Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My cat, Tiki, is almost 20 yrs old. For the past 4 yrs or so, she has had Upper Resp. issues. In the past 6-8 months, her kidneys have gone downhill.

I have done everything I can, including spoon feeding her and giving her IV fluids. They did help for awhile but now that downward slide is happening quickly.

I have come to the conclusion that I will have to have her put to sleep b/c at this point keeping her alive is selfish. She is obviously not enjoying any semblance of a quality life.

I would like prayers for Tiki and for me. For helping me to be able to go through with my decision to end her suffering. For keeping her confortable until that final trip to the vet.

Thank You....Heather

{{{{{Heather}}}}}

I am so sorry about what you and Tiki are going through right now. I know from experience how difficult kidney disease is to deal with. Kind of like an emotional roller coaster.

There is nothing harder than losing a precious baby. I try to look at euthanasia as a final gift we give our kitties when there is nothing else that can be done.

I will be keeping you and your precious Tiki in my prayers and sending Glow that she will be as comfortable as possible until you take her in.

Please let me know if I can help with anything. We have Pet Loss chats every night if you are interested, and I have a collection of grief sites that have helped me.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thanks for your thoughts. I am bringing my friend to the vet today. My plans had been to wait for the weekend, but I think that would only be a disservice to her.

My mother is trying to be helpful, but is actually making it harder. She keeps saying things like "maybe she needs to be hydrated more...maybe she needs potassium". I'm sure all of those things are true, but I really think it's only going to delay the inevitable. After all, I have been giving her fluids and feeding her by mouth for some time now. Forcing more food into her, or putting more needles into her....it will only lessen the quality of life that she does have (which is pretty low to begin with).

My mom had a cat who was in the final stages of Kidney Disease. She tried the SubQ Fluids in order to help him. When he did die, he ended up having convulsions. She said that if she had to do it again, she would have had him put to sleep as sooon as it was obvious he was going downhill.

I will definitely try to get into a Pet Loss chat tonight. I will need it!