- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
- Messages
- 6
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Like anyone who would join a cat forum, I love my cat, Pudding, a 13 year old Cymric, more than words can express. She's always been of fine health. She's abnormally needy for a cat, and follows me everywhere I am for as long as I'm home. Always been this way. It's one of the reasons that led us to where we are today.
On Friday the 14th, I brought her in to the vet because she just started ignoring food from me, which never happens. Pudding was diagnosed with fatty liver disease, and by 2 vet offices in the same day, I was told that if I don't put a feeding tube in her, she will die. I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave her in a strange place. And I won't put a 13 year old cat who never eats when I'm not home (doesn't matter if there's a pet sitter, I come home to an empty litter box) through the stress of a hospital admission. I'm also somewhat of a naturalist, and after seeing human medicine fail a number of people around me, with their final days hooked up to tubes and machines... Well, it's not something I want for myself, and so it's not something I want for my best friend. They said, "you can try force feeding, but it usually doesn't work". They send me home with a paper explaining the feeding tube, and again, how the cat will die if we don't go that route. So from that day, I've been having a total emotional breakdown, faced with 2 awful choices. I brought Pudding home to die.
For the last 10 days, I've gotten very little food in her though coaxing. She's drinking, She's had some heavy cream. I know cream is bad for her but she likes it and it's dense in calories so I didn't care. One day about a week ago I got her to eat a slice of ham, but that was really the last she ate for me. I watched her get weaker. I asked the vet for something for pain if she starts hurting. They told me she already is and is hiding it. So I got some buprenex and gave her her first dose last night. Well, it made her a little wired, but the upshot to me seemed that if she's now running around the house at random intervals, she probably isn't in too much pain.
Like I said earlier, I've been overcome with grief because of this. Completely a mess. Not doing what I need to do for my cat because I didn't think there were any options. I've just held her and held her for hours at a time. Changing food bowls she doesn't eat from. I work from home, so at least I can be here. Today as she sat on my lap, overcome with tears and a refusal to let go, I googled force feeding, and it seems people have a pretty high degree of success. And now my emotions have gone from "I just can't believe she's going to die" to "I can't believe I could have been helping her, and haven't done so yet, and now it's probably too late". Nobody explained what it was to us and it sounded so awful to forcefeed an animal! I had all these visions of it making her sick and her hating me in her final days and it not helping.
Today I got 12 cans of AD from the vet. I'm going slow with the syringe feeding. She hates it. I've done it twice today. 6ml a time, per someone else's schedule on this site. She's now 7 lbs, is usually 10. It's so hard to tell she lost weight before we took her to the vet because she's a long hair and is always a big puff regardless of weight. The food goes everywhere. I think most of it gets in, but I don't know if it's enough at this point. She didn't throw up. Maybe too little too late. She still drinks water, she still gets up on the couch, she's still mobile, and she has enough energy to fight the syringe with every ounce of her being.
I'm a wreck. Next feeding is at 6. Some encouragement please!
On Friday the 14th, I brought her in to the vet because she just started ignoring food from me, which never happens. Pudding was diagnosed with fatty liver disease, and by 2 vet offices in the same day, I was told that if I don't put a feeding tube in her, she will die. I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave her in a strange place. And I won't put a 13 year old cat who never eats when I'm not home (doesn't matter if there's a pet sitter, I come home to an empty litter box) through the stress of a hospital admission. I'm also somewhat of a naturalist, and after seeing human medicine fail a number of people around me, with their final days hooked up to tubes and machines... Well, it's not something I want for myself, and so it's not something I want for my best friend. They said, "you can try force feeding, but it usually doesn't work". They send me home with a paper explaining the feeding tube, and again, how the cat will die if we don't go that route. So from that day, I've been having a total emotional breakdown, faced with 2 awful choices. I brought Pudding home to die.
For the last 10 days, I've gotten very little food in her though coaxing. She's drinking, She's had some heavy cream. I know cream is bad for her but she likes it and it's dense in calories so I didn't care. One day about a week ago I got her to eat a slice of ham, but that was really the last she ate for me. I watched her get weaker. I asked the vet for something for pain if she starts hurting. They told me she already is and is hiding it. So I got some buprenex and gave her her first dose last night. Well, it made her a little wired, but the upshot to me seemed that if she's now running around the house at random intervals, she probably isn't in too much pain.
Like I said earlier, I've been overcome with grief because of this. Completely a mess. Not doing what I need to do for my cat because I didn't think there were any options. I've just held her and held her for hours at a time. Changing food bowls she doesn't eat from. I work from home, so at least I can be here. Today as she sat on my lap, overcome with tears and a refusal to let go, I googled force feeding, and it seems people have a pretty high degree of success. And now my emotions have gone from "I just can't believe she's going to die" to "I can't believe I could have been helping her, and haven't done so yet, and now it's probably too late". Nobody explained what it was to us and it sounded so awful to forcefeed an animal! I had all these visions of it making her sick and her hating me in her final days and it not helping.
Today I got 12 cans of AD from the vet. I'm going slow with the syringe feeding. She hates it. I've done it twice today. 6ml a time, per someone else's schedule on this site. She's now 7 lbs, is usually 10. It's so hard to tell she lost weight before we took her to the vet because she's a long hair and is always a big puff regardless of weight. The food goes everywhere. I think most of it gets in, but I don't know if it's enough at this point. She didn't throw up. Maybe too little too late. She still drinks water, she still gets up on the couch, she's still mobile, and she has enough energy to fight the syringe with every ounce of her being.
I'm a wreck. Next feeding is at 6. Some encouragement please!
Many 
