Hi. I haven’t been here for more than a year, I guess I got waylaid by Ravelry (and knitting). It’s good to see some names I remember (Jan in Cal of course… and others).
Our cat Paolo is just so sick. He has kidney disease and he’s gotten so skinny and he won’t move from one particular place on the rug, all day, all night at the same place. My DH and I have put down about 4 other cats I guess… but it does’t help! I lost my most cherished girl last summer when she walked out the door and didn’t come back. She was a Maine Coon and lots of people said they do that. (my former user name here was
Victoise, after her Toisie). She was light as a feather at the end.
anyhoo… I guess I’m really really needing to write these words down. We are leaving to drive to Florida on Sat from upstate NY. We have 2 other cats (young, brother & sister). I just know putting this sick
cat Paolo in the car for 3 days of driving and in and out of hotels…
would be horrible on him. We’ve actually delayed the trip 2 weeks waiting to see if he’d get better. He doesn’t want to be picked up. He vomits a lot. Anyhow, he’s going to the vet tomorrow and we’ll sort of let the vet decide I guess. I just feel so rotten that I’m going to do this to him. It takes a long time to die sometimes.
Thank you for letting me spill this out. :verysad: I don’t have anyone to talk about it to. cheers,
I am very sorry for the decision you may have to make!!! I hope your vet can find a way to make it as painless on kitty as he can on you too.
Have A Nice Trip!!
Don’t feel guilty. If he’s not moving around and enjoying himself, it’s probably time. Having the vet check him out first is a good idea, because there’s always the chance that he’s sick from something besides his kidneys, but most of the time…you know. If the vet tells you so too, it might help, because you won’t second-guess yourself.
I’m so sorry about your kitty, but I agree with Becky. It sounds like it’s time. The long drive and being in an unfamiliar environment might be too hard on him. Definitely talk to the vet though.
ETA: I’ve been through this tough decision twice in the last 5 yrs. It was hard, but I knew they were in pain or miserable and couldn’t tell me.
I’m sorry for you and Paolo. I’ve had to administer subcutaneous (Sub-Q) fluids to a couple of my cats who suffered from kidney failure, and there was the cat who hid it completely until he went terminal in one day…
It never gets easier, and it shouldn’t, IMHO. Each cat (dog) is worthy of our full consideration. But if Paolo isn’t moving around or eating, he isn’t feeling well. “Talk” to him one on one and see how things are with him. He may well tell you that he’s not enjoying life anymore.
My sympathies; this is never an easy decision. But maybe Paolo has something to say to you that will help…
Hi Jan! We’re going down for a month or so. My husband’s mother died on Dec 23 at the age of 100! and left her apt to us but … ha, they don’t allow pets! so we’re going to stay a month and take care of her things… it’s in Ft. Lauderdale. So looking forward to some warm weather, it was 15 yesterday and we were caught in a polar vortex driving home… my car spun out and I thought I was going to die. Yuk! Time to get away from this cold.
Aw, yes, I tried to talk to him this morning and he really wants to be left alone. I know why certain people don’t have pets, it’s really so hard. but they bring so much joy every day… Thanks for your words, they help…
Thanks Jan and everyone. It’s not exactly a happy subject so I appreciate your comments. My poor baby was put to sleep this afternoon. I couldn’t go. I stayed home and cried. I am mad and sad, but I figured it out, he was sick for 6 months or more, that’s a long time. Doctor found a tumor we didn’t know about and he said “he’s a shell, if you don’t do it today you’ll be back soon.” And the trip would’ve been horrible for him. Wow, it’s just so painful how… oh, you know it all. Thank you again!
So sorry! We had an awesome kitty for 18 years. For 17 of those years she was amazingly healthy. People who came over would say, “Haven’t you had that cat for a long time?” And then she started to pee in strange places and stopped grooming herself. The vet said it was kidney failure; as is common. We gave her low protein food for a time and she seemed OK, but then she started to cry at night. One morning she couldn’t walk, so I put her in the car and drove her to the vet and had her put down (nobody else in my family could stand to go with us) and it was really sad, like you say, because we had had her such a long time. Your kitty is so much happier now, though; running around in kitty heaven! Hugs to you!
We are so close to our pets. It’s never easy to have to put them down but it was the best thing to do for your kitty. It hurts so much. Very sorry for your troubles.
[COLOR=“DarkGreen”]Exactly what she said. Just keep remembering all the good times with kitty and maybe some day you can get another kitty to love you as much as you love it. Animals are angels in disguise!!![/COLOR]
Remember, cats hide illness. You didn’t know because he made sure you didn’t. Vets are pretty good at judging when an animal has had enough, and you know you did the right thing. This way, he didn’t have to go on the trip that would have been awful for him. (I can say this now: I was afraid you’d get started and need an emergency vet neither of you knew while you were on the road.)
I had to put my 18 year old cat to sleep about a year ago. He didn’t look or act sick, but had major kidney problems as well as what I am sure was diabetes at the end as he was always drinking and I was going through kitty litter like crazy.
My second cat I had to give away as my 2nd husband’s cat allergies were getting much worse ( as in needing inhalers worse) She too is now gone on to kitty heaven. Just went to sleep and didn’t wake up, according to the people who had her.
The older cat I’d had for most of the 18 years of his life, he was a “talker” and definitely a lap cat. He saw me through the loss of my first husband and always met me at the door when I came home from work.
The younger one was a very feisty, yet friendly cat and was about 9 when she past away this past fall.
I miss them both very much as they were family when I was single.
I can relate to all of these posts and know we are all just so blessed to have our pets. I am also a cat lover and have a little one who is somewhere between 18-20…not quite sure. I took her to the vet over a year ago thinking her time had come too…she had irritable bowel syndrome. The vet gave her a shot and I began feeding her duck in the can (I read on line that this can help). She appears to have no more symptoms of the IBS and I now can feed her other things. I am posting this about the diet in case anyone else has gone through something similar with their pet.
I am sorry for your loss and hope you can dwell on all the sweet memories of your precious kitty!
Just keep remembering all the good times with kitty and maybe some day you can get another kitty to love you as much as you love it. Animals are angels in disguise!!![/COLOR]