Hello All- I just had to part with my 16 year old tabby best friend this past Sunday. She had been battling GI issues (IBD? not confirmed lymphoma but who knows) for the last couple years, but with lots of daily medications and care, we got her to gain a few pounds and not vomit as much and she seemed to be doing so much better than she had in awhile. Last Thursday I noticed she was walking kind of wobbly and from side to side a bit.
I called the vet to make an appt, first available was Monday. I looked online and thought maybe it was a vestibular issue. She was still acting pretty normal other than the unstable walk. It kept progressing to the point she would only walk 6-7 steps and then crouch down and lay down for a bit before continuing on. But she was still going into the next room to get food, water and use the litter box. I left her in her hooded cat bed Friday (she normally sleeps in my bed) for ease overnight but she jumped up onto my bed on and off twice so I thought she was feeling better.
Saturday was a lot of sleeping and not as much walking/activity and Saturday night she went in my guest room and slept on that bed and then all night slept in the guest room closet that she rarely goes into. Up to this point she was drinking water if I put the bowl in front of her and she would eat treats and some of her food when I put it in front of her and using the litter box when I put her in front of it.
But Sunday she took a turn for the worse when she just stayed in her hooded cat bed and wouldn't really eat or drink or move too much. As the day progressed I got more and more concerned so I call the vet and took her in as they have urgent care hours on the weekend. They did bloodwork and found her creatinine >13 (notes actually state 25 in one part) and BUN >130. They let me know she appeared to be in kidney failure and recommended me to a local ER vet for 24/7 fluids for 24 hours or so to see if she improved at all. We went over there, and the ER vet examined her and said she had a heart murmur (urgent care vet notes specifically notate no murmur was present- I didn't see this until after this episode unfortunately), so he wouldn't give her fluids because he said she must have a heart condition and could push her to congestive heart failure. He recommended euthanasia.
I was in complete shock. I was wholly unprepared, even the urgent care vet did not let on it was this serious and made it seem like the fluids would at least let her improve enough for a few days or weeks to make a decision or perhaps this injury would resolve. I was in shock the whole time and pressed for him to do more testing which he did (redid the same blood panel that the urgent care did even though they sent the records) and an ultrasound and then said she didn't have enough blood to do a test that would test for cardiomyopathy or something. So he said she was just too far gone.
My girl was a fighter and I didn't want to have her suffer so even though she is literally part of my heart I did what I thought was best. But now after doing some research and seeing a heart murmur can present in times of severe dehydration or great stress and seeing that the urgent care vet didn't hear a murmur, I feel so guilty that I didn't fight harder for the ER vet to at least try some fluids or try something before I moved forward with letting her go.
It was the hardest thing I've ever done, hardest day of my life, and I feel terribly guilty that I did it too soon without trying or fighting more. Has anyone had a similar situation or similar lab numbers and had their fur baby bounce back? I am so so sad and don't know how this heaviness will ever ease. I know I am not alone with these feelings and reading some of these threads has helped a little, I just feel like it was all so sudden and chaotic and I fear I made the decision too soon :-(
I called the vet to make an appt, first available was Monday. I looked online and thought maybe it was a vestibular issue. She was still acting pretty normal other than the unstable walk. It kept progressing to the point she would only walk 6-7 steps and then crouch down and lay down for a bit before continuing on. But she was still going into the next room to get food, water and use the litter box. I left her in her hooded cat bed Friday (she normally sleeps in my bed) for ease overnight but she jumped up onto my bed on and off twice so I thought she was feeling better.
Saturday was a lot of sleeping and not as much walking/activity and Saturday night she went in my guest room and slept on that bed and then all night slept in the guest room closet that she rarely goes into. Up to this point she was drinking water if I put the bowl in front of her and she would eat treats and some of her food when I put it in front of her and using the litter box when I put her in front of it.
But Sunday she took a turn for the worse when she just stayed in her hooded cat bed and wouldn't really eat or drink or move too much. As the day progressed I got more and more concerned so I call the vet and took her in as they have urgent care hours on the weekend. They did bloodwork and found her creatinine >13 (notes actually state 25 in one part) and BUN >130. They let me know she appeared to be in kidney failure and recommended me to a local ER vet for 24/7 fluids for 24 hours or so to see if she improved at all. We went over there, and the ER vet examined her and said she had a heart murmur (urgent care vet notes specifically notate no murmur was present- I didn't see this until after this episode unfortunately), so he wouldn't give her fluids because he said she must have a heart condition and could push her to congestive heart failure. He recommended euthanasia.
I was in complete shock. I was wholly unprepared, even the urgent care vet did not let on it was this serious and made it seem like the fluids would at least let her improve enough for a few days or weeks to make a decision or perhaps this injury would resolve. I was in shock the whole time and pressed for him to do more testing which he did (redid the same blood panel that the urgent care did even though they sent the records) and an ultrasound and then said she didn't have enough blood to do a test that would test for cardiomyopathy or something. So he said she was just too far gone.
My girl was a fighter and I didn't want to have her suffer so even though she is literally part of my heart I did what I thought was best. But now after doing some research and seeing a heart murmur can present in times of severe dehydration or great stress and seeing that the urgent care vet didn't hear a murmur, I feel so guilty that I didn't fight harder for the ER vet to at least try some fluids or try something before I moved forward with letting her go.
It was the hardest thing I've ever done, hardest day of my life, and I feel terribly guilty that I did it too soon without trying or fighting more. Has anyone had a similar situation or similar lab numbers and had their fur baby bounce back? I am so so sad and don't know how this heaviness will ever ease. I know I am not alone with these feelings and reading some of these threads has helped a little, I just feel like it was all so sudden and chaotic and I fear I made the decision too soon :-(
