loss Deco.

 

[Lorelei]

I am so sorry to hear this....

 

[stepcutnut]

Sending Big HUGS to you deco!!!

 

[decodelighted]

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH

Your words & thoughts really helped me through the night. I can''t linger here too much yet ... it comes in waves. But I wanted to take a second to express my enormous appreciation for each & every one of you. Sometimes I don''t even have the fortitude to venture onto threads like these myself because they can hurt so badly. So for those of you who DID & DO & always seem to have the best things to say and warmest hugs: YOU ARE AMAZING HUMAN BEINGS and I aspire to be more like YOU.

Much Love,
Deco

 

[cnspotts]

I''m so sorry for your little kitty and your loss.

 

[Lauren8211]

I can''t read the whole thread because I''m at work and I''ll cry.

But I read some of the responses so I just wanted to say I''m also sorry about your loss, Deco.

I can''t even imagine how you''re feeling.

*hugs*