I have a date set for PTS in 1 week and I am so confused

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Eve1231

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It's hard to tell by the pics how thin he really is. He actually doesn't look too skinny, but that could be just the angles. That is more a call on your part since you know what he looked like before. But, I am glad to hear he ate on his own!

Perhaps, the oral meds were just not agreeing with his digestive system and that combined with his lack of eating before he started the meds, it was just too much for him. With you keeping at it to ensure he was eating something, and the use of the transdermal meds at a lower dosage instead, perhaps he just needed some time to get 'back on track'.

Let's hope that is what it was, and that he continues to eat on his own!
He is actually a large cat and was 19 pounds at one point not long ago, did not look very over weight. He is 10 pounds. Maybe less. He won’t eat again. The last pic was from 4 weeks ago. I guess the middle pic is most accurate. I can see his ribs. He’s so sad. He was always energetic. I’ll see the vet soon to try and figure out what to do. Any oral pill including apatite makes him worse.
 
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Only in the last few days he is not drinking very much water now. He’s been for several fluid IVs. 🥴 I know that he would not be alive if I stopped trying to keep him alive. I’m torn about it because maybe I am prolonging and causing suffering trying all these pills. He’s so sad all the time. Some days his eyes look sunken. It’s heart breaking every day. He only looks somewhat ok due to my 24/7 efforts for a month now. I stop and he will die. I’m exhausted. Thanks for all the kind words of support. 🙏🏻 It has helped greatly to just be able to talk about it.
 

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Eve1231.

I'm going through something very similar with one of my cats at the moment. The difference is that I know that her condition is fatal and also that with her pre-existing health condition the progression of her disease is faster than it would be otherwise. So there is no doubt in my mind that when I let her go I will be doing the kindest thing. I'll be sparing her from any more suffering and helping her face the inevitable.

It sounds like you still do have doubts. In that case you need to talk to your vet again, or try and get an online consultation with another vet. Ask what they think about your boy's reaction to the meds and about his chances of living with his condition for a while longer. I think if you go ahead and have him PTS before you are absolutely sure it's going to haunt you.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

By that I mean prepare for what you will need to do if you do have to let him go. Are you going to bury him or have him cremated? If you bury him, where will that be? Are you going to plant a tree or some flowers in his memory? What kind of tree? Something that blossoms on his birthday or turns red in the fall? Do you want to have any other kind of way of marking his passing?

Think about all of this now, because decisions made when you are heart broken and in the first flood of grief might not be the best ones. Having the luxury to prepare is very precious.

Here's a video about a woman who held a wake for her cat. It might help you to watch it. She has some other very good videos on her channel to help people deal with the loss of a loved one.


Sending you hugs. I'm hoping for the best for you.

:hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:
 
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Eve1231

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E Eve1231 How's everything going?
Sorry it’s been a while. Titus finally started eating on his own 2 days before an appt to discuss his fate with vet so I canceled it. He’s still skinny but seems to be heading in the right direction. I assume the thyroid meds finally started to help. Just hoping he continues to improve and doesn’t go backwards. I was able to finally breathe and focus on work and self for the first time in a month. Everything was on hold so I was lost in trying to get my own life back to normal. Thank you for asking and all the support. We have a blood test on the 23rd and hope to learn more then. Some days he eats less than others and I start to feel alarmed again. He stopped needing to be with me constantly so I take that as a good sign.
 
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Eve1231

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Eve1231.

I'm going through something very similar with one of my cats at the moment. The difference is that I know that her condition is fatal and also that with her pre-existing health condition the progression of her disease is faster than it would be otherwise. So there is no doubt in my mind that when I let her go I will be doing the kindest thing. I'll be sparing her from any more suffering and helping her face the inevitable.

