[Panthera]

Amunda, our 11 year old cat is terminally ill. She has kidney failure, and has also been born with too small kidneys.

She has been a bit shabby all winter, very thin, and not as pretty in her fur, but the vet said that it wasn't anything wrong that he could see. This past weekend she went rapidly downhill, not eating, and peeing extreme amounts. My mother had ordered an appointment with the vet tomorrow, but during the day she just got worse, until she fell of the sofa and collapsed on the floor.

She was taken to a vet this afternoon, who said she had kidney failure. She is extremely ill, and have been given antibiotics and water under her skin today, and are going back in for a drip tomorrow. If she doesn't get better tomorrow, it's probably to late..

She has had kidney failure before, some years ago, and then she recovered after a day, but the doctor commented that she had way too small kidneys. He just sent her home, without any advice or special treatment, but the doctor said today that she should have been eating special kidney food. She has been eating food that was good for her tummy, but she should apparently not have had that, since it has too much fat in it.

We got Amunda about the same time as we moved to Bodo, when I was about 7, so she's been with me every step of the way. She has always been there when I've had ruff times.

We just have to cross our fingers and hope, she is old now, and hasn't eaten for many days, so we don't know how good the chances are..

[Melanie68]

I'm so sorry. It's hard to think you may lose a friend.

I hope the fluids help her feel better, maybe help stabilize her condition and help her get some appetite back.

[Flyboy]

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. Until recently, my family had two cats and a dog. The youngest of the two cats became quite ill and stopped eating. When we brought her into the vet, they opened her up and saw that she was covered in tumors so they put her down.

The older cat, who was everyone's favorite started showing similar signs. He became quite thin and weak and refused to eat as well. I was so close to him though, and cared so much about him that I refused to let my parents have him put to sleep. So I took care of him as best I could, tried buying as many different cat foods as possible in the hopes that I'd find something he liked - I even starting keeping a container of yummy leftovers to feed him. Sure enough, his condition got worse until one day, when I wasn't home, he made his way down to the basement for the first time in weeks (he had become to week to move between floors) and died, what was apparently, a very painful looking death.

My mother, who witnessed the whole thing, felt horrible that we had kept him alive longer than we maybe should have. We were selfish and wanted him to continue living so that we wouldn't have to be without him, but as a result he ended up suffering immensely, which made everyone feel quite crummy at the end of the day.

Our dog died a little over a year ago. She became incontinent and senile, and although she was physically more or less healthy and we all loved her a good deal, we walked her over the vet one night and had her put to sleep. It was a horrible decision to have to make, but in light of the previous incident, we felt in the end that it was probably the right one.

I don't know if this whole story really relates to what you are experiencing now, but perhaps there's something that you can get out of it. I guess that what I'm essentially trying to say is, try to make the right decision in the end for you and your pet, and if you have to, I'd suggest that you put his best interests ahead of your own. Then again though, every situation is different from the next, and I'm not trying to say that what happened with my family and our pets is in any way the same as you and yours.

[bulldog]

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. I wish your kitty the best. Maybe the fluid will help.

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

I too am sorry.

My gf lost her aged cat just a few weeks ago. It made me think about how my cat is 14 or so and how her time will come soon.

It's never easy losing a friend.

Speck

[Jelena]

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat Panthera.

[SoccerDude28]

So sorry about your cat

[SnorkleCat]

Get another opinion and dont give up. Because your cat has not eaten in a number of days she may also be suffering from hepatic lipidosis. Just something to think about. I think some vets are too quick to give up. I will never forget the time a vet suggested we have my 12 yr old cat put down because of acute liver failure; she is alive and well today and I am so thankful I did not listen to her.

[Tobbe]

I´m sorry to hear that Panthera...

[Intrepid Homoludens]

My heart goes out to you and Amunda, Panthera. Whatever happens, be grateful for each and every day you've been, and will be, gifted with her. Eleven years is such a long time to have been enriched with her presence in your life if you think about it.

