My Cat Is In Bad Shape

My cat Shiloh, has dropped an amazing amount of weight this year and has stopped grooming himself (probably from arthritis in his hips). About a month ago, he caught a cold. We took him to a vet but he was almost recovered so we asked about his hips and my mom was concerned that he had diarrhea. They gave him a shot for the former and a stool softener for the latter. They also wanted to do a bunch of blood work and x-rays but we couldn't afford it. He seemed to be better for about a week and Saturday night when we came back from my step-sister's wedding he was doing fairly well. I fed him and gave him his medicine and the next thing I know he's vomiting on the kitchen floor. When he was done he could barely walk and collapsed just a few feet away. He's been like that ever since. He eats and drinks a little here and there but can't keep a lot of it down. He stumbles around and collapses many times throughout the day and keeps himself hidden away most of the time. He also has trouble using the litter box. He hasn't improved at all since that night. We think he might of had a stroke which would explain his behavior. My mom will schedule a vet appointment, but there's probably not much that can be done and we can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars for treatments that will only give him a few more months.

Apart from whatever happens at the vet, the best think I can do is spend some time with him and wait until he's ready to go. I've kind of prepared myself for this day, so while I am sad it's not affecting me that much (apart hating to see him in this condition). However, he's here all day with my mom and I know it's hitting her pretty hard (even if he does just see her as a food dispenser). He's had 13 years of being relatively healthy and happy so if his time is up I'm happy to let him go.

Just comfort him and make sure the time he has remaining is pleasant as possible.

My cat is 15 years old so I know that one of these days I will be facing the same situation.

S.D. wrote:

Just comfort him and make sure the time he has remaining is pleasant as possible.  

My cat is 15 years old so I know that one of these days I will be facing the same situation.

Yeah, that's really the best we can do. We've set down pillows in the places he retreats to.

Thirteen and fourteen seem to be the "jinx years".  I've had to put one cat down at 13 because of kidney failure and last December I had to put Godiva down at 14 because of cancer.  Tux turned 14 this past May and now he's completely insulin dependent; two shots, twice a day.

So if you can't afford any kind of treatment for your cat (and it sounds like there probably really isn't one anyway) I think the most humane thing to do is see him off to the "Rainbow Bridge".   He'll find lots of friends waiting for him there.  I'll tell Vixen and Godiva to look for him.

Sorry to hear. I hope you can spend some time with him.

Sorry to hear. Our dear Kitteh passed away when she was 15. That's a pretty good run for a cat.

It's rough seeing a beloved pet go. Our cat Simba lived to be 18. He was a great cat and the best one I've ever had. At the end there, he just got gradually worse. Sadly we had to cage him because he was losing his continence. One morning I got up for work and found he had passed in his sleep. At least, he wasn't in any pain. Sorry to see you have to go through this.

My wife's cousin's dog is dying of cancer. They say she might not make it through the night. I know it can be tough if you're really attached to your pet. It's crazy and probably wrong somehow but a close companion like your own pet dying can feel worse than a distant relative you hardly knew passing away.

Lari wrote:

My wife's cousin's dog is dying of cancer. They say she might not make it through the night. I know it can be tough if you're really attached to your pet. It's crazy and probably wrong somehow but a close companion like your own pet dying can feel worse than a distant relative you hardly knew passing away.

It's not crazy to me.

I see my pets 24/7 for their entire lives; I see my parents about once every 3 or 4 years.  I think it's perfectly natural to miss a pet you've lived with for a long time more than a human relative you only see very occasionally.

Well, the vet said his quality of life is very low so we're going to have him put to sleep Friday afternoon (I'm taking a half day of vacation). Right now he's doing nothing but sleeping. They gave him some supplement shots to get him through the next few days.

I'm sorry to hear that DB but I think you're doing the right thing.  It's all about "quality of life".  At least Shiloh is sleeping; that mean he's comfortable.  But when it comes to a pet just "existing" instead of enjoying life, I think it's time.  At least that's always been my guideline...

A good guideline to have . I actually was thinking about doing this yesterday, but wanted to wait and see what the vet would say.

Tell Shiloh to look for a skinny, little brown cat named Godiva at the Rainbow Bridge.  She has such a mothering instinct that I'm sure she can show him the ropes of the place.

Sorry to hear that DB. But I guess it's just for the best.

