im hoping that someone who knows about cats can help me find out whats wrong with her. my cat, sassy is 16 years old and she started loosing weight a couple of months ago. we wormed her maybe two weeks ago and a few days later, she was acting all lethargic and wouldnt get out of her basket, eat or drink. it slowly got worse and then the day before yesterday she really took a turn for the worse. she had been sleeping on my brothers bed and when i went to get her, i saw that she had peed all over the bed and was really unsteady when i put her down. weirdest of all, one of here pupils was massivly dilated and the other was just a slit! now she wont settle down, she just sits there (in a kennel we set up for her) or walks around in circles, wont eat or drink and every few minutes she makes a growling noise. also, shes salivating quite a bit. she ignores me for the most part, but she did seem to like it when i scratched her neck earlier. i assumed her time was coming and decided not to take her to the vet and add to her stess, but its been two days now and she seems the same. im just on the brink of taking her to the vet but theres a few things stopping me. first of all, for sassy, going to the vet would be the most stressfull, terrifying thing i could do to her. she hasnt been away from the house since she was a kitten to get her first shots and get spayed. she wont even go out the front door (only the back door and only to a small area of the yard on the sunniest summer days) and if i try to carry her out of the house, she freaks out. second, my family cant afford it. i could probably cover a checkup but id have to work my ass off for rent. if i decide a vet is the best thing, i will certainly take her though. third, she hasnt been vaccinated since she was a kitten. if this is distemper or something, i dont think i should bring her where there are other cats. i dont even know if the vet will see her. i really cant imagine how she could have gotten a virus though, she hasnt been outside since summer and we have no other cats. im just not sure if i should let her pass away like this (or if she even will?) in her home where she feels comfortable, or have her euthanized which would be less painful, but really scary. if anyone has anything to say about my moral, or medical dilemma, i would be grateful.
The hard facts are your cat is dying. Sounds like kidney failure. 16 is pretty old for a cat. If the suffering gets too bad, take her to the vet and have her put to sleep. Its really cheap. Like $10 or so. I had to do this for a cat I had for 13 years. I cried all the way home. Say your goodbyes. Do the right thing. x
Hi Wanderin......Have Had The Pleasure Of The Company Of Many Cats Over The Years... Currently Have 6.......Ranging In Age From 4 To Nearly 19...........Yes He Could Have Reached The Time To Say Goodbye.......But I Have The Slight Suspicion He May Have Had An Adverse Reaction To The Worming........This Has Happened To Me With Much Younger Cats Than Yours........Be Patient And Keep The Fluids Up To Him.... Thinking Of You.. Cheers Glen.
The simple truth from my experience is that she is more likely suffering from a thyroid dysfunction rather than kidney failure, since cats with renal failure will drink copious amounts of water and as a result excrete more than normal amounts of urine too. My Baby Kitty had all the same symptoms exactly as your Sassy when she was 18 years old and I simply refused to give up on her since I could tell from her eyes that she was not ready to go and was counting on me to help her out of a bad time. To calm her fears of visiting the vet office, my veterinarian gave me a tranquilizer tablet called "ace promazine" to give to her the morning before bringing her in for a T4 thyroid blood test and when she indicated positive for moderate thyroid failure she was prescribed a very inexpensive drug called methimasol which was the answer to my many prayers and eliminated all her symptoms. The amazing thing was that she was back to her old self in a matter of days and went back to her normal weight in about a month. In terms of Sassy's lack of current vaccinations, this should not be a problem either, since all good vets keep the exam rooms sanitized and she should only be outside a carrier in the room only for a short time while they give her an office visit/exam for ($42.50) and the T4 test is ($30.00) if you ask for thyroid test specially, due to your limited finances and prior to deciding if the more comprehensive and expensive full blood chemistry test is necessary if the T4 test indicates normal thyroid function. I am still grateful to this day that she (my Baby Kitty, better known as Bubbas) lived to be a ripe of age of 21 years being happy and healthy to the very end when she died in her sleep at home with me and my dogs. I send your Sassy and you many healing thoughts and hope I have helped you both in the best of ways!
thank you guys so much, that was really helpful toby stanley. i just found out that there is a local vet who makes house calls and im going to call them tomorrow (its the middle of the night now). i unexpectedly got paid today so i can afford a checkup and tests or euthanasia, whichever the vet thinks is the best choice. i think shes pretty far gone by now though, she had two siezures today this is so depressing. ive had her since i was three, she was my first pet. do you think it would be a good idea to manually feed her water? she wont drink on her own and shes really dehydrated.
When my cat got old and started peeing like that the vet said she had crystals in her urine and I had to start feeding her a food for old cats. I would really be concerned about the uneven pupils though. You could call around and talk to different vets. I have called every vet in the phone book until I found one that would not charge too much and let me make payments. If your kitty is not resting well you can get valarian root capsules at a health food store. My cats love them. You just break one open and put some in your hand. They will lick it right up. Its like kitty valium. It might make sassy more comfortable. Good luck. I hope she is ok.
oh, good idea with the valerian, i didnt think of that. ill pick some up tomorrow on my way to work. i have a valerian plant, but i wouldnt know how to give it to her so ill check the health food store.
If you make an effort to extend her life, do it for her and not for yourself. Just because we have the technology to extend life doesn't mean we should, you know? Sometimes to prolong life is to also prolong suffering. It sounds like she is very near the end. I'd make her comfortable as possible and let her go. Lots of soft petting. Especially around her face. x
I would try giving her low sodium chicken broth diluted with water in a small bowl and warmed to near body temperature. Also, you could use a dropper to place a few drops of the broth solution at a time on her tongue to get her started, but you want to be careful since she could aspirate or gag on liquid if she is forced to drink when she would rather not. The sooner you have a vet evaluate her the better, since they can give her subcutaneous fluids to stabilize her condition and only a thorough professional examination will let you know where she stands and how you should proceed. I do agree with xenon since his reasoning is valid, yet I also know that your Sassy as with all animals will let you know as when it is her time as only a loving guardian can sense. I'm hoping she makes a full recovery..
i heard that a cat not leaving when its about to go is the best honer it can give you. however its rare. i hope she either gets better or put her to sleep. sorry.
thanks for all the help and support. she passed away the other day very peacefully in my lap and is buried under a nice plum tree she liked. im glad we didnt get a vet to see her. i know everything happened like she would have wanted it.
I'm so sorry to hear about your Sassy passing, yet I know it is an indication of your true love for her that you were there for her until the end at home where she felt most comfortable. I have always had a problem with off-the-cuff euthanasia, especially if they are not in extreme duress or pain since they would rather leave this world in loving arms or a loving lap of the one they trust most and at the place they know of as home. I have known people who drop their dying animal off at a clinic, write a check and simply walk out the door, which is an act I will always fail to understand and despise.
