After just over 2 years of treating Casper for CKD and several other concurrent diseases, it became quite obvious Friday that he was in a downward and unavoidable spiral towards his eventual end of life. He was deeply shut down, mentally out of it, barely eating and not behaving "himself" at all. It almost seemed he was having small seizures in reaction to certain types of noises. He'd just sit there staring into space, and suddenly would jerk forward heavily. I don't believe he was recognizing us at this point. It was extremely difficult to watch. The change came on rapidly but with kidney disease, this is how things go, eventually.
Saturday he became much worse. We pushed up his fluid appointment and asked for the vet to see him. After a long discussion, without going into all the details, we all agreed the safest course of action was to run blood tests to assess his kidney values before assuming any other issue was at play. Sadly, the blood work that has to do with his kidneys came back SO highly elevated in all respects that it was a wonder he was still even alive at that point. The numbers had practically tripled since his last check up about 4 months prior. He was now in complete renal failure, past Stage 4.
We were in no position to make a quick decision what to do on the spot, although we had already had talks about what we'd do when this time came but still wanted to give it some time to think about how to proceed. So, they did his fluids, gave him a B12 as usual, did an injection of an antibiotic just in case there was an infection at play and, a Cerenia injection to help him eat. We kind of all hoped *maybe* this would perk him up enough to buy a little more time to think things through without rushing through the decisions to be made.
Went home. Got him to eat 1 small bowl of very expensive hamburger meat that I made him as he was completely refusing all his cat food. But other than that, he remained shut down, no energy at all. Slept on the couch between my husband and I. At bed time, he wouldn't do his usual game with us of head butts, instead, just falling onto the bed restlessly, and instead of sleeping with us as he always does, left soon after and went downstairs.
Sunday morning, I came down to feed both cats. He was hunched over on their ripple rug, unresponsive, didn't get up to greet me nor even look at me. I brought him his thyroid meds in his cream cheese treat - would not eat it. Brought him another med wrapped in ham. Would not eat it. Then, tried his favorite canned food and he turned his head away. Tried another food. Then baby food. Nothing.
I knew at that moment, the time had come. My husband came down and I told him what happened and we both mutually agreed that to leave Casper suffering, watching him decline further for whatever amount of days to come was not quality of life for him. He clearly was not happy. He had no life in him to live. He was ready to go.
Called the vet and was lucky they were able to have us come in that morning. We also were lucky his regular vet was available to be there for us. She's been a great ally, compassionate and smart dispensing good medical advice along with personal anecdotes of her own very similar situation with her own cat, so was intimately aware of everything we were experiencing. We brought Casper to the vet's office as we personally didn't want to remember his passing in our home - everyone is different - no way is better than the other. Thankfully, Casper passed easy, and very fast. I can't say enough nice things about the entire vet practice we use; plus they truly adored Casper - everyone looked forward to his visits. My husband stayed with him until just before he passed. I stayed through the entire procedure; I'm stronger emotionally than my husband and felt I wanted to be there until Casper's last breathe. I'm glad I did.
I could write pages of how sweet, confident and devoted Casper was with us. He was a good brother to his sister Cocoabean (well, pretty good lol, he never asked for her to be there). Truly, an all around great cat and a joy to have around. He was already well into his adult years when we got him, and we had him another 8-1/2 years past that - being now nearly 18 upon passing. His huge presence in our lives will be missed greatly, but at least we know we did everything right for him, he wanted for nothing and received excellent medical care. He leave a huge hole in our hearts, but one which we know will mend with time.
I'm giving a shout out to all at TCS who, when I arrived here years ago, were so helpful and welcoming. Casper is the reason I wound up on this site, as he was also the first cat I ever had that was my own, and I certainly needed some guidance at the beginning and then, as he suffered through each health problem. Thank you each and all
PS: If anyone is moved to comment below, I have one small request. Kindly do not refer to the Rainbow Bridge or similar. I understand many find comfort in this concept but for me, it's an uncomfortable one and I do not believe in it. Gone is gone for me. Thank you for understanding and respecting my request
Last, one of my favorite photos of Casper, in much better days, in one of his favorite boxes
Saturday he became much worse. We pushed up his fluid appointment and asked for the vet to see him. After a long discussion, without going into all the details, we all agreed the safest course of action was to run blood tests to assess his kidney values before assuming any other issue was at play. Sadly, the blood work that has to do with his kidneys came back SO highly elevated in all respects that it was a wonder he was still even alive at that point. The numbers had practically tripled since his last check up about 4 months prior. He was now in complete renal failure, past Stage 4.
We were in no position to make a quick decision what to do on the spot, although we had already had talks about what we'd do when this time came but still wanted to give it some time to think about how to proceed. So, they did his fluids, gave him a B12 as usual, did an injection of an antibiotic just in case there was an infection at play and, a Cerenia injection to help him eat. We kind of all hoped *maybe* this would perk him up enough to buy a little more time to think things through without rushing through the decisions to be made.
Went home. Got him to eat 1 small bowl of very expensive hamburger meat that I made him as he was completely refusing all his cat food. But other than that, he remained shut down, no energy at all. Slept on the couch between my husband and I. At bed time, he wouldn't do his usual game with us of head butts, instead, just falling onto the bed restlessly, and instead of sleeping with us as he always does, left soon after and went downstairs.
Sunday morning, I came down to feed both cats. He was hunched over on their ripple rug, unresponsive, didn't get up to greet me nor even look at me. I brought him his thyroid meds in his cream cheese treat - would not eat it. Brought him another med wrapped in ham. Would not eat it. Then, tried his favorite canned food and he turned his head away. Tried another food. Then baby food. Nothing.
I knew at that moment, the time had come. My husband came down and I told him what happened and we both mutually agreed that to leave Casper suffering, watching him decline further for whatever amount of days to come was not quality of life for him. He clearly was not happy. He had no life in him to live. He was ready to go.
Called the vet and was lucky they were able to have us come in that morning. We also were lucky his regular vet was available to be there for us. She's been a great ally, compassionate and smart dispensing good medical advice along with personal anecdotes of her own very similar situation with her own cat, so was intimately aware of everything we were experiencing. We brought Casper to the vet's office as we personally didn't want to remember his passing in our home - everyone is different - no way is better than the other. Thankfully, Casper passed easy, and very fast. I can't say enough nice things about the entire vet practice we use; plus they truly adored Casper - everyone looked forward to his visits. My husband stayed with him until just before he passed. I stayed through the entire procedure; I'm stronger emotionally than my husband and felt I wanted to be there until Casper's last breathe. I'm glad I did.
I could write pages of how sweet, confident and devoted Casper was with us. He was a good brother to his sister Cocoabean (well, pretty good lol, he never asked for her to be there). Truly, an all around great cat and a joy to have around. He was already well into his adult years when we got him, and we had him another 8-1/2 years past that - being now nearly 18 upon passing. His huge presence in our lives will be missed greatly, but at least we know we did everything right for him, he wanted for nothing and received excellent medical care. He leave a huge hole in our hearts, but one which we know will mend with time.
I'm giving a shout out to all at TCS who, when I arrived here years ago, were so helpful and welcoming. Casper is the reason I wound up on this site, as he was also the first cat I ever had that was my own, and I certainly needed some guidance at the beginning and then, as he suffered through each health problem. Thank you each and all
PS: If anyone is moved to comment below, I have one small request. Kindly do not refer to the Rainbow Bridge or similar. I understand many find comfort in this concept but for me, it's an uncomfortable one and I do not believe in it. Gone is gone for me. Thank you for understanding and respecting my request
Last, one of my favorite photos of Casper, in much better days, in one of his favorite boxes