decodelighted
Super_Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2005
- Messages
- 11,534
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 very withdrawn.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.
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.