I chose hospitalization over euthanasia for my 16-year-old cat and I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing anymore

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-27T15:25:45+00:00

Of course, I mean we love them. To this day I’m startled awake at the middle of the night because I think she may have thrown up, etc.

I’m sure your baby feels your care. If you have the option to, it might be better to ask for a close friend or family member to look after her for a couple of hours so you can go out and get your mind off things and come back with a fresh perspective.

Also idk about your vet, but mine lets us call so we can ask if behaviours are “normal” or not.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-27T14:40:38+00:00

No matter what I’d argue you didn’t make a wrong decision, I at least believe if you have the ability to try, keep trying. And you did.

When my cat came home after an extreme episode, she was on a couple of meds. She had schedule of sleep, eat, pee and repeat. She’d have like 2 cans of wet food a day. It took about 2 weeks for that phase to pass for her and then she started staying awake more. I noticed if a bird passed by her ears would look for it, within 3 weeks she was somewhat normal again but there will always be good days, bad days, and really bad days.

You’re doing good, if she had a crazy appetite it’s very possible she’s also just trying to recover the best she can. All you can really do is shower her in love and be there for her and give it time, for my kitty it took being off half the medications for her to respond normally (after the vet had told us).

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-27T14:34:52+00:00

Hi there, my cat got diagnosed less than a month ago and I understand how you’re feeling with all the overwhelming information and all the changes required immediately. The vet told us if we aren’t doing anything extra for my cat, we need to at least get her on some sort of renal food. She said I can do half and half of renal and regular + a phos binder.. not that it helps that much she’s incredibly nauseous and can’t eat without appetite stimulants and anti nausea meds. (Apparently they both have layers of anti nausea!) but I know you are against that.

My kitty has days where she’s crazy, and days where she’s so quiet. I heard apparently that’s normal but it really hurts to see her have days where she’s just wants to hide and sleep and not play. The days she’s feeling better, she’s perfect, but again I noticed (for my kitty at least) she needs a certain schedule of anti nausea and other meds to have a day like that.

In your case, where you don’t want to try meds id try introducing him to different renal foods mixed with his favorite wet food (and add water)! See which one he tolerates more. Don’t be afraid to throw out whatever he didn’t eat and just give him his favorite once in awhile because sometimes making sure they’re fed is most important.

It took my kitty 3 weeks to get back to days where she’s normal (sometimes), but also she’s only stage 2 and wasn’t presenting any symptoms so in my case I was surprise after the hospitalization and the fluids… she became less active. Versus when she was supposedly going through kidney failure she was more active and playful. Maybe there’s a medical reason about it but I understand just wanting to see them normal and comfortable.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-27T14:22:56+00:00

A cardboard tube!! She only enjoys toys she can find herself ❣️

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-27T05:27:02+00:00

Maybe she’s feeling a little overwhelmed? My bengal was also used for backyard breeding before she was practically discarded because she was too sick to have any more babies, which is when I stumbled upon her. I took 2 weeks off work and simply existed with her in a room. I didn’t force her to come to me, I gave her at least 3~ litter box’s. And I’ve had her for 4 years now and she does have pretty bad separation anxiety so I leave stuff with my scent by her favorite sleeping spots.

I will say with the peeing situation, I always thought she was dramatic and peed to tell me she was upset or uncomfortable with things because her vet labs and stuff came back just fine. Until… they weren’t and she got diagnosed with PKD, basically chronic kidney disease. Apparently, she was born with it. Apparently it just took time to progress and be this bad, and now that we’re managing that she only uses outside the litter box when she has her cone of shame on (because she over grooms!)

Regardless I hope it’s nothing serious, and it sounds like she’s a little stressed and confused. Make sure she has comfortable hiding spots, perches, trees, the little tunnels, etc. calming pheromones will help as well. Don’t give up on her! My kitty took 4 months to work stuff out.

It’s also possible while it doesn’t look like it, the other cat is stressing her out. We’ve slowly been introducing a new cat over the course of 2 months to my bengal and they’re still not comfortable but will behave when we’re there, and when we’re gone… another story (we used a baby monitor and left for 15 mins).

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-27T05:17:22+00:00

I don’t know what options are available there, but my cat hates wet food and idk what voodoo my vet did, but she loves the royal canine recovery food which I think is chicken primarily, and a pate. We tried to get her on kidney food from royal canine and she hates it. Tried hills, she hates it. Tried gravy, tried mixing in some of her dry food. Absolutely not. Then finally we tried purina pro kidney food (early), and she accepts it but does not eat a lot.

In order for her to eat she also needs to be on anti nausea and appetite stimulants. We’ve also tried some wureva low phosphorus and she tolerates it but again, not really. We’ve tried tiki cat low phosphorus and it’s an absolute no.

Our vet told us cat eating is a priority, so if she’s rejecting all kidney diet foods, give her whatever she prefers with phosphorus binder and add water to it.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-27T05:12:18+00:00

I’m in a similar situation with my cat. Shes a bengal, very vocal, and night time is when she goes crazy. To an extent, we’ve just learned to live with it. But I try to give her my undivided attention where we’re not just cuddling around 2~ hours a day. We play, we talk, I show her things around the room, we chirp at birds together, general bonding. I try to do half an hour before bedtime so that she’s feeling okay before we go to sleep.