You're very lucky. My Seal Point Siamese cat, Moss, had liver failure himself when he was only five years old, and died shortly after. The very last time I saw him alive was at the animal hospital. I held his head in my hand, I could barely recognize him. He seemed completely catatonic (no pun intended) until that one profound moment, when he craned his neck, looked up at me, and said, "Maeewooww...". I think that was his final farewell. Later that night, when I was at my ex's place, I finally had to make the decision to have him put to sleep. When I called the hospital at around 10:20, the nurse sounded like she was crying, and then she told me. Moss died about 20 minutes before. I thanked her and put the phone down, and looked at my ex and said, "Bastard beat me to it," while I tried to smile. He broke down in tears. I was destroyed but remained calm, eventually weeping myself to sleep.

That was over ten years ago and I still think about him these days - not with sadness, but with gratitude and a smile. He was - and in a way, still is - an incredible friend to me.

EDIT: Cripeys, that's what I get for writing this. My eyes welled up in tears again.

[Stoofa]

I'm sorry Panthera, it's really hard to find out a beloved pet is sick. Have you called the vet's office yet to find out what kind of food to feed her? There is a special kidney diet you can buy.

[rlpw]

I'm terribly sorry about Amunda kiddo. We are having similar problems with The family horse Baby who is 36 and suffering from arthritis. She keeps falling down and being unable to get up by herself.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Panthera, what's the current report on Amunda?

[Panthera]

Well, I don't know much, since I don't live there now, but at least she hasn't taken a turn for the worse..

I talked to my mother this morning and during the few minutes we spoke she said that she was doing okay, she ate a bit at the vet, and she was mjauing to her. She's going back in for more fluids today, and well probably know the more final result tomorrow, but at least her future is looking a bit brighter..

@Stoofa: The vet has given my mom some special kidney food, and has also told her what she should buy. We're aware that if she pulls through she has too eat special food the rest of her life, but that's a small price to pay. I only wish we knew before..

@Everyone: Thanks for all the kind words and stories. It always hurts when you loose a family member.. I still feel really guilty over what happened to my first pet, my rabbit, who died in her cage. If I'd just reacted sooner, if I'd just checked up on her when I first came home, if I'd just called the vet earlier, if I'd just.. etc. I was only ten, and home alone, but I still feel it was my fault she died..

@Flyboy: My mom and I talked about it, and we agreed that if it comes down to having to choose letting her live the rest of her life in pain or putting her down, we have to let her go. But I've also said that if there's a chance she'll live a good and painless life for 2 more months, she should be allowed to.
We've also agreed that she shall get the best treatment available, we won't put her to sleep just because we can't afford the bills, that's just horrible. She deserves all the help she can get.

More waiting I guess, but hopefully we'll see improvement tomorrow..

[samIamsad]

*hugs* (you AND the cat, you first, though. )

[SnorkleCat]

Any further news on Amunda? Keep us posted on how she's doing.

[MoriartyL]

Poor little Amunda! I hate it when cats get sick.

[stepurhan]

Hasn't looked in on this thread yet because it upset me (my cat had a funny turn before Christmas but seems to be OK now)

It's always hard when a pet you've had since you were young gets ill. Rest assured that my thoughts and prayers are with you both. Hope everything turns out for the best.

[Panthera]

She went in for fluids this morning (like I said before) and came back home around three. But she's still not completely awake because of the anaesthetics they had to use (there's no way she would have allowed a needle to stay in her fur..), so we can't really tell if she's getting any better, before my mother can she how she's behaving without any influence.

[Panthera]

According to my mom there isn't any change today, she actually seems a bit worse than she did yesterday, but it could also be because of frequent vet visits and anaesthetics..

Seems we'll just have to wait and see..

Edit: She's going back in tomorrow for another treatment. At least that means the vet thinks she has a chance of pulling through. She told my mother the first day that if the treatments didn't work she would recommended putting her down, so there must be some improvement..