cat had jaundice - now liver failure?

Hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to read my thread.

Almost two months ago my cat came down with Jaundice - I'm not too familiar with all the details since I was away at school and my mother took care of her.

I come home for the summer and she was seemingly better until she started looking yellow again and had stopped eating. We take her to the vet and they put her on steroids to increase her appetite (again my facts may be wrong here, but they're not entirely relevant).

Anyway, a week has gone by and she has not eaten a single thing. She has lost a tremendous amount of weight and only stands up every so often to drink water. Recently I've noticed that she seemingly never even closes her eyes, she just lays there. Her breathing is heavy, but she doesn't sound like she is in pain. Picking her up, she will cry a little if you grab her near her liver.

I guess I'm just asking here if I should start preparing myself for the worst. My family / father in particular don't care much. He pretty much said there was more we could do but "she's just a cat". That drove me a little crazy since obviously he wouldn't be attached to something he had no part in taking care of, but I digress. I've sat with her and she just seems lifeless, yet then we pick her up and put her outside and she will stumble her way into the sunny part of the yard and lay back down. She really doesn't look like she is dying...just well, starving.

With my family unwilling to pay for medical treatment, I'm not sure what else I can do. I still try and feed her even though I pretty much know it's hopeless - she gets up and walks away from her food. For what it's worth, she is 10, maybe closer to 11 years old now. This is really my first and only pet so you could imagine how confused I am. I know cats get sick, but I just didn't expect it like this. My grandmother and girlfriends cats are all 14+ years old and healthy as can be.

Any help is much appreciated- thank you for reading.

Your cat is most likely dying from neglect. Sorry to be so blunt, but she needs medical attention.

What about your grandmother? If her cat is in good health, could she not help you? Ten years old is not old for a cat. You cannot just sit and do nothing. That is cruel.

If no one wants to help this poor thing and just sits there and says it's just a cat....well have her put to sleep to end her suffering.

She deserves better than she is getting.

Liver based diseases will cause jaundice type conditions and if not treated, she will most likely go into liver failure. The liver is a very sensitive organ, is not very forgiving, and diseases with it can be very difficult to treat.

If you and your family cannot afford to have her diagnosed and treated, based on your description, I'm very sorry to say that she is probably dieing. When a cat stops eating with liver issues, it is rare that they will recover. She may not even make it now, even with aggressive treatment.

I have to strongly encourage you to try to find the money to get her to a vet and have a diagnose made. If this is a simple issue that can be easily resolved with medication, you will kick yourself if you don't try. If it's a terminal illness, then at least you won't be guessing what is happening to her.

And if you cannot do this, hold her, love her, and make her time left with you happy times. And learn from this experience. I went thru a similar experience with a family pet as a child and I will not with hold vet care from a sick animal as an adult. Life's lessons can be very painful.

Originally Posted by farleyv

Your cat is most likely dying from neglect. Sorry to be so blunt, but she needs medical attention.

What about your grandmother? If her cat is in good health, could she not help you? Ten years old is not old for a cat. You cannot just sit and do nothing. That is cruel.

If no one wants to help this poor thing and just sits there and says it's just a cat....well have her put to sleep to end her suffering.

She deserves better than she is getting.

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I agree with everything you've said, but put yourself in my position. I'm already $90k in debt from college because my family cannot afford to send me to school. My dad is ageing and retired and my mother is trying to put herself through grad school. Then I come home for the summer and try to find a temporary job. I get interviewed two times, somehow, only to be dismissed when they ask if I plan on returning to school. Money isn't such an easy thing to come by these days. I agree, it's cruel - but there is really nothing I can do and that's what bothers me so much. I'm very attached to this cat, she's really the only thing that makes my temporary stays with my family somewhat bearable - I just fear it's already too late.

We have gotten her to the vet but they want to some other tests and procedures that my family wont / can't pay for. I'm not really sure which is more true, but I promise you I'm more infuriated with them than anyone else is.

Originally Posted by snips

I agree with everything you've said, but put yourself in my position. I'm already $90k in debt from college because my family cannot afford to send me to school. My dad is ageing and retired and my mother is trying to put herself through grad school. Then I come home for the summer and try to find a temporary job. I get interviewed two times, somehow, only to be dismissed when they ask if I plan on returning to school. Money isn't such an easy thing to come by these days. I agree, it's cruel - but there is really nothing I can do and that's what bothers me so much. I'm very attached to this cat, she's really the only thing that makes my temporary stays with my family somewhat bearable - I just fear it's already too late.

We have gotten her to the vet but they want to some other tests and procedures that my family wont / can't pay for.

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If you are at the end financially, then someone needs to have the common courtesy to put this cat to sleep. Not only is it sick and suffering. It is starving. Beg somebody to pay the bill to end the suffering for this cat.

That's the one thing my mother is planning to do - I was just exploring all possible options. I'm sure you understand it's not the easiest thing to accept. She still stands up to greet me even though it hurts her.

I hope you come to your hour of decision soon. I truly feel for you being in the middle of this.

I hope your sweet friend does not linger too long and that way, down the road, you can be sure in your heart you did the right thing.

God bless.

Thank you. It means a lot.

She has started crying every so often now. Not consistently but she'll whine once an hour or so it seems. I put her on my bed and she didn't make a sound for the longest time until recently.

She'll probably be taken to the vet tonight when my mother gets home.

It seems like she still has so much life left in her, she's just in pain and starving. That's the absolute worst part about this.

Nevermind, that happened a lot sooner than I expected.

Thanks for all your help.

Your little one is at peace with no pain.

So sorry it had to end the way it did.

God bless her at the bridge.