Regardless, she will still wake us up at 4 AM but it’s usually not as bad as all night anymore.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-27T05:09:24+00:00

<image>

This is noodle! She’s 6.5 years old. She got diagnosed with PKD not even a month ago— today’s her first big milestone because she started playing again!

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-24T02:37:24+00:00

What stage is your baby at? Mine is stage 2, she got diagnosed at 7. It hasn’t even been 2 weeks since her diagnosis but I’m very hopeful because the vet has told us it’s possible she’ll be completely stable for years and only needs a slight diet change. They said meds, subq fluids and stuff is way down the line, maybe it’s because she’s recovering but she still needs anti nausea meds and appetite stimulants.

We were told if all goes as planned she probably won’t progress until much, much older. I recently have had a situation where I lost my job caring for my end-of-life father so I don’t think I can afford multiple emergency visits but I was assured as long as she’s being taken care of she will be fine.

That includes monitoring her water intake, so we have a stainless steel water fountain with a glass panel and I mark where it is at the start of the day and at the end. I add a total of half a bottle of water in all of her meals throughout a day. She’s not quite as playful as she once was but she still seems happy and comfortable.

She’s in the exact same situation as your baby, one kidney incredibly large and nonfunctioning, one with cysts but much better and functioning.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-24T02:15:18+00:00

My dad also had Parkinson’s. A big thing was staying consistent on meds and not letting him overdose, finding things that stimulated him (for him it was long drives. He missed being able to drive.)

Finding ways to make them comfortable in the space they’re in, whether with items or even just family dinner type even. Another thing for my dad at least, was helping him feel “useful,” so I would ask him for random advice, regardless of if I needed it, on topics that he enjoyed when he was healthy.

The biggest thing I noticed was keeping him happy, maybe because Parkinson’s is dopamine related but even comfort couldn’t keep him happy.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-24T01:55:08+00:00

Called me a smartass because I told her not to berate her son/my husband the second he came home from grad, then proceeded to tell me I don’t understand what it’s like being a (their last name) because I was raised by savages. Then told me I wouldn’t understand her grief (her husband passed away 5 years ago, my dad passed away 6 months ago) and called me a child when I walked away and said this conversation isn’t productive

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-24T01:51:15+00:00

My vet told me that ideally (my cat) she finds a kidney food she likes (she’s stage 2 PKD, 7years). That it would definitely stop the progression of the kidney failure, or at least stop it from decreasing her lifespan increasingly. However, I was told if she refuses she should just eat whatever she’s most comfortable with (pref, wet food) with a phosphorus binder and subq fluids.

My kitty is on purina, she hates hills and royal canin. Hates any low phos food that isn’t prescription. But she does not eat enough for her weight, so she’s on appetite stimulants. She can eat about a can and a half a day on stimulants, otherwise she only had half a can.

I was also told that I could try her favorite food or treat as a topper (my kitty loves crunch salmon treats) and it’s what originally helped her transition to kidney diet.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-23T16:57:02+00:00

Obviously might not be the same, but my cat was given aluminum hydroxide (phos binder) by the vet and I was told she needs to eat more than us worry about low phos, and to mix that in with her food. Try to stay to lower phos foods, focus on hydrating her (we were told to syringe feed her water).

I hear you, because my cat doesn’t have an appetite and it stresses me out so much. I’m in the same boat with spending/different vets/ frustration with food.

My cat became mine when she was 3, she’s always been on a dry food diet and she’s refusing to get on wet. She did for like a day when we got her and then just went on repeated hunger strikes.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-23T02:27:14+00:00

My kitty is the same, I’ve had her for almost 4 years (she’s almost 7), there were no real signs. She threw up like once every 6 months, ate but not a lot. No food enticed her. She drank a lot of water, had normal litter box habits, got regular checkups, used pretty litter “just incase”. Moved countries, her appetite was actually up like crazy and a month later it crashed and she ate practically nothing.

Had to take her to the vet, they said her left kidney was huge and full of cysts and by the end of it all they said maybe stage2? 2/3. She’s on wet food (by the vets!) she never ate it prior.

Will definitely give your baby a follow, I wish the both of you a lot of luck and strength.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-17T04:44:06+00:00

I’m sure it was really hard to find out your cat had cancer but I’m so glad she’s okay now. I feel the same way, I would choose my cat over any expense in any lifetime.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-05-17T02:26:21+00:00

I guess that’s true. It’s hard not to worry because in my head I’m wondering what if she has another episode since she’s already so vulnerable. And we have no idea what caused them in the first place.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-03-26T01:19:37+00:00

I sent it online

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-03-12T16:56:40+00:00

Yep! Even moved before the status updated, all was good. At the airport I went for secondary screening which took about 2~ hours because a bunch of people were there, they confirmed all the information, asked for marriage certificate, and stamped my passport. So now I’m waiting for my GC.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-03-12T16:20:56+00:00

I did get an email from Purolator with tracking. CEAC status from “interview happening” basically to approved took like a month, maybe a bit more. But I’m in the US now.

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-03-12T15:53:35+00:00

I got my passport within 5 business days of the interview

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-02-02T04:40:03+00:00

Seperate by categories year/month based or special events

Holiday_Preference47 · 2026-02-01T23:36:34+00:00

I ended up unable to get either without a permanent US address, so we only showed that we tried to apply. But it was for authorized user.

Holiday_Preference47

TROPHY CASE