they say you'll know when it's time
[CW: cat illness, medical]
So, it's been quiet around here for the last three weeks or so. This is in part because of travel and schedule stuff, but also in part because January has been hellish for many people for many reasons.
One of the things that's been going on at my end of things has to do with my cat, Talia.
I noticed when I came back from TN after the holidays that although her pet sitters had taken very good care of her, there was just something that seemed off - she was more wobbly than usual, more sleepy than usual, more vocal, and even had lost some weight - and so I called the home-visit vet to come check her out.
That turned out to be a very good thing. She was in cardiac arrhythmia severe enough to have killed her if I'd left it alone for a few more days, or even if I'd tried to put her in the car to take her to the vet's office. She was too fragile even to draw blood from for testing - but given the symptoms, her history, and the fact that she was also somewhat dehydrated, we were able to figure out that she was likely low on potassium.
Potassium imbalance treatment is fairly simple: supplementation with powder (mixed into food) or gel (which she could lick from a spoon). So far, so good. Anyway, we figured out a medicine for her, which she was okay with taking mixed into her food, and on we went. She gained weight back, picked up a bit of energy, and I kept a close eye on her for follow-up purposes, given the possible underlying cause.
Which leads me to why I scheduled vet visit #2, which happened yesterday. Despite all the improvements, Talia is still very wobbly, trying to find the warmest possible places to sleep, and abnormally tired - sometimes so much so that taking the stairs up to my room in the evening is too much effort for her. I had a pretty good guess as to why, but wanted to confirm with the vet, and to see if there was any possible hope that what I feared was the case might not be.
Unfortunately, I was right. The kidney failure which first reared its head years ago is back, and has now progressed to its final stages. The only piece of good news is that it's one of the gentler endings possible. The vet gave me an IV bag of fluids (Ringer's lactate) for subcutaneous administration once per day, as long as Talia will tolerate the needle (so far, so good), to keep her comfortable as long as we can, and we talked over the necessary end-of-life options.
At this point, the vet thinks that we have a month left at most - and although Talia's beaten the odds before, and I'd love to be wrong about this, I think the vet's probably right. So when the time comes, I'll do what's right for her.
Talia's been my friend and companion now for over twenty years. The most important thing: she's not in pain, and won't be. Her quality of life will be good throughout; she's happy and well-fed and still playful and talkative.
I've already arranged one "kitty Facetime" call, last night, so that my sister could see her and coo a farewell to her. I know there are people reading this who also love this little cat a very great deal, and if any of you want a similar call, I'm happy to set it up. In any case, I thought y'all would want to know.
This entry was originally posted at http://silveraspen.dreamwidth.org/323205.html and mirrored to LJ. Please comment where you wish! (There are
comments currently posted at Dreamwidth.)
So, it's been quiet around here for the last three weeks or so. This is in part because of travel and schedule stuff, but also in part because January has been hellish for many people for many reasons.
One of the things that's been going on at my end of things has to do with my cat, Talia.
I noticed when I came back from TN after the holidays that although her pet sitters had taken very good care of her, there was just something that seemed off - she was more wobbly than usual, more sleepy than usual, more vocal, and even had lost some weight - and so I called the home-visit vet to come check her out.
That turned out to be a very good thing. She was in cardiac arrhythmia severe enough to have killed her if I'd left it alone for a few more days, or even if I'd tried to put her in the car to take her to the vet's office. She was too fragile even to draw blood from for testing - but given the symptoms, her history, and the fact that she was also somewhat dehydrated, we were able to figure out that she was likely low on potassium.
Potassium imbalance treatment is fairly simple: supplementation with powder (mixed into food) or gel (which she could lick from a spoon). So far, so good. Anyway, we figured out a medicine for her, which she was okay with taking mixed into her food, and on we went. She gained weight back, picked up a bit of energy, and I kept a close eye on her for follow-up purposes, given the possible underlying cause.
Which leads me to why I scheduled vet visit #2, which happened yesterday. Despite all the improvements, Talia is still very wobbly, trying to find the warmest possible places to sleep, and abnormally tired - sometimes so much so that taking the stairs up to my room in the evening is too much effort for her. I had a pretty good guess as to why, but wanted to confirm with the vet, and to see if there was any possible hope that what I feared was the case might not be.
Unfortunately, I was right. The kidney failure which first reared its head years ago is back, and has now progressed to its final stages. The only piece of good news is that it's one of the gentler endings possible. The vet gave me an IV bag of fluids (Ringer's lactate) for subcutaneous administration once per day, as long as Talia will tolerate the needle (so far, so good), to keep her comfortable as long as we can, and we talked over the necessary end-of-life options.
At this point, the vet thinks that we have a month left at most - and although Talia's beaten the odds before, and I'd love to be wrong about this, I think the vet's probably right. So when the time comes, I'll do what's right for her.
Talia's been my friend and companion now for over twenty years. The most important thing: she's not in pain, and won't be. Her quality of life will be good throughout; she's happy and well-fed and still playful and talkative.
I've already arranged one "kitty Facetime" call, last night, so that my sister could see her and coo a farewell to her. I know there are people reading this who also love this little cat a very great deal, and if any of you want a similar call, I'm happy to set it up. In any case, I thought y'all would want to know.
This entry was originally posted at http://silveraspen.dreamwidth.org/323205.html and mirrored to LJ. Please comment where you wish! (There are
comments currently posted at Dreamwidth.)