Sick and suffering cat

Hello,

This is my first post on this site, I'm in desperate need of advice and support.

My mothers cat is very sick and has been for years. He has the herpes virus and has gone untreated for years. I've taken him to the vet before and the vet said he has ulcers in his eyes. That was years ago and when I look at his eyes they are completely brown/gray with pus. He can't open them and is blind. There's always pus coming out of his eyes and often a red watery discharge. He also has black or yellow discharge coming out of his mouth. He doesn't move well at all and sits by a heat source in the house. He ate a small amount yesterday but is no longer eating or drinking. He can barely breath and wheezes or makes a hacking sound. He can't lay his head down anymore and seems very fatigued, I'm not sure if he sleeps at all. He used to run away from strangers but doesn't have the energy anymore. I can see all the notches in his spine and he has no hair on the base of his tail.

I'm incredibly angry with my mother for neglecting him for years. He's suffered for so long and now at 15 I've suggested to her that we should humanly put him down. I don't want to take him to the vet or the humane society because I don't want his last moments to be so stressful. I've given her sources for at home euthanasia but she's stated that she would rather him "starve to death."

I don't have any money, and I don't mean I don't have any to spare I don't have anything. Money is not an issue for her as she makes $80,000 or more a year.

I am so upset that I know that's clouding my judgement. I don't know what to do, if this were my cat I wouldn't want him to suffer.

Has anyone had experience with this and what did you do?

Just take the cat AWAY from YOUR MOTHER just take it place him/her in a carrier then leave the house.

That's extremely CRUEL to STARVE any animal or not attend to his medical needs so we won't get into how wrong that is for any person to ever do such a thing!  You know yourself how wrong all that is.

Also need to mention when cats get much older they become very skinny to the point where they look starved but are NOT it's just part of the old age process, they become very light and frail naturally...normally sub Q fluids are administered so the body can still flush out toxins. Assists to keep the body hydrated. But with the eye infections and other issues this cat is SUFFERING! It's VERY CRUEL!

This cat sounds very ill possibly shutting down, most likely in allot of pain, please remove him from your mom's house either take him to the vets yourself or to the humane society you can say you found him or you can report what is was going on just like you have here, if you decide to not report this can you vouch that she will never have any more pets in her life?   Consider everything DO what you feel is BEST for the CAT.  BY NOT HELPING the cat in this situation that you are aware of then YOU are in some way CONDONING IT by not stepping in to HELP, you have once already!  None of us know the age of your mother or if she herself has OK mental state, from what you have described this is VERY SERIOUS GET THAT KITTY OUT OF THERE HE CAN BARELY BREATHE YOU SAY ?! or make some calls yourself to let others know about it.

~ The cat would much rather prefer the stress to travel to the clinic than SUFFERING to DEATH while humans just watch HIM SUFFERING WAITING FOR HIM TO EXPIRE he Deserves BETTER!

Thank you so much for responding. I feel so awful. When I took him to the vet I worked out that she could drop by and purchase his medicine periodically but she just never did.

He wheezes whenever he breathes and it always seems like he's trying to hack something up or clear his nose. I've tried to clean his eyes and nose with saline wash. I'm going to take him to the humane society tomorrow morning first thing and see what they can do. Thank you for the suggestion to say that I can say I found him. I don't want to lie but to go into all of this, I'm already a mess. I don't want to euthanize him but he's just so sick and he's not going to get better.

My mother is 53. I think she's in denial and doesn't want to deal with it. She keeps saying that he's been ok for years and the other cat she had stopped eating and drinking and she just passed away so he can do the same.

She has two other cats who aren't sick like this one. They seem healthy but I have no idea when they were last at the vet. I don't want to report her because I don't want to ruin our relationship but now I'm thinking I should convince her to rehome them. I would take them but I have two cats already and live in an apartment that only allows two max. I'm afraid to take them to the humane society since they're also older and don't want them to get put down.

My heart goes out to you. Reading your post you have to know that it is time, the sweet cat is suffering and needs immediate care or a humane euthanization. The humane society would be your best bet, surely there are some compassionate people there who will advise/help you. Tell them that somehow, someway you will help them out in the future if they help you now, perhaps you could even donate your time to help out. Even a vet might take you up on that. I've seen so many cats suffer last year, I vowed I would do my best never to let it happen again. I just wish we wouldn't think that there is a chance of recovery when there so clearly isn't.  People like your mother mean well, but many times pets to them don't mean as much as they obviously mean to people on this site and to you, but I will never understand how anyone can stand by and let anything alive suffer a slow death. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking control here, you are mature beyond your years. I pray you will be blessed for your compassion and your loving heart, my thoughts and prayers are definitely with you. Please find the strength to help this pitiful creature. 

I agree with the above posters, I think the kindest thing to do would be to take the cat and have him PTS. I know it's heartbreaking, but far better than letting him starve to death. Some vets will euthanise a cat without charge or allow you to pay in installments if they see that he is suffering. You could also surrender him to the Humane Society so that you won't be charged for euthanasia.