It sounds like you still do have doubts. In that case you need to talk to your vet again, or try and get an online consultation with another vet. Ask what they think about your boy's reaction to the meds and about his chances of living with his condition for a while longer. I think if you go ahead and have him PTS before you are absolutely sure it's going to haunt you.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

By that I mean prepare for what you will need to do if you do have to let him go. Are you going to bury him or have him cremated? If you bury him, where will that be? Are you going to plant a tree or some flowers in his memory? What kind of tree? Something that blossoms on his birthday or turns red in the fall? Do you want to have any other kind of way of marking his passing?

Think about all of this now, because decisions made when you are heart broken and in the first flood of grief might not be the best ones. Having the luxury to prepare is very precious.

Here's a video about a woman who held a wake for her cat. It might help you to watch it. She has some other very good videos on her channel to help people deal with the loss of a loved one.


Sending you hugs. I'm hoping for the best for you.

:hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:
Sorry you’re going through this too. I’ve-had several cats over the years but none that went through a long drawn out illness. It’s really more awful than I imagined. I do already have a spot picked out in my yard. Almost dug a hole twice for Titus. I have 2 elderly cats. My other has dementia but is very healthy otherwise. She just forgets what and who she is occasionally, howling, and you just have to pick her up and she’s good. We basically have a cat nursing home now. After this experience at least I know what to expect and am better prepared emotionally to handle whatever I need to. I am mentally prepared to let them go should the time come now that I’ve seen how they can suffer. I think I can better judge when that time would be right now that I am not emotional about it.
 

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I'm really glad to hear he is doing better. I hope he continues to improve and that the blood test helps you to understand what he needs. It's hard when they get old, isn't it? Mine are all between 5 and 15 at the moment, but I know it's going to be difficult as they age.

My girl is still hanging on. She can't eat on her own any more, but our vet has shown us how to give her sub-q fluids and we're making her as comfortable as possible. I actually took her to be PTS last week, but she wasn't ready. She's spending all of her time sleeping with her buddies. I hope she's just going to pass in her sleep one day soon without any more suffering.

:hugs:

Please keep us updated on Titus.
 
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Eve1231

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I'm really glad to hear he is doing better. I hope he continues to improve and that the blood test helps you to understand what he needs. It's hard when they get old, isn't it? Mine are all between 5 and 15 at the moment, but I know it's going to be difficult as they age.

My girl is still hanging on. She can't eat on her own any more, but our vet has shown us how to give her sub-q fluids and we're making her as comfortable as possible. I actually took her to be PTS last week, but she wasn't ready. She's spending all of her time sleeping with her buddies. I hope she's just going to pass in her sleep one day soon without any more suffering.

:hugs:

Please keep us updated on Titus.
I force fed Titus as a last resort and he let me do it for about 2 weeks but only enough to keep him barley going. But then he started to resist and held his mouth closed and I just had to stop trying. He still would not eat for like 3 days then he started eating. Force feeding a cat is a messy business. Trying to get the syringe working. I had cat food squirted all over my kitchen walls and across the floor. Pretty much was covered in it myself. It did save him though. For Titus every pill I tried, anything that went into his mouth, sent him downhill the next day. The transdermal was what finally worked. It cost more but so much easier to apply in the ear with less side effects. I hope I get good news soon but I know so much can still go wrong. I’ll give an update. I hope others can learn from my experience with the various meds. Thyroid pills, nausea and apatite pills all made him noticeably worse. And also reducing from 5mg thyroid meds to half that twice a day was important. I stopped all other meds. Wishing your baby has a peaceful exit and that you are taking care of yourself too. 🙏🏻 After my cats are gone I’m getting a lions head bunny. I can’t handle this anymore at least until I retire. How hard could it be to let go of a bunny! Unless they cuddle? 😆
 

