Should I put my baby down

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Lynnc1

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Hi, I'm new to the board. I've been agonizing for the last 5 days on what is the best thing to do for my 13 year old cat...Sage-Pierre. Sage has had more than his fill of health issues over the last 7 years..however the latest my vet says to put him to sleep. Let me outline what is going on. If there is anyway he can have a few more years of a happy life I'm willing to do it.

I rushed Sage to the vet the other day (Weds) because he was hiding and had stopped eating. He was very cold. The vet did a blood test, put him in the incubator and gave him some fluids. She called back a day later with the results of the test.
They are:
Creatine (spe) 11.2
PCVH2 23.6
PS 7.5
K+ 3.0
Glucose 187
White blood count 185
Neutro 17.0
Phosphoerous 33
Alt Spgt 437

I've been giving sage fluids and antibiotics. He won't eat and he is having difficulty walking. He is still going to the bathroom. However his weight is dangerously low...8 pounds (he is normally a 11 pound cat).

According to the doctor he has diabetes, kidney failure and hepatitis and a heart murmur.

Is there any hope for him. He has been my faithful campanion for 13 years and I hate to lose him. He is such a good baby. The vet has suggested that he be put down...however before I do that... The real question is what is best for Sage?
 
We have a number of people who are knowledgeable about lab tests and the complications your kitty has. Hopefully they will be along soon.

For me, it always came down to quality of life. If my cat wasn't enjoying the things that made his day joyful, I felt I was keeping him for me, not him. For Oliver, it was food. He relished his food and was so excited when there was an extra snack or treat. Once he didn't want to eat, I knew it was time.

Whatever choice you make, it will be the right one, because you will make it out of love.
 
Can you put in the normal ranges for those blood values? They sometimes differ from lab to lab.

I agree with Sue that it depends on quality of life and what the vet is telling you is wrong with her. I am so sorry you guys are going through this.
 
It depends on your circumstances. If you have the available time to care for him. If money isn't a problem. And you are intellectually able to understand the treatment issues for each condition then the people here have knowledge enough to help you.

"diabetes, kidney failure and hepatitis and a heart murmur"

You need to know what order the illnesses come by way of most dangerous to your kitty. Is kidney failure treatable? I have no idea. The diabetes is easy but if your cat's liver is compromised it makes it difficult to treat the diabetes. What does heart murmer mean?

I think we have to be careful that we aren't keeping our cats alive because we can't face the grieving process. I feel this with my cat and constantly talk about euthanising my cat to the vet. He always says "it's a bit too soon for that". We love our cat and feel that we could easily keep doing just one more thing to keep from losing him. Therefore I want to be mentally preparing for the tuff decision when it's time. For me, there is a limit to what I am prepared to do.

I also want to add that I don't want to detract from our quality of life too much by caring for a seriously ill cat. It has to be a balance.
 
It So hard to make that decision. Only you know when.
That Creatine and phos are really high - there is kidney failure, but I'm not an expert...
I have read here, about making THAT decision - better a day too soon than a day too late.
Do what your heart tells you, out of love for your Sage.
 
What does the heart murmur mean? A cardiologist should be brought in to do a thorough heart evaluation. There are supplements to get the ALT down as well as phosphate binders to get the phosphorous down. I question the diabetes diagnosis because vet stress can run it even higher than what it showed. Was there even glucose in the urine? As for the creat level......it is high and sub-Q's alone won't get it down. A 3 day max visit at the vet with an IV drip is what is needed to get it down enough so you can manage it at home with sub-Q fluids. That is where you need to know heart problem vs how much he can take in fluids. I have a civie who needed the IV fluid first and we got the creat down to where I do sub=Q's every day but she also has a heart problem so we started out with 40 mls, checked her blood pressure/heart after a week, upped it to 65, checked again, and now maintaining on 75 mls of fluid once a day and she will be rechecked again. It takes time, several vet visits, and also keeping an eye on the hematocrit level because IV fluids can lower it so usually the max amount of time doing IV fluids is 3 days. Talk with the vet, ask the questions, find out if there is anything more to the heart than the vet just saying a murmur.
 
Only you can make the decision for when it is time. To me, the creatinine (this is correct spelling) and phosphorous values are really bad indicate really degraded kidneys.
 
Making the decision to end their suffering is very difficult, but sometimes it is the best thing for them.

My Babibear had Kidney failure. They tried flushing his kidneys out for 3 days but his readings didnt improve enough.
Creatine was originally 8.2, Phosphorus was 10.9, Urea N was 130. It was VERY bad.
I brought him home and started him on Sub-Q fluids and fed him the prescription diet K/D food.
He ate very little, but enough. Then about 2 weeks later he stopped eating completely, became very wobbily and kept falling down. He still made it to the litter box (how I do not know).
Everytime he fell he would cry.
He cried all night long. It was heartbreaking.
We knew we had to end his suffering...

He was 11 yrs old and we had raised him from 3 days old.
He was not diabetic or have the other problems your cat has.

About 4 months before that, his sibling, Ginger was diabetic and had total kidney failure and probably other problems that were not diagnosed.
Her condition was even worse, after being treated at the ER, she still could not even sit up.
We ended her suffering immediately.

Lucky, age 15 has kidney disease, but it is not anywhere as bad as Babibears was. He is getting sub-q fluids and seems to be doing fine for now.
 
I have a cat that has many problems. At this point I don't believe she has started with Renal failure but I have been through renal failure with other cats. It can be very painful for them. How much kidney function does your cat have left? The kidneys have to be addresses ASP.

