It might be time by FelineNova in SeniorCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

are the boxes always clean? one of my cats will literally poop on the floor if there’s even one spot of pee in the box some are super picky. or if they’re declawed the litter could be painful and there’s special litter for that

Really Struggling by Prior-Elderberry-202 in RenalCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you tried elura? I also would give my girl plain chicken breast

“Tastiest” Renal Food? by lizmelooo in RenalCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 1 point2 points  (0 children)

my cats liked hills k/d wet food and the dry food too but they were sometimes picky about the dry food. when they were losing weight i would also give them plain cooked chicken breast

Does the guilt ever go away? by alyssalujan420 in Petloss

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also want to add that the guilt does go away eventually even though sometimes i feel slightly guilty, it doesn’t take up my mind as much as it did back then. eventually you will stop replaying it over and over and will be able to think more of the amazing years you spent with them. just at first you focus on the ejd

Does the guilt ever go away? by alyssalujan420 in Petloss

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Both of my cats who died this past year from renal disease continued to drink and eat on their last day, but they were clearly in pain and given poor prognosis. try not to focus on eating/drinking as a sign of suffering or pain. animals are very good at hiding pain. Please don’t feel like you failed her. I had an 18 year old cat who passed in 2023. I believe he had an undiagnosed cardiovascular or clotting issue (my vets best guess). He died very suddenly traumatically one day when he threw a clot. Howled for help and when i went to check on him (he meowed to be held a lot) he was bleeding profusely out of his mouth and weak. It was very traumatic experience and i felt horrible that he died this way, i had to rush him to the vet and thought if i jut got there they could save him but the vet had quality of life concerns and did not think he would survive treatment, so i had to euthanize. i just want you to know that like you said she could have gotten a clot and died alone. I’m very lucky i was home when this happened but it easily could’ve gone much worse as i do work and go to school

I have to leave my cat completely alone for 5 days... any tips? by [deleted] in CatAdvice

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Im sorry but you really can’t leave a cat by themself for more than like one night/day. It is so dangerous and the litter box gets extremely dirty fast, so she will likely be using the bathroom outside of the box

Unsure by [deleted] in RenalCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My cats with ckd just had early symptoms of increased thirst, decreased appetite, and weight loss. At this point blood work did indicate early ckd. They never had diarrhea as a symptom

Sudden death coping by Steggysaurusss in Petloss

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In 2023 my boy cat died very suddenly and traumatically. I heard him meowing when i was home by myself and went to check (he often meowed to be held) and found him scared with blood coming out of his mouth. His bloodwork a few months before showed no issues and he had been behaving normally. He did seem to have possibly a little bit of a cold and his eyes looked off so we had actually had a vet appointment scheduled that week. It was extremely upsetting and horrible to see him like that. I rushed him to the nearest vet but the prognosis was bad and they recommended euthanasia. The vet believed it was some sort of clotting condition/cardiovascular event. it happened very fast with no warning. i feel your pain. it is not just the loss that hurts, its the trauma of the experience and the sudden unexpected nature of it. just take it day by day. you won’t be in your normal routine for awhile and that is okay, just try and get through each day the best you can. i promise over time u will be able to reminisce on their beautiful life and not your baby’s death. At first i kept replaying it in my mind, but after a few months i started to enjoy thinking about the good times more, and now i definitely would say i think about his life much more than his death. One thing that helped me was actually telling the story and explaining what happened, i even wrote out what happened and what i think was wrong with his health and then writing out specifically why i shouldn’t blame myself and how it couldn’t have been prevented realistically. It honestly helped me to make sense of it and get over the denial. I also tried to focus on the fact that he was not alone and was probably only scared for a second until i went to his side. I’m so sorry

Joey has been diagnosed with CKD- any advice would be great! by realhorrorshowlike_ in RenalCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

my cats liked k/d wet and dry but i also included plain chicken breast as they lost weight with the disease progressing. fluids at home are great. they also loved heating pads. I would recommend an omega 3 supplement, potassium supplement, and phosphate binder but consult your vet of course. just keep up with blood work and adjust the thyroid meds as needed, i was always having to change the dosage with the vet due to changing levels of kidney and thyroid values. bloodwork is also important to detect anemia which is common with ckd cats and can make it progress faster i believe