And yes I know all the "Rainbow Bridge" stuff is probably just a mythos made up for those of us who love animals but you know what?  If it isn't true, I'm not sure I want to go to "Heaven".  If the pets I've loved and lost aren't there then I don't know that I want to be either.

We had two old cats. One lived to be 20. It was hard to put him down but he was ready. I told my wife "I have had this cat longer than you". Before we got married he was an outdoor car and got hit by a car. My brother paid for the surgery he needed. When I got married I took him with me and we made him an indoor cat. He was a great cat and very friendly. We had him put to sleep and I buried him in the backyard. We told our daughter before school what was going to happen and that we would go outside when she got home from school to view his grave. I remember her saying "this is so sad".

We had two other cats at that time but one was a kitten. The other old cat was a callico and she lived to be about 16. She started losing lots of weight and could no longer jump on the couch. She eventually died at home but she wasn't alone we were with her when she passed. The hardest part for me is when she died the kids were home and they wanted to watch me bury her. I'll never do that again because I think them watching me throw dirt on her upset them greatly (and she was covered up, we wrapped her in an old beach towel so they didn't have to actually see her.

Our "third" cat is now the only one and he is 8 years old now.

On July 4th I was playing ball with our Jack Russell terrier. He is 14 now. Still feisty as ever but he tires more easily. When he brought the ball back to me I noticed him bleeding from his abdomen. Upon inspection he had a huge growth that burst open, a little bigger than a quarter. The odd thing was is that he seemed to be in no pain whatsoever, he just licked the sore. So we looked it up on line and saw where people had the same thing happen with the same results -- dog seemed to be in no pain but licked the wound. We kept an eye on him and took him to the vet on Monday and the vet said it would have to be removed. I expected the worst and prepared the wife and kids that he may not be coming home. Luckily they removed the growth and he is back to his old self. He had to wear a cone on his head for 2 weeks and he hated it. Cost around $300 for the surgery and they wanted to send off the cyst for testing for another 100 but I told them no. After all, if it is cancer I can't do anything about it anyway.

I know the time will come soon when it will be time to put him down. For this reason I am almost tired of having pets.

Well, we put Shiloh to rest about an hour and a half ago. My mother was effected more than me, but that's probably because she had him for only few years while my time went over 12. I'm sad and I'm going to miss him greatly, but keeping him alive any longer would have just been for us. He would have become incontinent before finally withering away. He had barely the strength to walk to his water bowl and back so we knew it was time. On the short trip and while we waited for the vet he tried to fidget and be nervous but that only lasted seconds until he collapsed from exhaustion. However, it's over now and he's no longer suffering. The hardest part will be on my vacation Tuesday and Wednesday because I will have the house to myself. Every time I was by myself (apart from when I drove the truck) he was always there. That's the same thing that my mom will go through as she's home all day and had his presence (even though she was just a food dispenser for her ). I told her that as soon as she's ready, we can get another cat. I feel bad that I'm thinking of another cat this soon, but it will help her to have someone there to bond with.

As for me, I didn't get but a few hours of sleep last night anticipating this event so it's off to bed with me. Thanks for condolences guys!

We "kept" a stray cat for over 8 years in our backyard. Although it never let us get close to it, it was there everyday looking into the house for food. Of course we fed it everyday with real cat food and it was just an opportunistic cat that must of had some bad experience with people as a kitten, but seeing it suffer the last two weeks of its life last year in our backyard and how quickly it deteriorated, we were relieved it had passed away in its sleep. Just remember the good memories and realize it's the nature of these creatures to live as long as they do.

Sorry about your cat, DallasBlack.

Required Fields wrote:

Sorry about your cat, DallasBlack.

Thanks! Still expect him to be around every corner.

Sorry to hear about your loss, man. Once the grieving part is over with you will have nothing but great memories to look back on. Hang tough.

Stender wrote:

Sorry to hear about your loss, man. Once the grieving part is over with you will have nothing but great memories to look back on. Hang tough.

Thanks!

Man it is fn tough to lose a pet especially a cat. My condolences - I know I am a little late though - I just noticed your new avatar and sig on another thread.

Thelemech wrote:

Man it is fn tough to lose a pet especially a cat. My condolences - I know I am a little late though - I just noticed your new avatar and sig on another thread.

Appreciate it man!