Diva Kersting, 2000-2013
We just got home from vacation on Monday night, picked the kids up from boarding on Tuesday afternoon. Diva seemed fine, the techs and the vet all said all three did well with Diva and Ra both being the most affectionate of the three.
I noticed Diva was a little bit quiet yesterday afternoon, but thought nothing of it given the excitement of the car ride home and getting reacclimated to being home. She decided to camp out either in our basket of clothes by the laundry room door or inside the open suitcase on the bed, and slept with us most of last night...
This morning she puked her breakfast and pooped on the guest bedroom floor. That was odd. Then she started acting funny. Not steady on her feet, a bit glassy eyed as the day went on, her "third" eyelids showing. Then she barely touched her lunch and wouldn't eat at all for early dinner despite having appetite stimulants on board as normal. Her gait got more and more unsteady. She was having more and more trouble getting in and out of the laundry basket she'd resumed camping out in. I started to worry. Of course, as luck would have it, Dr. B was out for the afternoon when I called and not due back in until 0930 on Thursday. As luck would also have it, I was not going to be home for a good chunk of the morning/early afternoon because I had an appointment in Kenosha scheduled for noon. The earliest I could get an appointment that would work was 1700 Thursday afternoon.
We didn't make it that far. Around 2000 last night we started hemming and hawing about taking her to the E-vet to make sure her kidneys weren't crashing again. Watching her struggle to get out of the laundry basket sealed it for us--we took her in around 2045.
Blood tests were run for blood sugar, her kidneys, her blood counts, and electrolytes. The news was terribly grim. All of her kidney values were off the charts and she was critically anemic. Here's the thing: in order to fix the kidney issues, more sub-cutaneous fluids are necessary, but sub-qs are highly counter indicated for anemia because they further dilute the blood counts. Absolute catch 22, as not doing anything, or enough for that matter, for both conditions could and would be fatal eventually. The only thing the Dr. Otto could recommend for us was to send us to a kidney specialist who would likely recommend a full body blood transfusion, very expensive meds to try and fix the anemia and more sub-q fluids which, given the severe anemia, would likely send her heart into failure and cause her to struggle to even breathe. It became a serious Quality of Life decision.
There was no question about it--we could not put Diva through likely painful treatments that would likely not work anyway. The decision was made to let her go over The Rainbow Bridge, to be with my parents again. It was both the easy and one of the most difficult decisions J and I have had to make...
Dr. Otto reassured us we were making the right decision as he'd seen this scenario play out before many a time. He let us know that he would administer a sedative that would put Diva to sleep before administering the final shot that would take her on her next journey. J and I both held her and sang her "Diva Dolly" song to her as we cried into her fur, stroking her and loving on her for the last time before she went to her final sleep. J held her while she got the sleepy shot, held her for a good, long time before we allowed Dr. Otto to administer the final shot. As she slipped away we made sure to pet her gently and tell her how much we loved her.
She went over The Rainbow Bridge around 2230. It was a peaceful passing, thank Bast. We lingered for about a half hour after that, crying and still petting her, stroking her ears as she loved so much in life.
Bast bless you, Diva. You were A Great Cat. I know you're healthy and whole again, hanging out with Mom and Dad, hogging Dad's lap when he's got better things to do (yeah, right, LOL) than hang out with you on his lap. Rest well, dearest Diva. You're leaving a big hole in our lives...and our hearts...
This entry was originally posted at http://lady-curmudgeon.dreamwidth.org/794082.html.
I noticed Diva was a little bit quiet yesterday afternoon, but thought nothing of it given the excitement of the car ride home and getting reacclimated to being home. She decided to camp out either in our basket of clothes by the laundry room door or inside the open suitcase on the bed, and slept with us most of last night...
This morning she puked her breakfast and pooped on the guest bedroom floor. That was odd. Then she started acting funny. Not steady on her feet, a bit glassy eyed as the day went on, her "third" eyelids showing. Then she barely touched her lunch and wouldn't eat at all for early dinner despite having appetite stimulants on board as normal. Her gait got more and more unsteady. She was having more and more trouble getting in and out of the laundry basket she'd resumed camping out in. I started to worry. Of course, as luck would have it, Dr. B was out for the afternoon when I called and not due back in until 0930 on Thursday. As luck would also have it, I was not going to be home for a good chunk of the morning/early afternoon because I had an appointment in Kenosha scheduled for noon. The earliest I could get an appointment that would work was 1700 Thursday afternoon.
We didn't make it that far. Around 2000 last night we started hemming and hawing about taking her to the E-vet to make sure her kidneys weren't crashing again. Watching her struggle to get out of the laundry basket sealed it for us--we took her in around 2045.
Blood tests were run for blood sugar, her kidneys, her blood counts, and electrolytes. The news was terribly grim. All of her kidney values were off the charts and she was critically anemic. Here's the thing: in order to fix the kidney issues, more sub-cutaneous fluids are necessary, but sub-qs are highly counter indicated for anemia because they further dilute the blood counts. Absolute catch 22, as not doing anything, or enough for that matter, for both conditions could and would be fatal eventually. The only thing the Dr. Otto could recommend for us was to send us to a kidney specialist who would likely recommend a full body blood transfusion, very expensive meds to try and fix the anemia and more sub-q fluids which, given the severe anemia, would likely send her heart into failure and cause her to struggle to even breathe. It became a serious Quality of Life decision.
There was no question about it--we could not put Diva through likely painful treatments that would likely not work anyway. The decision was made to let her go over The Rainbow Bridge, to be with my parents again. It was both the easy and one of the most difficult decisions J and I have had to make...
Dr. Otto reassured us we were making the right decision as he'd seen this scenario play out before many a time. He let us know that he would administer a sedative that would put Diva to sleep before administering the final shot that would take her on her next journey. J and I both held her and sang her "Diva Dolly" song to her as we cried into her fur, stroking her and loving on her for the last time before she went to her final sleep. J held her while she got the sleepy shot, held her for a good, long time before we allowed Dr. Otto to administer the final shot. As she slipped away we made sure to pet her gently and tell her how much we loved her.
She went over The Rainbow Bridge around 2230. It was a peaceful passing, thank Bast. We lingered for about a half hour after that, crying and still petting her, stroking her ears as she loved so much in life.
Bast bless you, Diva. You were A Great Cat. I know you're healthy and whole again, hanging out with Mom and Dad, hogging Dad's lap when he's got better things to do (yeah, right, LOL) than hang out with you on his lap. Rest well, dearest Diva. You're leaving a big hole in our lives...and our hearts...
This entry was originally posted at http://lady-curmudgeon.dreamwidth.org/794082.html.