Cat Puking and Diarrhea?

[artiemom]

Maddie, I am so sorry you have to go through this. It is one of the hardest things you will have to do. I remember when i had to go through this with Pumpkin. I was so upset. I wanted to hold on to all hope, but the Vet advised me that it was 'time". She was not going to get better.

I honestly think it is the most humane, caring, loving thing you can do. I was a wreck after  I saw the Vet and made the decision. I did keep some hair, a couple pieces of litter, and a whisker; along with her ashes.

It is such a hard thing to have to decide. 

I agree with Mazie and Catalover73. Booty has been so very sick for so very long. You have done wonders despite all your limited resources. You are so resourceful, but you may be at the end of your resourcefulness.

You are up against a wall...I understand. 

Booty has been so severely sick that it may take lots of Vet care, tests, medications to help him improve just a little. Is that what you would want for him? The illness he has been under, may have caused much lasting effects. 

I also agree that you should write down all your questions, take Booty with you, have him examined and see how the Vet really feels. That is the only way you can make the decision.   would a pros and cons list help? You could set it up as for and against list. Try to do this as unemotionally as possible. That may help; a bit...

No one can predict the future, no one can say if Booty will improve. You really need an unemotional, well educated opinion--the Vet. 

I like the link/list that AbbysMom gave you. It really does come down to quality of life.

No matter what you decide, you will always feel some guilt. That is human nature. It will pass, with time. It will hurt like heck for a while, and then you will suddenly find the guilt not to be so strong. Remember, you are doing it out of love. . 

I am so glad you family is there with you, today,....support means so much..

Please know we are all here for you..((hugs))

 

[snugglecat]

I have been following this thread and praying for you and your kitty. I'm glad you are taking him to see the vet again.

In 2013 I took my dog to the vet thinking we were going to get her cyst cleaned up and some more antibiotics. She had them all over her body and several of them kept bursting open. She had lots of other things going on too. The vet and I had a long discussion about her health and I trusted this vet, she was and is so good with all my animals including my feral cats. I had asked her what would she do at this point and she told me if this was her dog she would let Abby go. My baby girl was in pain and she was not going to get any better and the vet was so kind and understanding. Sorry about rambling on, I just wanted you to know that no matter what decision you make I understand.

Sending you a big (((((((HUG)))))

 

[foxxycat]

Just want to let you know you both are in my thoughts. In the end ask yourself if YOU were kitty would you be happy with the way things are? Once we try to imagine life in their shoes it may help ease some of the guilt. Someone mentioned quality of life. This is not an easy decision and we know you love Booty. But in the end would it be best to let him go with some dignity? It wont get better. He will only get sicker. The peeing is something wrong. And may bother him more than we realize. I think going through with the appointment is going to be very hard. and you will cry. And the next couple days will not be easy but would you rather he be at the rainbow bridge or barely enjoying life??

Several years ago my kitty was very sick. We tried heroics at the vets. transfusion. force feeding etc. The end came three weeks later. I made the decision because I didn't want to be stuck in a town without an er for 45 min and if she went into crisis I didn't want her to suffer. She had eaten on her last day. They say they will perk up before the transition. He knows you love him. And now its time to end his suffering.

We would not want to be in his shoes would you? I know you don't want to hear this but I feel its really important that you understand you are not giving up. You are doing the one last thing. And you tried to keep him comfortable and did the very best you could. I wish I could hug you. I have been reading these posts the past three days.

I don't want you to deal with the anguish like I did so many years ago. A cat I didn't let go and I should have. She went into crisis mode and I didn't know it. I waited 12 hours and even after a vet told me to put her down I decided to bring her home and she died in my arms.  I have guilt still to this day. I feel bad about the prior cat I mentioned further up but this kitty passed at home and it was very tramatic. More so than I thought. So please don't let Booty get to a point where he will be suffering. Let him go before things get really bad for him. I am so sorry. But its important because these things will always affect us. Just know I am here and many of us are thinking about you and Booty.

 

[missingone123]

Thank you all. I think I'm making the right decision with him. 

I just read about FIP. It sounds so much like that. He was even sneezing a few months ago, before the UTIs and stuff. Now I'm terrified that my other cats will have it, too. 

