The vet has given up on my 16 year old cat

SadiesDad said:

 
thank you so much.... I don't understand, she has been sleeping some, but when she is up, she is following me and my wife around the house, or wants to sit on the patio a few minutes, but she is constantly going to the water bowls and looking down at it, getting her face right over it, but she won't drink... about an hour ago, she did come in the kitchen and licked a bowl of tuna juice 2 or 3 times, and she actually ate a few licks/bites of some chicken baby food we got her, neither came back up. I just gave her half a dropper of water in her mouth and as soon as I set her down she went to the water bowl looked at it and walked away.

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The ulcers are probably very painful for her.

But keep doing what you are doing.

Did you ask your old vet if giving her the pepsid AC, 1/4 tab of a regular 10 mg tab, meaning only 2.5mg would be okay?

As one of the other members mentioned, getting her hydrated, and eating would be helpful, so whatever you can do to manage this, and keep her food down, is going to help her feel better.

Keep on with the chicken baby food if this is working, and syringing the water, too. Or the pedialyte that you mentioned before.

If your old vet had already given her a sub-q shot, for hydration today, she may be feeling better and more alert.

Keep an eye on her litter movements, pee and poop, and just take it day by day.

I wish there was something for the ulcers, such as steroids or something, but I really don't know. And your vet would have mentioned it, already.

Still keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers. You are doing a lot, and Sadie knows that.

Foxxycat had already mentioned this helpful website, which also has a sub section on hyperthyroid....http://www.felinecrf.org/hyperthyroidism.htm#treatments

You probably already know about various yahoo groups as well...https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/feline-hyperT/info


https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Feline-Assisted-Feeding/info?referrer=feline-hyperT

Sorry your old vet wasn't able to give you a better prognosis. I don't have any suggestions or advice, but will be keeping Sadie and her human parents in my thoughts.

No, I forgot about the Pepcid, listening to all his gloom and doom... but my wife even borrowed a pill cutter from her dad, so we can cut it. I'm just afraid if that pill gets in her belly and makes her start throwing up, and the pill has dissolved or doesn't come back up, she will be sick for awhile, and I am scared of doing that to her.

 Yeah, she seems a little better, but she has been sleeping more since the shot from the vet. Before she acted like she couldn't sleep well, if you woke her, she would just sit for a long time, then get up going here and there, like it was hard for her to go back to sleep... so we have been leaving her alone and letting her sleep. She had 3 pee's in the box this morning, but nothing in there so far today.

 Yeah, the vet said there was nothing to be done about the ulcers, if she has those... thanks for everything

Thank you also Rubysmamma.

SadiesDad said:

 
Well, just came back from our old vet... same story, "Well, we both know that time is coming. She is looking poorly (she had lost a pound in the last week, and a half a pound in the last 3-4 days). She could have ulcers in her esophagus from throwing up so much, but there is nothing we can do about that. We can give her fluids under the skin, and that should last her through the weekend. I'm afraid it's not looking good at all."

I told him about someone saying, maybe she could eat baby food, and he said, "Hey give it a try, you never know, and maybe the fluids might make her want to eat."

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What about an E-tube? I think Foxxycat mentioned that before. r It sounds like she really wants to eat and drink but that doesn't agree with her for some reason. If it is because of ulcers in her esophagus, then an E-tube makes sense.  She could get her thyroid medicine and the kitty dose of pepcid.  The E-tube would give her time to heal from whatever it is. Poor kitty.  It sure sounds like she wants to live!  Why do they want to give up on her?

My Sammy had ulcers in his mouth and could not eat.  He had renal failure and was getting sub-q fluids.  The vet gave him pepcid and it made the ulcers go away!  Please ask another vet for Pepcid.  

 I'm not sure what an etube is, or how it works... I'm sure the vet has to put it in?  They said they fed her through a tube in the hospital the first time she was in there.  I have Pepcid, and I know the dosage is 2.5mg, which is 1/4 of a 10mg tab, I am just afraid of using it.... I don't have nay more money at all.... when we went to the old vet this morning, I whipped out my Care Credit card and they said it was refused for $27, because there was only $12 left out of $4000... I didn't think the hospital used that much, but I guess they did....

