Cat sick

[HollyJane]

My cat has pancreatitis. I'm gutted. The past week has been multiple vet visits, iv fluids, subq fluids, pills, forced feeding and worry.

Just when I think she's getting better, she takes a turn for the worse.

She's my angel cat, my forum namesake, my therapy cat. She's my family. She's my child.

I'm supposed to be spending this week attending to personal business. Instead, I'm grounded home worrying over her.

She has to make it.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

what is your car's name HollyJane ? so i can fit her into my prayers

 

[HollyJane]

what is your car's name HollyJane ? so i can fit her into my prayers

Yes, that is her name. Thanks

 

[Karl_K]

knee mail sent

 

[PreRaphaelite]

I’m so sorry she’s sick, but I’m sending all the love in the world for you both. I know exactly and I hope she pulls through. Hugs.

 

[JPie]

I’m so sorry. I hope she recovers.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

So sorry to hear this!!! She'll recover!

It's dangerous but not totally lethal. Hang in there!!!

 

[foxinsox]

Fingers and paws crossed here for her. I hope she pulls through and recovers soon

 

[missy]

Aww I am so sorry. Bucketloads of prayers being sent her way. I had a cat with Pancreatitis (Billy) and he lived a great long life with it. Hoping Holly Jane can do the same and I know she will get all the love and care she needs. (((Hugs))) and healing dust.

 

[HollyJane]

Thank you all for your support and well wishes.

We had a fairly uneventful night, and then I was awoken early to her crying and then vomiting.

I had a cat years ago who had a bout with pancreatitis. I remember him being in pain and taking weeks of treatment to get better, but I don't remember that he ever had stopped eating like Holly or him vomiting.

I'm really concerned.

 

[Niffler75]

@HollyJane I am so sorry your beloved cat is poorly. From one cat lover to another keeping you in my thoughts!

 

[chrono]

Wishing and hoping that she gets some appetite back soon. It's tough and hard, feeling like there's nothing you can do, but just being there for her is comforting to her. Don't forget that.

 

[missy]

What worked for Billy (and of course each case is different) was feeding him tiny portions throughout the day. It worked to keep the food down. I mean like a bite or 2 throughout the day. We ended up hand feeding him. Good luck and I’m sorry you’re going through this. It’s very hard watching our loved ones suffer. Praying for her relief soon.

 

[Queenie60]

Praying for your kitty. Have you tried a whole food diet? Just a thought? I hope your little fur baby is well soon. (((hugs))))

 

[Ceilimom]

We went through this too with our kitty Sam. Subcutaneous fluids, the med's, all of it. Once he was a bit stabilized I ended up pureeing a Organic roast chicken and filtered water for him to eat, starting with small amounts. Granted I know that wasn't a complete diet, it did get fluids into him.
Sam recovered from this and he was 21 yrs old.
You have our love, prayers and positive energy going to and your Holly Jane.

 

[springerspaniel]

Sending positive thoughts you way for HollyJane.

 

[facetgirl]

I'm so sorry to hear this and sending healing thoughts your way.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

how is Holly Jane doing?

 

[OboeGal]

I'm so sorry. Sending healing dust to your sweet girl.

 

[HollyJane]

how is Holly Jane doing?

Hello,

I appreciate everyone's prayers and well wishes, advice, and support.

I, unfortunately, have the worst news. I took Holly to a different vet clinic on Friday, and they painted quite a different picture than the first vet clinic. She had critically high calcium levels, which indicated she had much more than pancreatitis going on, and she was already going into kidney failure from it. Lymphoma was strongly suspected. I discussed Holly's case at length with the second vet clinic, and she only had more days of misery ahead of her. The vet said the calcium level was what was making her feel so sick. She would walk up to me and cry, like she was trying to tell me how bad she felt and wanted me to make it better. I couldn't. I chose for the vet to humanely euthanize her. I was able to visit with her before the process, and I got to be there for her passing. The euthanasia went smoothly. I chose creamation afterwards.

I hate hate hate that she is gone. We loved each other so dearly. I feel like after my husband died and now my cat, she was the last being who knew me in and out and fully loved me for me. I have to work to stay hopeful, which I still am.

