So now we’re at an impasse. It cost $500 to suture him but he won’t leave his tail alone so there is no way it is going to heal. Regardless even if we made it through the next 14 days the vet said it was likely we’d need to amputate his tail due to a lack of blood flow to the impacted area. We’re going to have to go back in and either ask to amputate immediately or put him down.
To complicate things while inserting a tube into his mouth they found that the back of his mouth and into his throat is full of ulcers so she did a culture swab ($82) and the blood work given to him to determine if his organs could handle the anesthesia came back indicating he has Kidney Disease. As well they also detected a heart murmur.I don’t even know what to do!
We have such a long history with the Frankenmonster. He has never been well adjusted and our life with him has been filled with turmoil. My mother is terrified of him because he once ripped my leg to shreds after seeing another cat on the back deck. I looked like a red and white zebra. It was awful. But I forgave him and I'm not afraid of him. Today I was but he's not well.
Shortly after this he started marking. We didn't know for a long time and that resulted in a very bad carpet spot. I did everything to get it out but it was a lost cause. This was one of the reasons we moved out of our old place. I didn't want to bring him to the new one but we did and he started marking again. We ended up putting him on an anti-anxiety medicine that has (for the most part) worked. He still does it but not nearly as often. This issue has resulted in the majority of the fights between D and I. There have been many many times when I didn't think I could handle him.
The rest of the fights are about my other cat. The two cats get along for the most part but It gets so bad in the winter that we normally need to separate them. We've been putting up with their winter wars for 9 winters now! Since Clair is using our nursery as her safe haven I've really been harping about the situation a lot. 1) I want to use that room and 2) it makes me sick that our child's room has a cat litter in it right now. The ironic thing is that he is amazing with the children. Of all the things this is what I'd always worried about and it seems it's the one thing he's been awesome with.
So, What do we do? My mother adamantly wants him put down. She knows the whole history and has been on the receiving end of many teary Frank phone calls. She knows our stress but I also have begged her to understand that i love him so much. I've already had one pet put down prematurely and I don't know if emotionally I can handle another. However, the Vet and I did not discuss Kidney Disease or the impact of a Heart Murmur. She was much more concerned that he wasn't coming out of anesthesia normally. I've since visited Dr. google and the prognosis does not look good.
From Dr. Google
Eventually the cat's attempts to compensate for the failure of its kidneys will become insufficient. As the disease gets more severe, many serious complications may result. Ulcers in the mouth and stomach, anemia, and urinary tract infections are common occurrences among cats with chronic kidney failure.
The long-term prognosis for chronic kidney failure is poor since the disease is progressive and irreversible.
Similar things popped up for Heart Murmur including the possiblity of sudden death. What should I do? Should I put him through tail amputation knowning worse things are coming? Will the amputation be any different than the suturing experience? Maybe he has lost his mind and he'll continue to act out. I just don't know. It's amazing what can happen in just a day.
I'm sorry this is all going on. It's so hard when they're in pain and confused and you don't know what you can do to help them. Personally, from reading everything, I think I would put him to sleep. I've had to put 2 of our pets to sleep prematurely and it's not fun. One was our cat Joey (almost 3) who had chronic constipation and meds and clearing him out were not working. The other was our 3 year old Golden Retriever, Charlie. He had cancer and died in less than 2 weeks from the diagnosis as he became listless.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, it's the most humane thing you can do for them, even if it's the hardest for you. What quality of life is he having? What quality of life are you having? He has an incurable condition and it's only going to get worse. Not to mention the amputation would require him being knocked out again which is body doesn't seem to handle well at all.
{{{hugs}}} and lots of good luck as you make a very tough decision.
I agree with Stacey. He's obviously not happy and showing signs that his quality of life is diminishing. As sad as it is and as hard as it can be he will thank you for letting him go in a peaceful way.
ReplyDeleteI, personally, don't believe in tests and procedures when you already know if your heart what's right.