We need help making a decision about Vodka.

About a month after Whiskey died, Vodka lost a LOT of weight.  We took her to the vet to make sure everything was fine, and scheduled a spaying because she needed it done anyway.  Her pre-op bloodwork came back slightly elevated in the liver enzymes.  During her spaying, a liver biopsy was done.

When it came back, she was diagnosed with either a shunt or extra vessels, regardless of which it was, her blood was not getting cleaned by her liver.  It's either going straight through it or completely around it.  Only specialty testing at a university would tell us which.  The shunt is operable.  The extra vessels leave her doomed.

The vet fiddled around with an ultrasound and are thinking she more than likely has the shunt, so we put her on an antioxidant and a special diet.  Her next set of bloodwork came back completely normal.  We had high hopes for Vodka.

About a month ago she started acting kind of weird.  She was constantly hungry, constantly thirsty, and even though she was eating and drinking a lot, she was losing weight again.  We shipped her back to the vet and it was determined the special diet we have her on, a low protein but high carb diet to help her failing liver, gave her diabetes.  She spent the night getting rehydrated and had a glucose test done.  She was sent home with insulin.

We still let Vodka have her treats.  She likes bacon, eggs, butter, cheese, fruits, vegetables, ice cream, pretty much what we eat, she has to sample it.  The vet never told us to ease up on it even though every time we took her for a glucose check, I made it very clear that these were staples in her diet.  Until her glucose was so insanely out of control they had to up her insulin dose.  They kept her overnight again for a glucose curve test and said she had to stay on a strict diet.  Only the special food, nothing else. 

Here's where our problem is.  She's visibly miserable.  She's lost her spunk.  She meows and meows and reluctantly nibbles on her special food when we stay nearby and coax her.  Otherwise, she wants nothing to do with it and goes out of her way to eat anything else.  She tries to get into the other cat's food, to eat the dog food.  Last night she swiped my entire steak and ran into the kitchen with it.  She had clawed us both to death trying to get whatever we're eating.  She's bitten Alex's fingers and lips after he shoves food in his mouth.

The shunt is going to shorten her life anyway.  We're wondering if when she's done with this bag of speciall food if we'd be horrible to let her eat what she wants, when she wants, and say our goodbyes.  I mean, really, if you were going to die a slow and torturous death anyway, would you do everything in your power no matter how sucky it was to stay alive an extra year or two?  Or would you go out happy?

I really don't want to have to deal with the birth of our kid and the death of our cat at the same time, but I can't handle seeing her so upset and miserable.

If you had done this to your child and fed them food that was poison to them (like McDonalds and fast foods) until they became diabetic would you give up on your kid too because they're just not happy eating the food that's good for them? Or would you give them lots of love and try to work through it with them?

Personally I'd let it run it's course without surgery and then get another cat.

And to compare the care of a pet to the care of a child is absurd!

Uh, sybil878, are we overlooking the fact that she has a terminal illness and the treatment is unbearable to her?

trhawley, I've compared Vodka to be my own child, too, and me expecting doesn't influence my decision at all.  We saw that Whiskey was miserable and the treatment for her illness was worse, like in Vodka's case, than the illness.  We made the decision to let Whiskey go peacefully and now we're left to wonder if we should do the same with Vodka.

With her blood not being cleaned she's at risk for kidney infections, kidney stones, and ammonia build up.  That'll make her go crazy.  Like seriously crazy, like meowing at doorknobs and headbutting walls crazy. 

Money's not an issue.  It's about her happiness at this point, and she's not happy.

A few years ago, my dog went into kidney failure and lost about 25 pounds (and she wasn't a huge dog, so it was pretty severe weight loss).  I had to choose between a whole bunch of medical intervention that she wouldn't have understood and just letting her live out her final months in peace.  I just let her eat whatever she wanted, adding as many calories as I could to her food, and making sure she was as happy as she could be.  She actually regained about 10 or 15 pounds, which made her a lot more comfortable.  A few months went by and she had a series of strokes, and I had to have a vet come to the house and put her to sleep (she couldn't walk).  I've never regretted my decision to let her life end as peacefully as it could.  Animals don't understand medicine and medical intervention, and I think it's often best to just let them take a more natural path at the ends of their lives.  

i'm really sorry to say this CD...but coming from a huge lover of animals whose had her fair share of having to deal with this type of thing, i think you should seriously consider euthanasia. it's horrible to lose a pet...but even more horrible to see them suffer. i think you should schedule the final vet appointment...that way you and alex can plan around it so you're both available to be with Vodka & also to allow yourself time to prepare emotionally (as much as can be done. -it's never easy, but knowing in advance can sometimes help a bit).

keep us posted (hugs)

Honestly, I'd let Vodka eat whatever it is she wanted instead of having her be miserable, as long as she isn't going to suffer any more than she would be if you were going to force feed her the special diet. Her little kitty butt deserves some happiness and to go peacefully, with as little suffering as possible. I'm sure you would put her down if her suffering grew to be too much.

I wouldn't know what to do with myself if my kitty-child were having the same problems. I love my Jasmine, and while I do think of her as a child, animals aren't human being. Sometimes it's more humane to let them go peacefully, doing what they always do.