 She is getting her thyroid meds, it's the kind you rub on her ear... I make sure of that. Well, she is awake, let me see if I can get her to take some more water...

An E-tube is an esophageal tube which is inserted by the vet under anesthesia in the neck which you can feed through and give meds.  I'd forgotten about your financial situation.  I'm so sorry.  Is there family that can help just with the E-tube?  I have no idea of the cost.  

 Nope... all my family is going through things themselves. My dad and his wife don't draw much social security and their medications eat up what they have. My mom had to put my step-dad in a nursing home last summer for Alzheimer's, so she can't help either..no one else.

 I wrote an email to a cat rescue organization to see if they might help, but I doubt it. They mostly rescue the homeless and hurt and try to find them homes....

SadiesDad said:

 
 I'm not sure what an etube is, or how it works... I'm sure the vet has to put it in?  They said they fed her through a tube in the hospital the first time she was in there.  I have Pepcid, and I know the dosage is 2.5mg, which is 1/4 of a 10mg tab, I am just afraid of using it.... I don't have nay more money at all.... when we went to the old vet this morning, I whipped out my Care Credit card and they said it was refused for $27, because there was only $12 left out of $4000... I didn't think the hospital used that much, but I guess they did....

 She is getting her thyroid meds, it's the kind you rub on her ear... I make sure of that. Well, she is awake, let me see if I can get her to take some more water...

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Just do what you think is best for your Sadie.

All of us have different experiences with our own cats and different illnesses, so sharing these experiences and suggestions sometimes helps,

but only you and a qualified vet can make medical decisions together.

You know your Sadie best, so just try to keep her comfortable, and I know you're doing the best you can.

Sometimes having all the money in the world, would not change the way an illness progresses, or the eventual outcome.

We just all try as best we can.

 Thank you so much... ya'll are all so kind...  Well, she just got up for a bit, my wife gave her a little water with the dropper, then she wanted to go outside. When I went out, she had gotten up in the window. The people here before us put a bottom kitchen cabinet with counter top on the enclosed back porch, and we put a 4 foot step ladder up against the counter and Sadie can go up and down by herself. She likes to lay in the window and look out, or sleep there... but when I went out then, she meowed like she wanted me to leave her alone, then I noticed her smacking her lips, chewing like, like she does when she is going to get sick. It looked like the water my wife gave her and the already digested tiny bit if chicken baby food she had earlier, but she held that down longer than anything. She hasn't had solid food on her stomach since last Saturday morning....

 I took her down right before she got sick, because she heaves so hard, I was afraid she might fall... after she was done she went on the patio and I grabbed her brush and showed it to her, she loves being brushed. But first I saw the dish of rain water I had put out there earlier had some dust on it from being out doors and plucked it out with my fingers. When Sadie saw me, she came right over and started drinking the rain water, for about 20 seconds... then I brushed her and she was ready to come back in... she has went back in the bathroom in the dark to lie down....

You could google vet financial aid. Worth looking at. 

Please check out [email protected]  It is a very large group, with members dealing with about every kind of eating problems imaginable. They talk about finger feeding, spoon feeding, syringe feeding and using the E-tube. They might know about some financial aid.

Actually, there are an awful lot of credit cards offering 0% interest for 12 months & more. I think they've been pretty good with me, I maxed out. But, if you default it's 25% interest. Google credit card offers.

My Sky stopped eating and, while at the vet they tube fed him. I watched once, I felt horrible for Sky the whole time, it's not pretty. I learned about the E-tube and got them to give Sky one. He came home, gained weight and acted like his old self. He would even come to me at feeding times, he liked having food in his tummy! 

My net has been crappy lately, trying to get to Photobucket, see if I could share a video of me feeding Sky. I wish I still had my Acer, I loved Photo Gallery. I now have a Chromebook, that I love for everything but pictures. I am also very tech challenged!
At this rate this post is going to time out. I'll come back when I get the video available.