I continue to take care of my other animals, including my ducks and my two dogs. My dogs are lovely, really, and they were close to my cat too. Holly was around 13 years old at her death, and I really had hoped to have 20 years with her.

I am confused as to why she got cancer, as I provided her with the highest quality, biologically appropriate diet for a cat, she was an inside only cat, and she received great care. But, the vet said cancer is common, and there wasn't anything I could have done to prevent it. It just happens sometimes.

Compounding my grief is the poor way the first vet clinic handled the situation. The clinic was one I have taken my pets to for years, but the main vet I used at that clinic retired several months ago. Maybe that made all the difference. The two remaining young vets were either seriously incompetent or outright lied to me, I feel, to keep me coming back and spending money. I had 4 visits with them, consisting of labs x2, xrays x2, iv fluids, subq fluids, antinausea injections, multiple medications purchased and their 'special food' for a total of $1500 USD. I had them fax Holly's vet records over to the new vet clinic, and the vet reviewed them. She told me that Holly seemed better Monday (Holly's 4th and last visit with the first vet clinic) for a day, because they gave her a steroid shot. They never told me they gave her steroid injection. Also, the new vet reviewed the labs done from the previous vet and told me the calcium was critically high then. They never told me that. They told me that Holly's labs were all normal except for her pancreatic enzymes. They kept telling me she had pancreatitis and it would take a while to resolve. They never told me about the calcium, or that even back then it had already effected her kidneys.

So, I paid a total (both vet clinics) of $2000 just to have a dead cat in the end. Cest la vie. I have the peace that I tried everything I could, and my cat tried too. But, it was hopeless in the end, and I made the right decision for euthanasia.

I will adopt another cat again sooner rather than later. There are a lot of cats out there who need a loving home, and I am in need of a loving cat!

Holly was a sweet, gentle, kind cat, and she loved me with everything she had.

Thank you for reading this novel!

 

[finerthings]

(((Hugs))) You did everything you could for her. I am so very sorry that she is gone now, but she is not suffering anymore and that should be of some comfort. Letting go of a beloved pet is no different than saying goodbye to a human family member. It is so very difficult. Sending you peace, strength and love.

 

[JPie]

I am so sorry for your loss. I’m glad Holly had a human who loved her like you did and would do anything for her.

I don’t think there was anything you could’ve done differently to prevent the cancer. My cat Jinger was only an estimated 7-9 when she also died from cancer, and in the five years we had her we fed her nothing but the best.

Now I realize that the love and affection you give them is more important than anything else. It doesn’t prevent cancer but they do know they’re cherished.

 

[foxinsox]

Oh @HollyJane I am so sorry for your loss. It’s so hard. I’m so sorry the first vets didn’t look after her well. You did everything you could and she was lucky to have you as her person.

 

[HollyJane]

My sweet, angel cat's favorite thing was to cuddle and be brushed. She would demand I get in bed with her for cuddles and a nap.

 

[OboeGal]

Oh, @HollyJane, I'm so, so sorry for the loss of your dear girl. I agree with others; I'm sure you did the absolute best you could for her. Her illness was not your fault; likely just bad luck for the both of you.

Looking at her picture, she was absolutely gorgeous! She looks so much like my second kitty, named Squeaker, who also loved to be brushed and to cuddle in bed at night. He would lie on my tummy and stretch his paws up toward me so that I could massage his toe beans.

I'm glad you're going to open your heart and home to share with another kitty. You're right - there are so many in need.

 

[Queenie60]

@HollyJane - I am sorry for your loss. We put our kitty down on Friday. He had kidney failure and a very bad skin and coat issue where he would scratch himself raw. At 16 it was his time. Very sad for our family. We have lost 3 pets in 1.5 years. Take care and I hope you are feeling better soon.