Do whatever it is that you feel is best for her.

Original Post by cellulitedelight:

I mean, really, if you were going to die a slow and torturous death anyway, would you do everything in your power no matter how sucky it was to stay alive an extra year or two?  Or would you go out happy?

If the animal is going to be miserable until it dies, put it out of it's misery.  Doing everything you can to keep it alive for an extra year or two might make the person feel better, but it isn't doing the pet any favors.

Uuuuuuugh, the only thing that really sucks about this is I can't spend a few weeks on the sofa piss drunk like we did with Whiskey.  But then again, Whiskeey died suddenly.  We've had time to make a decision about Vodka.

We're going to discuss at her next vet visit about switching her food and keeping her on insulin.  I mean, hell, no matter what we do something is going to kill her.  Keep her on her special diet, her liver stays okay for a while but her diabetes is out of control.  Take her off of it, her glucose regulates but her liver fails.

We don't expect her to make it through the summer regardless of what we do.

you're not having good luck with the kittens, CD.  that sucks.  so much. 

i can't tell you what to do, because i don't even know what i'd do if this happened to envy. 

all i can say is put some thought into what would be the most humane thing to do for her.  that way you can know that you did all you could, and you made the best decision. 

message me if you need anything. 

My late German shepherd Diabolique was a diabetic for almost three years before age and organ failure made it impossible for her to have any pain free moments...The insulin for her was expensive at 85 lbs, the curves outrageous and frequent, near the end she just wouldn't stay level. For us treating her was the right thing to do until it was obvious that is was not.

She hated the food. She got used to it, sort of.

cd you'll know what to do, and when to do it.......

My luck with cats is due to them being siblings.  It was just a bad litter.  The biopsy says if one cat has either of these things, all of the cats in the litter would.  Whiskey just had a few other issues that came out first so we never got to check her and see if she had liver issues, too.  The vets are positive she did.

Alex keeps assuring me that this isn't normal and we just got a bad draw with these guys, and is hoping I'll someday get another kitty.

Original Post by cellulitedelight:

Alex keeps assuring me that this isn't normal and we just got a bad draw with these guys, and is hoping I'll someday get another kitty.

 it doesn't sound normal.  it doesn't sound like you guys are bad kitty parents or anything along those lines.  it sounds like a bad litter, which is unfortunate, but happens.  some animals (just like people) are born sick.  and that sucks.  you should get another kitten baby someday, but i'd worry about the human one first.

ps - side note, but congrats on the baby!  :)

Original Post by trhawley:

Personally I'd let it run it's course without surgery and then get another cat.

And to compare the care of a pet to the care of a child is absurd!

Ditto.  However, I would say that once the cat is visibly uncomfortable, put it down.

CD, I feel so bad for you.  I know how much you love your baby.  An I know that having her be miserable is hard on you.

I had an older cat that was in somewhat the same predicament.  She was hyperthyroid so even though she ate well, she was losing weight.  We tried medication but could not find a good dosage.  Too much and her liver started to have problems, not enough and she would still have elevated thyroid stuff and be slowly losing weight. 

Surgery could be done, but it was expensive, and it would only work temporarily.  Radiation treatment was possible but she would be isolated for several weeks, and I know she would not have survived. The only time we left her overnight at the vet she completely shut down and they could not get her to eat or drink until one of came in and talked and pet her. 

We eventually just let nature take it's course.  We let her eat whatever she wanted which included McDonald's cheeseburgers.  (she could eat a 1/4 pounder and she only weighed 5 pounds!).   She lasted about 3-4 years after the diagnosis. 

I can't tell you what to do, but I don't think it would be wrong of you to let her go.  If she is miserable with her life the way it is now, then maybe it would be for the best. 

This might sound stupid.  But why not put her on her regular diet but with a few exceptions.  Have her follow a regual diabetic diet.  She eats and is happy sans ice cream and extra fruit.  She just might improve. 

A regular diabetic diet would force her liver to shut down and she'd die anyway.  Only she'd go nuts in the process.

I feel for you, we recently had to put down our 12 year old scotty, Brandon.  He was dealing with epilepsy for several years, and one day had a terrible seizure, and didn't recover by morning.  We took him to the vet, where they gave him a steroid shot to stop the seizing, but he was walking in circles and refused food and water, so the vet determined that he most likely had a brain tumor, and while he might recover from this one, there was no knowing when it would happen again or how bad it would be.  We didn't want him to suffer that again, and didn't really have the resources (tech wise, or money wise) to try and deal with it.  Euthanasia was still a very tough decision.  Just do what feels right for you and the kitty.

Original Post by sybil878:

If you had done this to your child and fed them food that was poison to them (like McDonalds and fast foods) until they became diabetic would you give up on your kid too because they're just not happy eating the food that's good for them? Or would you give them lots of love and try to work through it with them?

 

Haha, kidding right? My vote is between euthanasia and letting the cat live out a peaceful life. I'd steer away from surgery. Sorry about your cat, cellulitedelight. (((Hugs)))