 

[catlover73]

FIP is very rare in an older cat.  I do not think this is something you need to worry about.  Does anyone else who has actual experience with or more knowledge about FIP have anything to add here?

It is more likely or possible that he may developed have a kitty cold (URI) due to stress and his immune system being weakened by illness.  If this is a URI and your cats do catch it this is something that is usually easy and inexpensive to treat.  Also you have mentioned before that he has been laying in his litter box so he could be sneezing from the dust in the litter.  

 

[missingone123]

The sneezing was before he would lay in the box, but you're probably right.

 

[catlover73]

The sneezing was before he would lay in the box, but you're probably right.

You also mentioned that there were times he was hiding under the bed or other furniture.  Unless your family regularly moved the furniture or goes under the bed to clean it those are other area's in your home that tend to be dusty too. There are way too many things that can cause a cat to sneeze sometimes to worry about trying to figure all of them out.  One of my cats used to climb on top of my kitchen cabinets once in a while.  He used to come down sneezing and dusty.  I would have to put a tall ladder on my counters to clean up there and it would not be safe.

 

[artiemom]

I do not think you have to worry about FIP. I think that is uncommon in older cats.

I am not an expert, but I really would not give that a second thought.

((hugs))

 

[missingone123]

Thank you.

I worry because his abdomen looks very swollen, I guess. They stick out farther than they used to, and he's lost a lot of weight on top of that, so it looks even more drastic.

 

[kittens mom]

 
Thank you.

I worry because his abdomen looks very swollen, I guess. They stick out farther than they used to, and he's lost a lot of weight on top of that, so it looks even more drastic.

I have followed this thread from the beginning. You get such good advice I really had nothing to add. I want to say how sorry I am Booty, you and your family are going through this.

Cats are some complex creatures and the internet is so full of information and all of us want to know why our cats got sick. It's important to make sure your vet is aware of all symptoms but a bad idea to try and self diagnose. While some things may be obvious you can drive yourself crazy with guilt, hope and despair trying to sort it out.  It's certainly something you could ask your vet. I admire your courage , devotion and maturity in handling this situation.

 

[missingone123]

I'm sad for my other cats. Booty would always play along with Layla, who gets into fights with Lulu. Lulu and Booty love each other so much. They've been together since they were kittens, basically. I don't think Lulu understands whats happening.

Booty used to stand outside my room and meow for Lulu and she would come running(away from me to him) and they would groom each other and sit together and wrestle. I used to come home and find them together on my bed.  She loves him so much... She will miss him and that makes me so sad. I worry about what toll it'll take on her. I don't know if I can handle another sick cat so soon, especially Lulu. 

 

[kittens mom]

 
I'm sad for my other cats. Booty would always play along with Layla, who gets into fights with Lulu. Lulu and Booty love each other so much. They've been together since they were kittens, basically. I don't think Lulu understands whats happening.

Booty used to stand outside my room and meow for Lulu and she would come running(away from me to him) and they would groom each other and sit together and wrestle. I used to come home and find them together on my bed.  She loves him so much... She will miss him and that makes me so sad. I worry about what toll it'll take on her. I don't know if I can handle another sick cat so soon, especially Lulu. 

Mook grieved Kitten. Searching behaviors. She went off her food for a few days and I found giving a bit of nutrical stimulated her appetite more than me force feeding her because I was so scared of losing her too. We found keeping our normal routines with her worked best. She's back to herself now. It took about six weeks but the lack of interest in food only lasted a few days and even then she nibbled. We brought another kitten in 5 days after losing Kitten. Aside from a really rough 3 days I have to admit it was the right decision for us. Even more so for Mook who was now an only cat. My vet recognizes pets grieving as a real thing and we talked about her habits and how she was coping.

 

[catlover73]

 
I'm sad for my other cats. Booty would always play along with Layla, who gets into fights with Lulu. Lulu and Booty love each other so much. They've been together since they were kittens, basically. I don't think Lulu understands whats happening.

