$177 later
UPDATE: I got part of her bloodwork tests back. Her kidneys are pretty good. A little out of whack but nothing serious, especially considering her age. I asked the vet about her thyroid because she used to take thyroid meds for a couple of years, but her thyroid is fine too. So, she's on her antibiotics for sneeziness. I'm still not sure why she's skin and bones and dehydrated but I'll talk to the vet again on Monday. She still suggested giving her fluids once a week but I just really don't want to do that. I think it's super stressful on us both and I would have to do it by myself. The vet said I could try feeding her Pedialyte because it's filled with Electrolytes. I'll buy some and see if she'll drink it. I also decided that she's getting wet food daily. She runs for that, it's possible she doesn't want the dry food anymore. Her teeth are old afterall :) Today I brought Reebok to the vet ($35) for a snotty nose and runny eyes. I knew she needed to be checked and given anti-biotics ($17) because she's had upper respiatory infections in the past. I also needed to get her nails cut ($10). I went to a vet my friend referred me to and I'm happy with the vet; I'm just not happy with the potential issues at hand.
Reebok is about 18 years old. I got her in the summer of 8th grade and now I'm 33. We've had a great life together and I've had her more than half my life which is amazing. It is to be expected that after a very healthy cat life, there are bound to be problems at some point as a cat ages.
The vet weighed her and I was in shock that she wasn't even a full 6 pounds. I remember when she weighed a healthy 12. The vet informed me that besides the respiatory infection that she was extremely dehydrated. She suggested doing a full blood panel ($85) in order to check her liver. Dehydration is a sign of liver failure and with her age it's the thing that tends to kill old cats. I really really really hope that the liver is not a major issue because the vet said I need to pump fluids into her or she'll die sooner.
In order to pump fluids I would need to buy a kit ($75) that I can take home and inject fluids in her twice a week. Poor kitty. :( Wish her luck. She's a trooper.
posted by Tamara @ 6:02 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Poor reebok! She's a trooper!
I know what you're going through. Our cat was diagnosed with chronic renal failure at the tender age of 4. The vet suggested that we put her down right then and there, since keeping her going would require reqular trips back for rehydration. The alternative, which he didn't encourage, was to get the kit you're talking about and do it ourselves.
And that's what we did. Every day or two June and Alex would lay her down on the ironing board and go to work. Alex got to be quite good at getting the needle down between the layers of her skin while June held her down. Later June took over needle duties and I became the orderly holding Pumpkin flat.
We even investigated having a kidney transplant and took her up to UC Davis but she turned out not to be a good candidate.
Anyway, we kept her going for another 2 and a half years, most of which were pleasant for her (except for the injections).
For a young cat, that was the right thing to do. I haven't had the experience of a very old cat, and I know you've got some hard thinking and feeling to do. You're lucky to have had her companionship all this time!
Take care. You've got lots of people empathizing with you.
Hi Bernie,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Sounds like you truly loved your cat. I have mixed feelings about going to all extremes, though I do understand your kitty was young.
I had to put a cat down a couple of years ago. She was an awesome cat and only 7 years old. She had sudden major breathing problems and I took her in. It ended up that she had fluid in her lungs and around the heart. The vet told me I could drain the fluids and see how much time she had after that. But eventually (could be a day or 9 years) she would have the same problem. I decided then to put her down because keeping her going in pain was only for my comfrot and I just couldn't do that.
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