need some advice

Hi! I am new to this...I have a 19 yr old pure black long hair cat. She is like my first born to me, even though I have three children, younger than her. I recently took her to the vets for her annual. She's always been a small cat, but this past year she's lost 2 1/2 lbs. She's down to only 4.8 lbs!!! She still eats and drinks water and goes to the bathroom. So far we are lucky about that. My problem is it seems she is starting kidney failure. The vets wants to keep her to do a urnine test. And take it from there. I'm affraid, when we went to the vets the other day she came home and had loss bowels and threw up a few times. I'm worried that even though they are tryin to help her, that she will be scared and lonely and being 19 yrs old she could die while there. Am I being selfish in not wanting her to get this test? Has anyone had an older cat? She's in no pain as of yet, why put her threw this, she is 19 after all....prolonging her life is it really worth it??? Any words of advice would be grately appricated!!!

Hi and Welcome!

I lost my RB kitty to kidney failure. If it is caught early enough, it can be treated with fluids and the kitty can live a while longer. My SO's cat has been living with it for almost 2 yrs and she is 18.

Only you can make the decision for your cat, but my feelings are - if she is still living an active lifestyle, why not treat something that will prolong that happy life? She may get stressed by the vet visit, but the alternative is a decay in health.

Discuss it with your vet.

Sandy

Thanks for the warm welcome! I am so sorry for your loss. Thanks for the advice. I am so unsure on what to do for her. I would like her to live longer since she doesn't seem to be in any pain. But i'm affraid trying to keep her alive might just make her sick. Plus I have this fear that she might die in a cage all scared an alone. I wish I could stay at her side while they do this testing...she's like my daughter, I watched her be born. I have some serious thinking to do. Thanks again for reading and replying to my message.

Hi,

This is by far the toughest question we are ever asked as a community. No one here holds the right answer, as each cat is different and the one who needs to decide how to go, is you and your vet. It sounds to me like vet visits stress her out, hence the vomiting and loose bowels. And cats are very adept at keeping pain from showing until it is literally to late. That is a survival technique they come equipped with.

I would suggest you perhaps read this article and use it to guide you. I know that many of our members choose in-home care for senior cats with health problems. They learn to give sub-cu liquids, give shots, administer meds, change the diet, monitor the vitals, and they stay in contact with the vet. Your cat will tell you when she has had enough, it shows in their eyes. The trick is to learn how to read those eyes, and not keep the cat in your life simply because you can't bare to let her go.

I also took your post out of Crossing the Bridge. That forum is for cats who have passed away, not for those still in the here and now.

Best of luck during this difficult decision time-

When is it Time?

Thanks so much!! Yeah the tears in my eyes have let up some an I realized i was in the wrong board....