Bummer of a day - pet lovers

[Markus Kleis]

I'll try to make this reasonably brief, but I need to vent.

I have a cat, Yoda, who has been the most amazing companion and friend to me for the last 15 years. I seriously can't imagine life without this guy. Nothing puts a smile on my face more often than this cat... he just never ceases to amaze me with his unique personality. He probably added 2 years onto my life expectancy through stress removal alone.

That said, he's always been pretty healthy (lost a toe in a fight is all), and at age 15 he still hunts and tears around the house after a successful "morning dropoff" like a young kitten.

Then it happened. We noticed over maybe 2-3 weeks that he may be eating a pinch less, and drinking more, but nothing too out of the ordinary....until last night. He became incredibly lethargic, and even turned down a treat of tuna. If you know this car, tuna is like crack to him... he would NEVER turn it down.

We took him to the vet and it turns out he is having renal failure, aka kidney failure. The vet said there are 6 stages, 1-3 being treatable, and 4-6 are not.

Yoda has some stats that are good, making him around 3, and some that are bad, around 4. He hardly moves, won't eat, and barely drinks. He's lost 3 pounds almost over night.

We are supposed to get medication in a day or two, but I just can't help but feel utterly worthless and horrible watching him lay there in pain.

I also feel to blame because we waited too long, and I should have taken him in sooner. I honestly can't imagine life without this cat...I know to some that may seem pathetic and outrageous, but you don't know this cat.

To make matters worse, it's my last semester, and finals week... I have a book to read and a paper to write, due tomorrow. Only got 4 hours of sleep last night, and can't concentrate.

Ugh.

[Andrew C.]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

Just hang in there Mark, I know how you feel with attachments to pets. There is nothing more that you could have done until you started seeing the signs from Yoda, so don't blame yourself.

Just wait for the meds and spend as much time as you can with him, he'll need the extra love from ya. I hope he gets better soon.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

Sorry to here about Yoda, Mark. Let's hope the meds do there thing. Spend some extra time with Yoda. Please keep us updated on Yoda's progress.

[Carfire]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

Sorry to hear the bad news.
I have 2 cats, right now they are healthy, and young 6 and 4 years old.
Our other cat died 9 years ago, because of thyroid issues.
I hope Yoda gets better.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

I am an EXTREME animal lover myself. I have a cat and a dog that are like my kids. They get treated better than any guest I've ever had in my house. With bugs, we are on a no kill rule in my house. Catch and release outside. Everyone knows if I catch them killing anything, they will have to find a new place to sleep. Yes, I am that bad!

With that said, I feel your pain about Yoda. My dog(Trixie) runs everything in my house. She's getting up there in age(10 years old September 29th, and yes we celebrate her birthday), and I dread the day I have to go through this with her. Keep your chin up Mark. When you're reading your book, have him by your side, comfort him. If he's like my cat, he'll sit on your lap and be more than happy to be there.

Question, why so long to wait to get the meds? You need cash?

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

I am an EXTREME animal lover myself. I have a cat and a dog that are like my kids. They get treated better than any guest I've ever had in my house. With bugs, we are on a no kill rule in my house. Catch and release outside. Everyone knows if I catch them killing anything, they will have to find a new place to sleep. Yes, I am that bad!

With that said, I feel your pain about Yoda. My dog(Trixie) runs everything in my house. She's getting up there in age(10 years old September 29th, and yes we celebrate her birthday), and I dread the day I have to go through this with her. Keep your chin up Mark. When you're reading your book, have him by your side, comfort him. If he's like my cat, he'll sit on your lap and be more than happy to be there.

Question, why so long to wait to get the meds? You need cash?

Thanks Nick. I think I am skipping sleeping tonight so I can keep forcing him to drink every 45 minutes or so. He needs water more than I need sleep.

As for the meds, for whatever reason the Vet didn't have any so we had to order them online and they said delivery in 1-2 days.

It kills me to see him like this. You can't normally get within 10 feet of the guy without him perking his head and meowing. Now he just lies there... doesn't even move his head when you pet him.

I am going to start researching now to see if there is anything aside from taking him back to the vet for another IV treatment today (which we have planned) to try and jump start the recovery while we wait for the meds.

[MrCLRider]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

For those of us that are animal lovers, your pain is heartfelt. You cannot help but have such an emotional attachment to them, seeing them grow in personality through the years, and always being there when you need them. With not having kids right now, my dogs (Sophie & Lacie) are my children, and we almost treat them as such. They are young in there years, and even now I find myself getting sad thinking of the day I might now have them in my life, and I'm sorry your time with your pet may be coming to a end. Hopefully the medicane will work its wonders and he will be back to his normal self, and not passing up any tuna!

[myaeger18]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

I know exactly what you are going through. I have a 15 year old cat named Alley who is going through the same thing. We saw the same signs and took her in to the vet. They told us if we had waited another day or so she probably would have died. She spent 5 days at the vets office receiving treatments for this. When we finally brought her home we were instructed to give her 150 cc's of saline via IV under the skin every other day for the rest of her life. Now I know it may not seem like her quality of life would be good seeings we are poking her with a needle every other day, but this treatment seemed to have rolled her back to age 5! It's really amazing how it works. She has a kidney that doesn't function at all and one that's working overtime. She is happier than ever and even purrs when she gets the fluids. We were originally told she might live a few months and it's been almost a year now and she's still going strong! I've had her for so long I can't imagine not coming home and seeing her. Good luck to you and Yoda!

