My buddy is nearing the end

Hello all,

This is my first post. I'm both a dog and cat lover and grew up with both. My wife and I have only had cats for the last 17 yrs.

We currently have 3. My favorite, Moxie. is a 16 1/2 yr old orange/white tabby. He's a "cling-on" who follows me around and has owned me for all these years. Well, he is not doing to good these days.

He's been on the decline for the last few months. I had many tests done including a thyroid profile. It turns out he's severely anemic. The vet said it's very bad. She prescribed liquid iron. He has all the symptoms of old age ( loss of muscle mass, etc) I'm monitoring him closely but I know the inevitable is getting near. He's still eating, but he sleeps almost all the time, and when he's not, he seems like a listless old man with dementia and very little zest for life. He has "paradoxical breathing", according to the vet (common with anemia). He also has swelling in his lower body while being very scrawny across his neck, chest and shoulders. Also, his front legs have started to show some swelling.

Obviously, I love my cat and don't want him to suffer. With this condition, I feel it's hard to tell whether he is suffering or not. I fully expect him to deteriorate more over time. I don't know how long I should allow that. I want to do the appropriate thing at the appropriate time. I guess I'm somewhat conflicted. I've resolved myself to him eventually dying but don't know how long I should wait for it to happen naturally versus ending his "possible" suffering sooner. Thanks for reading and any feedback is appreciated.

Randall

Hi Randall.. Good to see you on The Cat Site..

I'm sorry, though about the circumstances.. it is always such a difficult time, and Moxie has been with you for so long.

I always think that we are blessed to be able to end the suffering of our cat companions... it's just a matter of knowing the moment, as you're finding out.  But I do think we have an idea of it... I think you'll know when the time is right.

The vet will give you some idea of how he's going and you could also take guidance from her.

Lots of good thoughts to you and Moxie.. Let us know how you're going...

Thanks Mani. Hope life is treating you & yours well "Down Under".
 

Hi

I'm so sorry. It's a terribly hard decision to make. Our beautiful funny 9 yr old Roxy developed an untreatable stomach cancer. For her last week she had palliative care, and the only thing that was keeping her 'normal' was the pain relief. She had stopped eating and drinking. We made the decision before it became too much for. She was our little mate, it was the last kindness we could do for her, as much as it broke our heart. You'll know if and when.

Our Best Wishes

Welcome to TCS, Randall. I'm sorry you're going through such a sad time with your Moxie.

That's a really tough decision to make, and one I had to just last week. Our Jamie had hypertrophic myocardiopathy and several bouts of congestive heart failure. His last year was full of good and bad days, and the criteria we used were his quality of life and how much interest he was showing in things around him. As long as he was having more good days than bad (about 2 to 1) and wanted to eat, play a bit, go for little walks, be combed and cuddled, we just let him take things at his own pace and hoped he'd either pass peacefully in his sleep or tell us when he was ready to go. He did the latter last Friday, when he called me to come to him when he was really struggling for breath, after two weeks of listlessness and little appetite. IME, most pets do let you know when they've had enough and are ready to leave this world. Unfortunately, some don't, and you have to weigh the risk of them enduring pain and suffering because you waited.

I believe you have to ask yourself whether you're putting off euthanasia more for your pet or yourself, too.

I have always been able to tell when the moment is there. There is something about the expression in the eyes that says they are ready to go. That, plus the physical signs that the end is near ( loss of appetite, lethargy etc) will let you know. But it is always so hard even though you know in your heart it is right.

Thanks to all who've responded. The slight swelling in Moxie's front legs that I noticed yesterday is now gone. He's had a good appetite today and spent a good bit of the day sleeping/getting sun in our rose bed. He's been slowing down for the last year or so which makes it harder to determine if he's enjoying life less so lately. I get more upset when he breathes with his mouth open. I know it's the anemia but it's still upsetting to see. The thing is, it's not all the time.

Also, the swelling in his lower body. I know some of it is fat, but not all. Sometimes he looks very normal, just like he's getting old with the usual signs of wear and tear. I appreciate the concern and good wishes. As you said, Tricia, it's about seeing more good days than bad.

