I had my cat euthanized last week, and I'm still troubled. I know it was necessary (he was suffering and not eating and SubQ wasn't enough), but I wonder whether we escalated his end.
Background: I adopted Sunny only 2 days after I lost a cat to CRF (lived 7 years from diagnosis). I had gone to the shelter to donate my remaining food, and I encountered this poor cat whose owner had died (7 months previously), and the relatives had dumped him in the shelter. It's an 'open' plan, and poor Sunny did not get along with other cats and fought daily. I felt that since I was a 'one cat' person, I needed to bring him home.
I was told that he was 7. When we got home, I had my vet check him, and he had some 'issues' that were possibly from stress at the shelter (chin acne, nasal congestion), and all cleared up well within a few weeks. However, I noticed him drinking more water than usual (the first sign in my other CRF cat). My sister told me that I was just being neurotic because I'd just lost a cat to CRF. But a few months later, my vet noticed a 'bad tooth,' and when the bloodwork was done prior to the dental procedure, his values were consistent with CRF--about Stage 2.
Like my other cat, Sunny refused any food but his Fancy Feast (tried both prescription and commercial low phosphorus), so I added a phosphorus binder and hoped for the best. Sunny was a small cat (just over 8 lbs) and didn't eat much to maintain his weight, but all seemed OK for a while.
I waited to do follow up blood testing until his shots were due because I didn't want to stress him too much. The news wasn't good--he was now close to Stage 4--but his weight was stable, and he didn't seem worse. However, from that time, he began to deteriorate rapidly--eating less and less. When I weighed him about 2 weeks later, he'd lost about a pound, and he was eating much, much less. My vet suggested it was time for SubQ, and after the first treatment, he seemed to rally for a day, but then he continued to decline, refusing to eat despite daily SubQ. There are 'broths' that come in pouches (more treat than complete food), and he would consume those, as my prior CRF cat did near the end as well. I continued the SubQ for a week, and by that time, he was eating nothing and almost always in the 'meatloaf' position. My vet had told me that the call was mine to make, and I made it.
My concern is the rapid decline right after his shots. I wonder whether his weak kidneys were unable to handle the vaccines, and that caused them to fail so quickly. Or was it just coincidence. I only had Sunny for 19 months, but he certainly had CRF before I adopted him, since the excessive water drinking was almost immediately apparent to me. Any thoughts?
Background: I adopted Sunny only 2 days after I lost a cat to CRF (lived 7 years from diagnosis). I had gone to the shelter to donate my remaining food, and I encountered this poor cat whose owner had died (7 months previously), and the relatives had dumped him in the shelter. It's an 'open' plan, and poor Sunny did not get along with other cats and fought daily. I felt that since I was a 'one cat' person, I needed to bring him home.
I was told that he was 7. When we got home, I had my vet check him, and he had some 'issues' that were possibly from stress at the shelter (chin acne, nasal congestion), and all cleared up well within a few weeks. However, I noticed him drinking more water than usual (the first sign in my other CRF cat). My sister told me that I was just being neurotic because I'd just lost a cat to CRF. But a few months later, my vet noticed a 'bad tooth,' and when the bloodwork was done prior to the dental procedure, his values were consistent with CRF--about Stage 2.
Like my other cat, Sunny refused any food but his Fancy Feast (tried both prescription and commercial low phosphorus), so I added a phosphorus binder and hoped for the best. Sunny was a small cat (just over 8 lbs) and didn't eat much to maintain his weight, but all seemed OK for a while.
I waited to do follow up blood testing until his shots were due because I didn't want to stress him too much. The news wasn't good--he was now close to Stage 4--but his weight was stable, and he didn't seem worse. However, from that time, he began to deteriorate rapidly--eating less and less. When I weighed him about 2 weeks later, he'd lost about a pound, and he was eating much, much less. My vet suggested it was time for SubQ, and after the first treatment, he seemed to rally for a day, but then he continued to decline, refusing to eat despite daily SubQ. There are 'broths' that come in pouches (more treat than complete food), and he would consume those, as my prior CRF cat did near the end as well. I continued the SubQ for a week, and by that time, he was eating nothing and almost always in the 'meatloaf' position. My vet had told me that the call was mine to make, and I made it.
My concern is the rapid decline right after his shots. I wonder whether his weak kidneys were unable to handle the vaccines, and that caused them to fail so quickly. Or was it just coincidence. I only had Sunny for 19 months, but he certainly had CRF before I adopted him, since the excessive water drinking was almost immediately apparent to me. Any thoughts?