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

I'm approaching your situation soon, so you have my empathy. I have two 13 year old Jack Russells (brother and sister) whom I know are going to start failing over the next 2 or 3 years, if that long, and I will also be faced with some very tough choices. Right now they're still both energetic and unless you see the gray fur around their faces, you'd never guess them to be 13. Raised them both from pups and they have seen me through some tough times.

But I'm already seeing signs that have seemed to accelerate over the past few months. The other day I found my female dog sleeping in the grass. Usually you can't approach her without her jumping to her feet, but this time I had to nudge her twice before she woke up. So for a split second I thought she might have died in her sleep - which is actually something I would prefer rather than having to put them down - if I can do it.

So take good care of Yoda, which I have no doubt you are already doing. It's always a tough proposition with pets because you know you will have to face these decisions when you first get them, but the companionship, laughs, and joy they provide you with cannot be quantified.

[Hemin8r]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

Sorry to hear about that Mark. My Cocker Spaniel is 10 years old so she's getting up there in age. Last night she was sick. Not sure if she had an upset stomach. I had no clue what to do so about 2 in the morning I went outside and sat by her rubbing her stomach. I hope that helped because she seemed a bit more relaxed. So I hope your cat gets better.

[CieraSL]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

I'm very sorry to hear that Mark. My dog is 11 and 1/2 right now, so he's getting pretty old. I've pretty much grown up with this dog, and I'll be lost when he goes. But he's healthy, so hopefully he's got a good long while to go. I hope Yoda gets better soon!

[MyFirstES300]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

I had a 12 year black cat during my childhood through teen years and "Missy" went through exactly what your cat is going through.

We began to notice the similar symptoms, and she was diagnosed with Feline AIDS and the end result is kidney failure.

There is that mindset to keep that beloved pet for as long as you can, and then there comes a day when he/she looks at you and seems to say with those eyes "please let me go."

Mark, I understand your frustration and sorrow. Keep him comfortable as much as possible.

[TXShine]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

Mark, just spend as much time as you can with Yoda and we’ll all hope the meds. will get him back on his feet.

This is a subject that is extremely painful for me right now. I actually have tears in my eyes as I try to think of what to say. I just lost my best friend, my 19 year old (yes 19) Min Pin Rowdy early Easter Sunday. I won’t go in to all the details, but he basically died in his sleep right next to me. It may be strange to some, but it was the most painful death I’ve ever been through, he was like a son to me. I still carry his collar and tags just about everywhere I go. His Urn with his picture sits on my night stand. Believe it or not these things have really helped me get through the toughest times. My family and I will always remember him as one of us.

I started to come here and post about his passing knowing there is a lot of good caring people (and animal lovers) here, but I never could get past the first couple of words without completely breaking down. And I’m not very good with words anyway, especially from behind the keyboard. Anyway........
Mark I truly am hoping for the best for you and Yoda. Please keep us posted.

[john m.]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

Mark, I cant say I know exactly what you are going through but something similiar happened to me my last semester a few weeks before my final. My dog Maggie (she was a springer spaniel) was the best dog and we have had her in my family since I can remember.

I would come home around every 2 weeks or so being my first year in college and when I got home no one would be there so I would just go sit with her and play around til everyone got home. Well one of the weekends i came home was her birthday weekend so my mom had taken her to the groomer to get her looking nice and when my mom brought her back she had had some kind of a stroke or something while there and I had to carry her in the house. She couldnt stand up and leaned to the left, she wouldnt drink or anything.

She was already pretty old at 13 and was partially blind and deaf but she would still come running whenever she saw or heard you and just lick everyone, so it was very hard to cope with her basically not being there, she wouldnt respond to anything. To make things worse no vet said they had the time to see her so me and my mom rushed her to an animal hospital and had to leave her there overnight for care. It was so hard to let her go, and she ended up passing away the next morning, never got to see her again. Atleast there she was kept comfortable (we still dont know what really happened to her as testing would have been to much money)

Basically what I want to say is that with me I only got a few hours when I found out someting was wrong with my dog. So you should spend as much time as you can with your cat just incase. Just have him sit with you while you study. Nothing will really make it easier but hopefully it can help a little. Sorry to hear this, let me know if I can in anyway help.

[Poki]

Re: Bummer of a day - pet lovers

Mark, so sorry to hear about Yoda. I too am a pet lover and can't stand to seem them in pain. I'd rather hurt instead. My 10 year old Maltese is my best friend and I have nightmares about losing him. Last summer he had to spend the night in the vet hospital after having 20 teeth removed and a rough time of it. Worst night of my life. He wasn't sleeping on the pillow against my head. Here is something that you may want to keep, even though it is about dogs. A Dog's Ten Commandments certainly applies to cats and all other loved pets. http://www.dogsaver.org/caninecrusad...mmandments.htm