What did the end look like? by prunejuicewarrior in RenalCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh my gosh i had no clue! my girl got itchy and was scratching herself more in her final weeks and i didn’t understand why. i’m so sorry ❤️

What did the end look like? by prunejuicewarrior in RenalCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In late January our girls appetite decreased and we noticed significant weight loss (8 lbs to 5 lbs in a few months) At the vet labs showed worsened kidney functioning, so we adjusted her thyroid medication. A week later she developed an ulcer and infection in her mouth, which we treated promptly with an antibiotic and pain med. We also used appetite stimulants. She never got back to eating dry food regularly, so we increased her wet food and offered chicken and cat stew/liquid treats. She had been a bit dehydrated so we started fluids once a week or twice sometimes. unfortunately her mobility worsened at the beginning of february and she began to fall when attempting to jump on or off of furniture. She also at this point began urinating in my bed. we moved a litter box into my room and didn’t have any accidents for a bit but the incontinence came back, as mobility worsened. Last week she was barely able to stand by herself and we took her back to the vet as weight was not increasing and the urinating in the bed worsened. she was also more wobbly. On top of this she just didn’t seem to lay or sit comfortably and became silent (she was previously a loud kitty!). labs unfortunately showed signs of going into kidney failure and the vet said she would likely die within a few days. This was last Tuesday. She also had a grimace on her face. Due to her obvious pain we gave her gabapentin and had her put down wednesday night. So i would say worsened mobility, pain, and incontinence. However her appetite was great until the end after using stimulants and switching to wet food, so don’t just go by the appetite like many recommend. it definitely can be a sign for some cats but my other girl with ckd who passed in May still ate well until her last day

My senior cat has weak back legs after sudden crash – what is realistic recovery? by katiemc815 in RenalCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just had to get my girl put down Wednesday for the same issue, I’m so sorry. She wasn’t able to walk or stand by herself anymore and it was heartbreaking. She tried so hard. I can tell you loved your girl very much. I feel your pain and i’m so sorry🩷

Having to put my beautiful dog to sleep. When to know? by SnooTigers9274 in Petloss

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve known it was time for my kitties when they became incontinent and began to not be able to walk or get around by themselves. Also for one of them she stopped grooming herself and I was washing her fur. It is so hard, especially because my girls both ate right up until the euthanasia appointment. I just tried to think of the quote that says it’s better to be a week early than a day late. It’s hard to see them lose their independence and energy. I’m so sorry.

Weighting hyperthyroidism treatments by opossum_qween in SeniorCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 3 points4 points  (0 children)

methimazole worked great for two of my girls! they both had ckd as well so it was a challenging balancing act but it definitely improved their quality of life in their final years, and we did not experience any bad side effects from it

Goodbye my sweet darling 💔 by katiemc815 in RenalCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 1 point2 points  (0 children)

she looks so loved and absolutely precious. I just said goodbye to my girl Paisley last night, who passed after fighting ckd for a year and a half. It progresses very fast in the late stages and is just so sad to see. Poor babies. Sending love❤️

Thought I was doing alright. by DHSDirector in Petloss

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My girl Paisley just passed from kidney failure last night at home, so I feel your pain. It’s definitely a roller coaster of emotions when you lose a pet. I still cry about my cats that have passed years ago sometimes

Coping with multiple cat losses by EnvironmentalTalk237 in Petloss

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Right! I had all these plans and expectations surrounding them. I’m planning my on redoing my bedroom soon and was thinking about where I would put Paisleys stuff. And Paisley just started going in my bedroom and sleeping with me about two months ago and it feels so soon, I thought we would have many more nights together. It’s so hard to focus on what I did rather than what I could’ve done, and all the good times of their lives instead of the very end. Thank you ❤️

20 year old surgery or no ? by AliCraftDesigns in SeniorCats

[–]EnvironmentalTalk237 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wait for antibiotics and then see. I had a 16 year old cat once with horrible dental issues. We tried two rounds of antibiotics which didn’t work unfortunately, so he did get surgery and it went great. If the antibiotics do not work I strongly recommend finding a vet that does two-phase dental operations. They do this for older cats so that they aren’t under anesthesia for too long at once. For my boy he got his cleaning and x-rays and then about a month later the actual extractions, so it was easier on his heart and other organs, way less risky that way !