Thank you for trying to help him, I'm glad he has you to step in on his behalf.

It is always extremely difficult when you see an animal suffering but it is not your own.  Talking with family members about such differences of opinion can be fraught with problems and you are more brave than many if you feel able to speak or act on behalf of your mother's cat.   I wish you well with this and hope you do feel able to take the cat to someone for veterinary care and attention - what ever they feel would be best for the cat.   From what you describe your mother's cat is clearly in severe pain and will have been suffering for some time.  Please, please do what you can for this cat, and seek what ever help you can.

Can you appeal to the cat's vet? I can't imagine they will let the cat suffer. Even if you can't pay for it. They will probably be absolutely horrified.

I hope your mother NEVER gets another cat again.

Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. I can't put into words how helpful it's been to post here and hear your feedback.

Here's the update- she wouldn't let me take him today but promised to take him to the humane society. She didn't end up taking him to the humane society but made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow afternoon. She told me she thinks he's getting better and wants to get a second opinion. I totally respect her wanting to see the vet and am happy she's going although it worries me she thinks he's getting better. I've seen this vet before and I was thinking I might call after the appointment to hear her side. I don't see the improvement that she does.

I'm so relieved that she's taking him to a professional that can judge his quality of life. I know she'll listen to the vet where she won't listen to me.

That's good news. I hope she keeps her promise to take him to the vet. Calling and checking with the vet after the appointment is a good idea. Please keep us updated on how things turn out.

Norachan said:

 
That's good news. I hope she keeps her promise to take him to the vet. Calling and checking with the vet after the appointment is a good idea. Please keep us updated on how things turn out.

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I agree, I would certainly check - perhaps even call the vet to check the appointment is arranged.   (They might not want to talk to you about the appointment detail afterward with it not being your cat but should be able to say if there is an appointment arranged).

thank you for looking out for this cat

I've got great news .

She took him to the vet where he got a shot of antibiotics, steroids and fluids. I saw him today and he's doing better, moving around a lot more. He's still not eating on his own, but the vet prescribed giving him a high fat/protein food via syringe. He's still wheezing a bit but breathing better. They ended up calling me because my number was on file from when I took him before.

Her two other cats are also sick, same fatigue, mucus but not as much trouble breathing. She's going to take both of them in next week.

I'm still worried about pain because I've read that corneal ulcers are very painful. I can't remember what the test was called but they put eye drops in his eyes and used a light to check for ulcers and he does have them. I asked them about any pain medication and my mothers going to check in with them next week.

I feel awful for being so focused on euthanasia. At the time he seemed so miserable and wasn't breathing well so I thought that was the best thing for him but obviously not what I wanted.

Here's a picture of him from today (hope that's ok here):

What a sweet little guy, I am so glad he is getting the medical attention he needs. Who is going to make sure he eats and give him his eye drops? it is imperative that these be done consistently. You are his angel for looking out for him. I also wanted to say that your mother did a great thing by taking him to the vet. Let us know how his recovery goes   

That's great, I'm so glad he got to see a vet. Of course you were thinking about having him PTS, I can't help but think the same whenever I see an animal suffering. You had his best interests at heart.



What is the vet going to do about his eyes? Will he need surgery or can it be treated with antibiotics?

I hope your mother keeps up with the treatment, it's a good job she realised the other two cats were sick before they got as bad as the first one.

Please keep us updated.

Don't feel bad about being focused on PTS.  Makes total sense when you see someone else's pet is dying slowly and painfully and you cant afford to help their pet out either.

Poor Baby!!   thanx for the update ((hugs)) for all that you're doing you're an   to the kitties right now!

Oh my gosh, how terribly stressful for you!!  It sounds like the others are coming down with the Herpes virus, too.  You definitely need to take charge and go over your mom's head on this if she doesn't follow through.  I've had a cat get very sick with this virus and it's very exhausting to treat but I was dedicated to making him well.  The mouth sores (which I suspect her cat had) made it too painful to eat so force feeding was the only way to go.  It was physically and emotionally exhausting, something I can't see your mom following through on.  So please stay in charge so that all the kitties can get well.

I'm so glad you're able to take the cat to the vet.  Keep us informed on her recovery!

@burtney4617    It is great to hear the news about your mother's cats.   She has taken the hardest step of taking such a sick cat along to the vet, and must have talked about how the other two if she is also going to take them along.  Your persistence in caring for these cats and getting your mother to take them to the vet can not have been easy for you but your actions can have an amazing effect on their health and quality of life.  Thank you for everything you have done and plan to do for them.  Hopefully your mother is learning from this experience and these cats will now receive the veterinary care that they deserve.  

Please do keep us up to date with how your mother's cats are doing, and maybe share more photographs if you can.  He looks so frail here, but gentle and beautiful and it would be amazing to see him as his treatment goes ahead and hopefully his health improve.   

Bless that poor kitty's heart. He has had a really rough time. It's been so good of you to see that he got treatment. Let us know how he and the other cats are doing.