10 yrs old female feline

Question
Cat was diagnosed:diabetes,enlarged liver, poses. kidney problem in one kidney,infection,stomach is bloated. Sent home with: glipizide 10 mg 2x/d, clavamox, 1 ml/2x/d, cellwise, 1 tab 1x/d, cyproheptadine  4mg/2x/d. Spent wk. in vet clinic, never told exactly anything! Insulin levels were all over the place. Now home for 5 days, no better.Stomach bloated so large, cat can barely walk. Husband wants to euthanize, I want hope. Any there? Thanks for any info.

Answer
Frantic Mom,

Unfortunately I'm not a veterinarian and therefore I can't offer diagnoses or a prognosis for your kitty. I will say that you may want to consider alternative therapies ranging from homeopathy, herbal medicine, veterinary chiropractic treatments, light therapies, acupuncture, acupressure, etc. My eldest cat is alive today because of homeopathic remedies. She developed acute renal failure during the Menu Foods pet food recalls of 2007 and conventional treatment was tried without any improvement (in fact MC continued to deteriorate) - our vet is trained in homeopathy and has extensive knowledge on the subject so she began treatment with homeopathic remedies while continuing conventional treatment. Today MC doesn't require any special diet, injections of supplementary fluids or any other treatment for her kidneys, in fact she's on the normal diet I feed my resident kitties (a combination of homemade raw diet @ catinfo.org and a high quality holistic cat food made from human grade ingredients which doesn't contain any rendered animal fats or other such garbage) and her kidney function is 100% normal (conventional medicine doesn't have any explanation for this).

Ultimately I can empathize with your situation, it's difficult to know what your fur kid's prognosis is and ultimately I think that you should trust your heart. Your kitty will let you know when it's time to call it a day via euthanasia or palliative care at home. Since there is the possibility that you may be forced to make that decision sooner rather than later I've taken the liberty of including some materials to help make the grieving process slightly easier (there's no way to make losing a beloved animal companion easier - I wish I could do that for you). These are pieces of writing that have helped me during the difficult times where I've had to euthanize a precious feline companion, I hope they help to soothe your soul, at least a little.

May your whiskers be ruffled by only pleasant breezes,
May your bowls be filled with tuna and sweet cream,
May your dreams be blessed with legions of mice,
And most of all,
May you forever purr in peace.

Amen

Fragile Circle


"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan."

Irving Townsend

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...


There is also a video on Youtube that is useful during the grieving process after the loss of a pet, it's called Til Then - be sure you have Kleenex nearby though because it's a tear jerker. Hopefully alternative medicine can help your kitty have more good quality life even if it's not for as long as you might like. In the meantime I'll keep you, your husband and your kitty in my thoughts and prayers. Please feel free to contact me if you need a supportive shoulder over the next while, I may not be able to do much in terms of fixing the situation but I'm well aware that often times it's helpful to have an empathetic ear/shoulder to cry on.

PS: You may want to consider checking out the Ask A Vet portion of this site - Dr. Christine Chambreau is a homeopathic vet and she may have some ideas for remedies that might prove useful at this point. As far as I know she also offers phone/email consults for a fee in the US so if you're interested certainly discuss this option with her.