(Update #26) Scully is sick

[DQTimnehs]

I came home from work today to find my cat, Scully, acting a bit off, lying on the kitchen floor under the table. It just didn't seem right as she would usually be on carpet. I waited for her to get up and sure enough, she was unsteady & weak. Not again! This happened 3 years ago. Back then I took her to the emergency hospital where they kept her a couple of days on IV fluids, gave thiamine, lots of tests. 2nd day she didn't recognize me, 3rd day much, much better & came home. She had been in kidney failure but I forgot that part & thought it was a thiamine deficiency from not eating (due to a sore tooth which she later lost). She has seemed fine since except that lately she has lost some weight & has been throwing up more than usual. She is going on 18 years and for the 16 I've had her she has thrown up regularly, less so on Eukanuba Sensitive Stomach. Lately has been a bit more but not as much as in the past. She has been very active, running around, chasing her tail, playing with a new toy. Until today. Yesterday, I changed her dish to put hers through the dishwasher & she didn't seem to want to eat out of the new. So when I got home, I wet some of her dry food. She drank the juice & ate a few pieces. Then I took her to the vet. The vet looked at her history and examined her & thought it was likely kidney failure again. The most common ailment in older cats. Wanted to do blood tests ($170) and if kidney, a couple of days in hospital on IV fluids ($500+) which he didn't have much hope of working at her age. Other option - sub q fluids and thiamine, which will either buy me time to get used to the idea that she is going or be a miracle cure.
She was snuggled with me on the bed (she jumped up herself but barely made it as she is shaky) but wanted down after a bit (just as well as she would have fallen on her face if doing it without help). She is now sleeping beside the bed on the carpet.
My boss was kind enough to let me work from home tomorrow to keep an eye on her & try to get her to eat & drink. I hope she improves but she really hasn't eaten much to speak of, so am trying to prepare myself for the worst.
Healing thoughts are welcome.

 

[Macawnutz]

Im sorry no advice, she is beautiful. Sending prayers for you and her!

 

[April]

She's beautiful,sending lots of healing thoughts and prayers.

 

[Mythreeiggys]

 

[suileeka]

 

[Milo]

I'm so sorry

Have you tried syringe feeding her at all to help make sure she doesn't get dehydrated? How do her gums look? Do you know what blood tests the vet wanted to run? A mini chem (could also be called a chem 10) should be able to check her kidney functions. I know the full chem is around $56 where I work, but I'm not familiar with costs in Canada.

I'm so so sorry that you're faced with this sort of decision, I don't think anyone is ever truly ready. She is very lucky to have you looking out for her

 

[Love My Zons]

 

[Tangle Elf]

What you said about the decayed tooth the first time her kidneys were failing made me think of this. Feline Dental Disease | Dr. Arnold Plotnick | Feline Articles Did the vet look at her teeth? If it was me, I'd opt for the blood tests. If it is her kidneys, you can discuss options then. If it isn't, it may tell you what it is and it could be something more treatable. If they won't be able to improve her quality of life and start grasping at straws, it's probably time to let her go peacefully. I'm so sorry you're going through this with your kitty. She is beautiful. She's like my Ashley, but lilac.

 

[Coco's Momma]

She's stunningly gorgeous! Healing thoughts coming your way!

 

[DQTimnehs]

I got her to drink more of the "gravy" from wetting her food when we got home. She isn't dehydrated. The vet tested her & showed me how to make sure she wasn't. He did give her sub-cutaneous fluids so she should be ok for a bit. She's purring now, lying beside me on the bed again although she couldn't make it up again this time by herself.
I always suspected kidney problems as she was always a heavy (water) drinker. Because of this, I was hesitant to have her teeth cleaned as the anesthesia is dangerous for cats with kidney problems. I didn't think it was worth the risk. Also, when I had my other cat done, she was sick for about a week afterwards and had to be secluded so the others wouldn't pick on her.

 

[jeme3]

I have an 18 and a half year old cat whose kidneys have been bad for a few years. His sister/litter mate passed away at 15 due to kidney failure. I also had a cat many years ago who had kidney failure and I kept her going for 7 years.

I have done sub-q fluids, special diets, medications and all sorts of things.

For Sass, the big old guy I have now, we have worked out a system that has been keeping him going pretty well.

After a lot of research and reading, I concluded that the big thing with kidney failure is they just don't drink enough water to adequately move everything through, and too much protein in the diet is hard on kidneys.

So, Sass gets a half can of wet Science Diet mature formula (chicken or turkey, the beef I ruled out, can't remember why) mixed with an equal amount of water three times a day.

As long as we stick to that, he doesn't throw up unless he gets stressed (my daughters chihuahua likes to torment him from time to time), and he has a good, stable urine output, and one healthy poop a day.

He gets a blood test once a year and he's been very stable.

Ask your vet if there is an option of just checking kidney function, since there is a good reason to suspect that could be the problem. A couple rounds of sub-q fluids (you can learn to do it yourself at home, it's not hard) might perk her up enough to work on the diet aspects and shouldn't be too expensive. Or talk to another doctor and see what they would charge.

If you aren't able to spend the money on that much, it would probably be better to put her down. Apparently, as the kidney disease progresses, they feel horrible and get very painful sores in their mouth and throat. 18 years is a good long life for a cat.

So sorry you are going through this. I know the day I have to say goodbye to Sass is coming and I dread it.

 

[DQTimnehs]

Well, Scully drinks a LOT! I used to leave the tap running for her & she would drink for half an hour straight! She will drink until she throws up sometimes. Almost every food makes her throw up except the Eukanuba Sensitive Stomach. She was on a prescription diet from the vet for sensitive stomach but she could not keep that down, threw up every time and lost weight. Every canned food I have tried she throws up. She also eats anything she can find (cat hair, feathers, any kind of plant or grass) to make herself throw up. I swear she likes to. Pogo used to yell at her "Scully!" when she would start to go, often in time for me to run & get newspaper under her.

 

[mariec]

I am so, so sorry. I hope she gets well for you.

 

[suileeka]

I don't know if you've seen it before, but Felinecrf.org is the best site out there on CRF in cats. It is a wonderful resource.

 

[Lauren and Jack]

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Prayers and good thoughts coming

 

[Birdiemarie]

Jennifer, I'm so sorry your beautiful Scully is not doing well. We have an elderly kitty also and it's hard to watch them decline. I am keeping Scully in my prayers.

 

[DQTimnehs]

I thought I would be putting her down today, especially since this morning she wouldn't drink. I squirted a bit of water & a bit of Gatorade in her mouth. She later drank quite a bit of cat food "gravy", then ate some of the food twice and then some ground chicken. Not large quantities but it's something. She has been following me up and down the stairs even though down is a bit awkward for her. She lays beside me & she made it up on the bed again in 2 steps. Wish I had those pet stairs now. Last night I kept waking up as I left the light on for her and was also worried about her falling or jumping off the bed. Tonight I left a light on in the bathroom and a night light in the hall. I'm hoping for improvement. At least she didn't go downhill, and is still eating & drinking.
Thanks for all the support & info!

 

[mariec]

When my moms cat was really sick and wouldn't drink the vet said tuna fish water would entice her and that did work like a charm.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Also if she is stuffed up at all or for whatever reason can't smell things too well she won't eat. Cats have to smell their food in order to eat it so offering smelly soft food (like the tuna water Marie mentioned) may entice her to eat as well.