 

[OboeGal]

I'm sorry for your loss as well, @Queenie60. We just passed the one-year anniversary of losing two girls last spring less than a month apart - Little Bit, who was 16.5, and then Baby Girl, my heart kitty, who I'd rescued as an orphaned 4 week old kitten 18.5 years prior, and who we had to send to the Rainbow Bridge on Mother's Day. It seems that this happens so often in clusters, doesn't it? Now we're watching our last remaining kitty, Slinky, who's 17.5, with trepidation. Other than a mysterious tremor that comes and goes and no one seems to be able to diagnose, he seems fine and healthy, although inclined to sleep an awful lot of the time - preferably on my DH whenever he sits down for a moment.

 

[yssie]

@HollyJane - @Queenie60 - I am so very sorry for your losses

I've lost two cats to kidney failure in the last half-year, and another was just diagnosed with the beginnings of chronic kidney disease a few weeks ago. It's such a common problem in older cats... It's starting feel heartbreakingly inevitable.

@HollyJane Could I recommend talking with your primary vet about this when you feel able? It's certainly possible they missed something critical, in which case they should be made aware of that so other owners don't go through the same. In my experience, though, what often happens is that when there are myriad symptoms, all of which seem "bad", vets tend to focus on one or two issues - and different doctors might hone in on different issues, hoping that resolving those will cascade positive effects on the others. Dealing with new personnel who don't know Holly Jane's history certainly can't have helped

I too had a similar experience. Our primary NY vet (who we don't love, to be honest) gave us every treatment under the sun for Jeffey's advancing kidney disease. He kept getting worse. He started declining acutely after hours one day, and we had to take him to an emergency clinic - and the story they painted was just... Hopeless. We hadn't ever gotten "hopeless" from our primary. We let him go the next day.

Our primary MD vet - we adore. When Gretta started going downhill they worked with us to mitigate progression. When pills and salves and fluids no longer kept her symptoms at bay they worked with referral specialists to create a palliative regimen. When it was clear that she didn't have much time left they were completely honest about what could and couldn't be done. We relied on them to help us figure out when it was time to let her go - and they were wonderful throughout.

But even if the experience of treating Gretta was much more - I'm searching for the right word, comforting, maybe? - her loss hurts just as much as Jeffey's

::HUGS:: and healing to you both.

 

[OboeGal]

I've lost two cats to kidney failure in the last half-year, and another was just diagnosed with the beginnings of chronic kidney disease a few weeks ago. It's such a common problem in older cats... It's starting feel heartbreakingly inevitable.

I agree - it has started to feel inevitable. We've lost one kitty to it, and we've had other kitties (and one dog) with it, although it was still in the manageable stages at the point where we lost them to other things.

I've read that some veterinary researchers believe this is a combination of the fact that kidneys are the "weak link" organ, along with thyroid, for kitties - like hearts and cardiovascular disease is for humans - plus dry food diets. They say that our domesticated kitties are descended from small wild desert cats which got the overwhelming majority of their fluid intake from the blood and body fluids of their prey, and therefore did not evolve to have a very strong thirst drive and tend to not drink enough water. If they're on a dry food diet, apparently they're chronically dehydrated, which puts additional strain on the kidneys. They advocate an all-wet food diet ideally. This was major news for me, as I'd always fed on all dry diet. Since learning that, I tried to transition them to all wet food, but I got a mixed-to-no-cooperation-whatsover response! Some turned their noses up completely to wet food, no matter what brand I tried; the best I was ever able to manage was some wet, some dry. That's the case with our last remaining kitty - he'll eat one little tray of Sheba per day IF it's not the chicken flavor - if it's turkey or some variation of seafood - and IF I stir it around thoroughly first to make sure that it's as creamy as possible and IF I give it to him at night. He won't touch a pate that isn't super creamy, and if I give him some chunks-in-gravy type, he'll just lick off the gravy and not eat the rest. If I give two Shebas at the proper time in the proper form and of the proper flavor, he might deign to eat some of the second, but not all. But he'll spend all day hoovering up as much kibble as his tummy will hold - and sometimes more, judging by the occasional pork-and-puke scene we come across.

 

[tyty333]

I'm so sorry @HollyJane . I'm sure you gave her the best life and will always remember her fondly.


There are so many needy cats and kittens out there that need homes. Hoping you find your next beautiful angel kitty.