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Titus update
Called to get his blood work result today and they are out until Friday for Thanksgiving. Bummer. He got a liver and kidney panel and the doc said if those are bad athen there is no hope. Titus is actually doing much better and seems almost his normal self but still skinny and has not gained or lost weight in the last week when he started eating.
I force fed Titus as a last resort and he let me do it for about 2 weeks but only enough to keep him barley going. But then he started to resist and held his mouth closed and I just had to stop trying. He still would not eat for like 3 days then he started eating. Force feeding a cat is a messy business. Trying to get the syringe working. I had cat food squirted all over my kitchen walls and across the floor. Pretty much was covered in it myself. It did save him though. For Titus every pill I tried, anything that went into his mouth, sent him downhill the next day. The transdermal was what finally worked. It cost more but so much easier to apply in the ear with less side effects. I hope I get good news soon but I know so much can still go wrong. I’ll give an update. I hope others can learn from my experience with the various meds. Thyroid pills, nausea and apatite pills all made him noticeably worse. And also reducing from 5mg thyroid meds to half that twice a day was important. I stopped all other meds. Wishing your baby has a peaceful exit and that you are taking care of yourself too. 🙏🏻 After my cats are gone I’m getting a lions head bunny. I can’t handle this anymore at least until I retire. How hard could it be to let go of a bunny! Unless they cuddle? 😆
How’s your baby girl? Hope you are well. 💕Do people choose to allow a cat to pass at home even when quite ill or is it best to schedule PTS at vet at a certain point? I guess my wish would be hospice at home but I am guessing that is too much suffering. My alarm bells are going off about Titus again even though he appears better. Thinking of you. Take care.
 
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Titus update: Just got the blood work back and so much is off which is confusing since he’s eating normally again and seems so much better. His thyroid numbers have not changed at all so bumping up to full dose now of transdermal. His liver numbers are elevated as well as WBC. His RBC is off as well and still one elevated high kidney number. Overall it does not look good but I need to go in and talk to the doc again. My main vet is out. I feel so frustrated as I have tried so hard to get those thyroid numbers up and nothing has changed. Obviously there is more going on here. But he seems not stressed and normal, but too skinny, so very confused. So much better than where we were a week ago and all month. I guess I will keep doing what I can and hope he keeps improving. But also not get my hopes up. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions. I just have to accept, again, that he may not get better.
 

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He stopped needing to be with me constantly
This is amazing, good for him!

Speaking of handfeeding, instead of the syringe (if you need to do this again) utilize a tongue depressor/popsicle stick, with pate style food. I feed Poppycat daily with this method since he won't consume his supplements/meds otherwise, and it works fairly well :)

There is also this thread that may have useful info for you;
Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!
 
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Eve1231

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This is amazing, good for him!

Speaking of handfeeding, instead of the syringe (if you need to do this again) utilize a tongue depressor/popsicle stick, with pate style food. I feed Poppycat daily with this method since he won't consume his supplements/meds otherwise, and it works fairly well :)

There is also this thread that may have useful info for you;
Any Good Tips To Get Your Cats To Eat? Share Them Here!
Thank you. He’s eating again on his own but his current blood work (see above) doesn’t look good. I think if he stops eating again I will have to decide if I am only prolonging a fatal disease with his liver issues now. But I am still not giving up as long as he does not give up. Doctors can be wrong. 🙏🏻💕
 

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Do not over-trust blood work!
There is a lot of misunderstanding and lack of knowledge in interpretation of the result.
Always try to interpret the results in connection with clinical observation and also based on personal experience.
===
As a side note, not even in the case of human blood tests the interpretation is clear.
Most of may friends and relatives have been told at a certain moment in their life that they are so sick that they are close to death. But almost all of them are still alive and in happy health decades after doctors told them to prepare for the worst. :-) :-).

So, keep a look on the bloodwork, but if the cat is otherwise progressing towards the good, then keep watching and do what you are doing. Patience is the key, and cats are kings of patience. :-),

===

However, Life has rules that we just cant understand. If the sad event will occur, then remember that it occurs for a good reason. If you let him go, then it is again for a good reason. Regardless we understand or not that reason.

I put a red flag on my desk for Titus.
 
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