Thanks, I have written a non-profit org in ATL that helps disabled or seniors with vet bills.... I don't need more credit, I have other credit cards, but I have no money coming in, so what good is that? I just used up $4000 on a new account that I can't pay for, no need to screw the others up too, especially since one is my mortgage holder.

 I am going to check out the yahoo group, thanks for that.

Have you tried starting a savings for her on gofundme.com? I'm sure some people on here would be willing to donate a few dollars for her to get the medical care she needs.

No, I haven't really.... I don't know anything about that....but I will look it up.

Where do you live? What state? that may help.

Griffin, Georgia

I'm so terribly sorry about all the problems you are having with your sadie. There's nothing I can tell you that you haven't been told, I just wanted to wish her better and that you'll be able to sort out sadie and the finances. Hugs.

Baby food is fine but only feed the ones that don't  have garlic or onions in them. Here are the safe ones to feed: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/225595/anyone-else-have-an-only-gravy-licker/60#post_3749885 Keep in mind that baby food can only be fed temporarily to a sick cat. it does not contain any of the essential vitamins and minerals a cat needs. What you can do is take pate canned cat food and turn it into soup using a blender and water and add a little baby food to it to make it more appealing. Then feed it to your cat, syringe feeding if necessary. Adding FortiFlora to the food often works. FortiFlora is irresistable to cats, even sick inappetant ones. You can buy FortiFlora online at many web sites such as Amazon. There's a $5 rebate coupon on the FortiFlora web site.

A feeding tube may be very helpful to get essential nutrients and medicines into the cat. Here is some info on the different types of feeding tubes: http://catinfo.org/?link=feedingtubes

Here is another article with suggestions on how to pay vet bills: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/when-you-cant-afford-a-veterinarian

Stewball said:

I'm so terribly sorry about all the problems you are having with your sadie. There's nothing I can tell you that you haven't been told, I just wanted to wish her better and that you'll be able to sort out sadie and the finances. Hugs.

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Thank you so much  (((hug)))

LTS3 said:

 
Baby food is fine but only feed the ones that don't  have garlic or onions in them. Here are the safe ones to feed: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/225595/anyone-else-have-an-only-gravy-licker/60#post_3749885 Keep in mind that baby food can only be fed temporarily to a sick cat. it does not contain any of the essential vitamins and minerals a cat needs. What you can do is take pate canned cat food and turn it into soup using a blender and water and add a little baby food to it to make it more appealing. Then feed it to your cat, syringe feeding if necessary. Adding FortiFlora to the food often works. FortiFlora is irresistable to cats, even sick inappetant ones. You can buy FortiFlora online at many web sites such as Amazon. There's a $5 rebate coupon on the FortiFlora web site.

A feeding tube may be very helpful to get essential nutrients and medicines into the cat. Here is some info on the different types of feeding tubes: http://catinfo.org/?link=feedingtubes

Here is another article with suggestions on how to pay vet bills: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/when-you-cant-afford-a-veterinarian

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 Thank... we checked the ingredients, just plain chicken...Actually, I don't know if it's something else or the fluids, but she is starving the last couple of hours. We ate dinner about 6:30, it's 8:30 here now, my wife gave her two little smears of mashed potatoes on her finger and she licked it all off, then when I sit down she came to me, so I gave her two little smidges of potatoes and she ate them, then walked away.

 Later I went into the kitchen and Sadie was right there, wanting something else to eat... I didn't have the heart to refuse, so I broke out a can of her regular food, cod and shrimp with a lot of juice and gave her about a quarter of a coffee spoon. She slurped it right down, then I gave her a little more and she ate some of that...then in about  15 minutes she got sick, but went right back and ate some more....maybe 45 minutes later I came from the garden to the porch and she was watching me out the window, all of a sudden I seen her swallowing, so I came on up about time she threw up...Before it was like a real thick white foam, now it's like really thick mucous, and it was longer from the time she ate until she got sick. I told my wife, when we get over being sick we cough up stuff like that, so maybe she is getting rid of whatever it is....she went back and ate a little of what was left in her plate.

Here is a picture of Sadie, but it's an old one 2008.