You must put yourself aside and think of what is best for your cat. Your cat will let you know. They love us, take care of us. It breaks are hearts when we know the time is soon. My cat isn't were your cat is but I toss and turn because I know it is coming. Not in the next few weeks but perhaps the next few months not sure.

I am working with a lady right now cleaning out her fathers house. I am in the antique business. Her daughter was diagnosed with a deadly cancer. She keeps asking me what she is going to do. Her heart is broken. I keep telling her it is okay to have a broken heart. It means we have something good in our life. It is okay to hurt like *ell because that only means that the quality of the love was good. So as much as it hurts you can be okay with the heart ache. Talk to your cat ask you cat what he wants. They do understand us and he will answer you. Please know it only hurts as much as it does because your cat is such a great gift to you. That no matter how much it hurts now it is only because you are lucky to have so much heart.

it is so hard to make the decision. each case is different. It sounds like your cat may be in pain that isn't going to be able to be fixed. Ask the vet straight out tell him to give you a no bones answer on the kidneys. The other stuff can be worked with around renal failure but you need to be able to get those numbers a lot better or the cat will be in a lot of pain.

Hope that makes sense. I will keep you and your cat in my good thoughts, Tracey
 
My initially questions would be much like everyone's here.
-What's the conditions in order of severity according to the vet?
-What's your treatment options if any?
-What's the cost of the treatments?
-What's the recovery going to be like?
-What are the possible future health issues associated with these current health problems?
-Is money and time a limiting factor?
-If money is limited how much are you willing to spend?
-Is your baby suffering?

I just had to ask myself these very same questions last week with my 11 yr old baby so I can understand the confusion you are feeling right now. $2700 later we found he had a hemorrhage in his brain and is home now recovering but this ordeal may have brought his diabetes back on. Luckily diabetes is easily treatable once you get the hang of it. I'm going to work over the summer as much as humanly possible (I'm a student) to pay off this credit debt. I don't regret it because I felt like I had to try everything within reason as long as he wasn't suffering and there was a chance of recovery. We were convinced at first we would have to put him down since no one could find what was wrong with him. Talk more with your vet if you are still unsure and come up with a plan for either scenario. This is what helped me.
*Hugs to you and your sweet baby*

Rachel & Bear
 
Thank you everyone for the information, understanding and encouragement. I had to do what was best for Sage-Pierre. He is 13. When I got him at the age of 6 months, he had hepatitis and an enlarge liver. I was told that he wouldn't live beyond the age of 5 (actually they said I would be lucky if he made it to 5). Well, he made it will past 5. We've battled urinary tract infections, IBS, heart murmur (yeah a hole in the heart..not diagnosed until he was 7 at the time that we did a penile enlargement on him), extreme projectile vomiting (pepcid ac worked well in settling his stomach), diabetes however the last go round..his kidneys were shutting down. This evening he had blood in his urine and his fecal matter. He could barely walk and he was in pain. I couldn't let him suffer and it was just time. As much as I continue to look for some hope, I just couldn't find it and my vet (who I've been with for 14 years..well she has never led me wrong on a cat). So as hard as it was for my guy and me...we took him in and held him til he left us. It's very sad, and I can't stop crying. However I do have memories and he was a very good loving cat. My knitting will never be the same without his help. Now I have to deal with my and Joe's (my guys) grief and Coco-Josette (his companions) loneliness. She's been refusing to eat and has been sleeping along side him the last couple of days. I got some pills to stimulate her appetite and Joe and I will spend extra time with her. I don't think I could handle losing two fur babies so close together. And at 16 she does have health issues.
 
I am so sorry that you lost your Sweet Sage. You gave him such good care for years and I am sure he knew how much you loved him. You gave him a great gift- freedom from pain.
 
Your story of loving Sage thru all the illness and everything, giving him and his sibling such a good life, caring sooo deeply for him and knitting together with him....tears. i think we all know what your feeling. they own a big part of our heart.
Fly Free Sage, and give your mama a sign sometime...that your waiting for her over the rainbow..on the other side.
((((hugs))))

Lori
 
I'm so sorry for your loss of Sage, but you gave him the final gift of love we mere humans have to to give our furry children,

Fly Free Sage,

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
 
So very sorry for your loss of Sage-Pierre. Fly free on angel wings, Sage Pierre. May you find comfort in your memories of your handsome fur boy.

Claudia
 
Oh man... I'm so sorry to read this. Sage was a lucky kitty to have found you and he still is. You gave him that final gift we all must face. Fly free Sage on the wings of angels fly free and land softly.
jeanne
 
I know how hard it is to witness our babies' declining health.
You did the right thing, he is free now and watching over you, until you meet again.

Fly Freeee little Sage. Run and play and jump!
 
Thank you everyone for your kind and caring thoughts. I really appreciate all the cyber hugs...it is needed. I know in time the grief will heal and I'll stop looking for him. The hardest right now is coming home...Sage was like a dog in that he was always there by the door to greet me. A little chirping meow, some purring and into my arms he'd go. I miss his sweet face. I appreciate all of your kindnesses. And I wish you will with you fur babies. I feel like I've made somefriends here so I'll continue to come onto the board.
 
Lynnc1 said:
I feel like I've made somefriends here so I'll continue to come onto the board.
Click to expand...

Please do stick around. You have experience to give.
And don't forget about the grief forum if you need it, you don't have to go thru it alone.
 
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