I'll try to make the background short: Piglet will be 14 this September. She was diagnosed with CKF about five years ago, FORL about four years ago (has had all teeth except the tiny front ones removed), early congestive heard failure, very mild asthma, and feline herpes. Whew. Piglet's kidney levels have been stable for four years, they're not great but with diet we've kept them steady and she's seemed content and comfortable. Piglet always has access to fresh water and no matter how much I try to give her only wet food (mainly Weruva and some Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw), she likes a kibble snack now and then and gets Nature's Variety Instinct.
Okay. About a month ago I noticed someone pooping in the bathtub (I have three cats). There was sometimes a bit of urine in there as well. Then I caught Piglet in the bathtub crying and she seemed to be straining to urinate; I witnessed the same behavior in the kitchen a short while later. We went to the emergency vet and they did a urinalysis - high levels of bacteria, significant white blood cells, some red blood cells. Two weeks of clavimox - Piglet seemed fine while on the clavamox, but about three days after the meds ended I started finding poop in the bathtub again. Oh, FYI, I clean the litterbox daily and I have one HUGE box for all cats, we've had this setup for years.
Today I found poop in the bathtub with bloody urine and some bloody discharge in the kitchen. I'm sure it's Piglet. I know we should go to the vet - that's not my question. My question is how much is too much to put Piglet through? I spoke with the emergency vet and his opinion is that if the clavamox did not clear, it would likely be a bladder or kidney infection. We would need to do bloodwork and imaging. Piglet hates traveling, she does not like the vet, and she gets incredibly stressed out. Over the last year she's definitely started showing her age - she fights more with the other cats and is very intolerant of any other animals (two dogs in the house as well). She used to get along well with all of them, even grooming one of my other cats and the smaller dog. When I first rescued her, she was forcibly removed from a home where she was being fed nothing but popcorn. She developed severe pneumonia and was in an oxygen tent for four days. Her kidneys were functioning at about 20% last year when we checked. She's lost all her teeth. She only wants to interact with me once in a while and spends all her time either sleeping or picking fights with the other cats. I'm the type of person that believes in quality of life, not quantity. I'm starting to feel like it might be better to let her go before she starts to suffer even more.
Okay. About a month ago I noticed someone pooping in the bathtub (I have three cats). There was sometimes a bit of urine in there as well. Then I caught Piglet in the bathtub crying and she seemed to be straining to urinate; I witnessed the same behavior in the kitchen a short while later. We went to the emergency vet and they did a urinalysis - high levels of bacteria, significant white blood cells, some red blood cells. Two weeks of clavimox - Piglet seemed fine while on the clavamox, but about three days after the meds ended I started finding poop in the bathtub again. Oh, FYI, I clean the litterbox daily and I have one HUGE box for all cats, we've had this setup for years.
Today I found poop in the bathtub with bloody urine and some bloody discharge in the kitchen. I'm sure it's Piglet. I know we should go to the vet - that's not my question. My question is how much is too much to put Piglet through? I spoke with the emergency vet and his opinion is that if the clavamox did not clear, it would likely be a bladder or kidney infection. We would need to do bloodwork and imaging. Piglet hates traveling, she does not like the vet, and she gets incredibly stressed out. Over the last year she's definitely started showing her age - she fights more with the other cats and is very intolerant of any other animals (two dogs in the house as well). She used to get along well with all of them, even grooming one of my other cats and the smaller dog. When I first rescued her, she was forcibly removed from a home where she was being fed nothing but popcorn. She developed severe pneumonia and was in an oxygen tent for four days. Her kidneys were functioning at about 20% last year when we checked. She's lost all her teeth. She only wants to interact with me once in a while and spends all her time either sleeping or picking fights with the other cats. I'm the type of person that believes in quality of life, not quantity. I'm starting to feel like it might be better to let her go before she starts to suffer even more.