Booty used to stand outside my room and meow for Lulu and she would come running(away from me to him) and they would groom each other and sit together and wrestle. I used to come home and find them together on my bed.  She loves him so much... She will miss him and that makes me so sad. I worry about what toll it'll take on her. I don't know if I can handle another sick cat so soon, especially Lulu. 

When my Baby T passed away years ago Claude and Tegato did a lot of meowing looking for her.  She passed away at the vets unexpectedly during treatment so neither myself or my other cats go to say goodbye.  She was a 2nd mother to Claude and Tegato from the time they were tiny little babies. Claude and Tegato never did stop eating when Baby T passed away.  I remember how worried I was about that and it never happened.

When Claude had his stroke I had to make the difficult decision to put Claude to sleep in 2010 Tegato reacted much better than I expected.  Claude and Tegato had been together for 15 years since birth at this point and very much had the same relationship that you describe between Lulu and Booty.  I did not think that Tegato understood what was going on with Claude either.  He never stopped eating but became very needy towards us so we just gave him a lot of extra attention as he wanted.

When Tegato passed away a couple years later I was really worried about Starbuck because took on the role of daddy when she was a baby and they were very close.  I was surprised because she did not look for him at all.  I was really surprised that her behavior did not change at all.

There is really no way of knowing how Lulu will react.  I would not assume that she is going to get sick or stop eating.  Yes some cats do have appetite issues when they are dealing with grief but it does not happen all the time. I have no doubt you will provide Lulu with any extra support she needs.  If you have issues I am sure there are plenty of people here that can give you advice on how to work through things.

 

[kittens mom]

 
When my Baby T passed away years ago Claude and Tegato did a lot of meowing looking for her.  She passed away at the vets unexpectedly during treatment so neither myself or my other cats go to say goodbye.  She was a 2nd mother to Claude and Tegato from the time they were tiny little babies. Claude and Tegato never did stop eating when Baby T passed away.  I remember how worried I was about that and it never happened.

When Claude had his stroke I had to make the difficult decision to put Claude to sleep in 2005 Tegato reacted much better than I expected.  Claude and Tegato had been together for 15 years since birth at this point and very much had the same relationship that you describe between Layla and Booty.  I did not think that Tegato understood what was going on with Claude either.  He never stopped eating but became very needy towards us so we just gave him a lot of extra attention as he wanted.

When Tegato passed away a couple years later I was really worried about Starbuck because took on the role of daddy when she was a baby and they were very close.  I was surprised because she did not look for him at all.  I was really surprised that her behavior did not change at all.

There is really no way of knowing how Lulu will react.  I would not assume that she is going to get sick or stop eating.  Yes some cats do have appetite issues when they are dealing with grief but it does not happen all the time. I have no doubt you will provide Lulu with any extra support she needs.  If you have issues I am sure there are plenty of people here that can give you advice on how to work through things.

I'm pretty sure Mooks slight loss of appetite was amplified by my paranoia. In fact I came close to being one of those people who make a problem where there is none. Instead of helping I was causing her more stress.

 

[missingone123]

Booty has passed on. The vet said that he was very obviously sick and the chances of it being treatable long term were very slim. Hes not in pain anymore and I'm glad that I could do that for him.


Thank you everyone here who helped me. Your support kept me going.

 

[margd]

Aw, I'm so very, very sorry.  You gave Booty the best gift of all at the end - freedom from suffering.  I've been following your thread and hoping with you that he would get better, but it was not to be.  Bless you for taking such good care of this dear boy in his last days.  Your devotion to him was so very moving. 

 

[artiemom]

Oh Maddie,   (((Hugs))))  

 

  

I am certain you made the correct decision. It does hurt incredibly. 

Please remind yourself that you did everything, I mean everything you could, under the circumstances for Booty.

You improvised, researched, thought things out...you did everything to show your love to him.

I am so sorry. I wish I could just physically come over to give you a huge hug and wipe your tears....

(((hugs)))

Booty is now running, free of pain, purring, eating, happy, in the Rainbow Bridge...waiting for you, when it is your time...

 

[handsome kitty]

I'm very sad for you.  I know you wanted more time with Booty.  You took care of him 'til the very end.  You and your family are not the only ones with tears today. 

 

[kittens mom]

just hugs

 

[missingone123]

Thank you everyone.