Right now, that's where we are. It's more like a "new normal', but I know it has a time frame attached to it. Thanks all!

Randall
 

Update:

Moxie has gotten more swollen from the anemia. In an effort to help him not get constipated with iron supplementation, we have had him eating only canned food. This, combined with his limited activity (practically none) has resulted in him gaining fat weight as well. So, now he's both swollen and getting fat. He gets out of breath with the least bit exertion. It is painful to watch. At times he seems animated, especially when he wants treats. He still has an appetite as well. He's also drinking water regularly.

His behaviour is what's starting to trouble me. He will just sit for very long periods of time, just staring at nothing. He breathes better sitting up versus lying down, so I know that's part of why he does this. He breathes and sleeps the best when lying flat on his stomach and chest. Last night he ate and then drank water but then he choked and coughed a bit, followed by wheezing for several minutes. This was very upsetting to see. Then, this morning I witnessed something very troubling. There is a portion of my back yard that holds water after heavy rains like we had last night. I let him out to go sleep on the pine straw in my rose beds, which he has been doing every day. He seems to be comfortable out there, especially when the sun is out bright. Today, I saw him sitting in the wet area right behind the elevated rose beds.... he was literally sitting in 2-3 inches of cold water. Just staring at the back corner of the yard. Just sitting there not moving. It made me sick to see this.

I went out and moved him to the elevated pine straw bed and dried him off. His bottom, lower abdominal area and back legs were soaked. Now, he's just sitting in the rose bed. EDIT: I just checked on him and called him because he had moved off of the rose bed into the grass. He came up to my large covered patio and is now eating some dry food.

Is it possible for him to be developing dementia? I can't imagine why he would have been sitting in that water. That made me want to cry to see that. He still acts affectionate at times and rubs his face against me like cats do. I don't know how long I can deal with this and yet it seems like he's not so far gone that I should put him down. I wish there was a way to know the true level of his suffering. Needless to say, I love this cat. I don't want him to suffer. I've got a call out to my vet to discuss the latest with her. Just for the record, we have given him a nice home, a good life, and lots of love.

Any sage advice is appreciated.
 

You are in a tough spot with Moxie. You know your cat better than anyone else. I think you are doing the right thing to discuss it with your vet. Between the two of you, I know you will make the right decision. It is sad to see them going down every day. I have had to do this for several cats. I made my decision each time based on the fact that my cats had always lived dignified lives and I wanted them to die with sme dignity. Because of that I didn't wait until they were really in bad shape. But it is a personal thing and we have to do what we can be comfortable with. So sorry.

Thanks blue,



It's really tough right now. My wife and I were both crying a bit discussing Moxie's fate today. I did speak with the vet. The vet knows how he is without the stress of a forced visit. I've been very thorough in explaining his condition to her. He has a difficult time when I give him the liquid iron. At this point we have cut back on that.



In addition to the symptoms I've already described in this thread, today I discovered pressure sores developing on his hind legs, toward the back right at the bend.


I disinfected them but this is yet another indication that the time is near. He is so bottom heavy and has difficulty breathing well unless his is sitting upright. He sits for hours so he is developing these pressure sores now. There is no practical, stress-free(for him) way to treat these sores.They will only worsen, I'm sure.



Given his advanced age and everything he has going on, the vet agreed that with his quality of life diminishing more each week, that the next visit should probably be to send him across the bridge. Now, the really hard emotions have to be dealt with as we decide "when".

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I'm having my beloved buddy Moxie put to sleep Sunday afternoon. I'm using a vet that specializes in "at-home" euthanasia. The time is here. I'm about all cried out (but not quite, I'm afraid).
I'll make an appropriate post in the "crossing the bridge" forum after the weekend.

What a gorgeous boy. :heart2: I've had to make this painful decision before and my heart hurts for you. May Moxie's passing be peaceful and we will all be here to support you after.

You, your family and Moxie will be in my thoughts on Sunday. May his passing be peaceful.

I am so sorry. My little girl Abby left us yesterday, I will keep you and moxie in my thoughts as we both struggle through the next few days.

Much love and hugs xoxo

Moxie has now crossed the Bridge:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/257162/moxie-my-golden-boy-is-gone