Hi Everyone,
This Tuesday night I had to put my 13-year-old cat Bobo to sleep. Now, I'm struggling with the decision and missing him painfully. I appreciate this site existing; I've been looking for the last 24-hours for an online place to go to to share Bobo's story, and mine.
Bobo was my dad's, and he passed away in 2012. My dad lived in a rural area and Bobo was a feral cat from one of the neighbor's houses. He chose my parents' house more than they chose him at first, but I'd say that in many ways my dad loved Bobo as much as any of his kids. When my dad died my mom couldn't take him to the apartment she moved to, so my husband and I inherited him.
Until 2015, Bobo did well adjusting to indoor life in a more suburban area--I was scared to let him outside even though he clearly wanted to go. However, he gained weight and developed diabetes. Prior to this diagnosis, he peed all over the carpet and for the year that it took to regulate his diabetes, I largely kept him confined to the laundry room. I felt horrible about his lack of freedom, but I also knew that I needed to get his diabetes under control before I could let him out again. Eventually he became more stable and we were able to let him out more frequently, and over the last year I began letting him outside during the daytime. His vet cautioned me against this as did other people, but he was so much happier getting the opportunity to wander the neighborhood, lie in front yards, and get attention from the neighborhood kids. Letting him outside was difficult because he would occasionally miss a dose of insulin, but it was not often and he seemed pretty content.
Last Sunday evening, though, my neighbor called me to let me know that he was lying next to their poor unable to stand and crying. Just that morning he had eaten then gotten his insulin. I rushed him to the emergency vet hospital and they said his blood glucose was at 26 and he was having a hypoglycemic episode (he'd never had one before). They told me that I needed to keep him overnight for fluids, dextrose, and so they could run tests. The next morning they said that his BG was coming up, and they saw that he had an underlying infection so they treated him with antibiotics. I had him transferred to his regular vet for the rest of the day where they continued to give him fluids, but when I picked him up at the end of the evening they said that they weren't sure what had caused his hypoglycemic episode. I did not have X-rays or ultrasounds done because they told me that I should bring him the next day for more fluids and blood glucose monitoring. Since I had paid $1300 for the overnight hospital stay and $350 on Monday at the regular vet, I couldn't afford the testing. He did well on Monday night at home: he ate and used his box, but he did still seem lethargic.
On Tuesday I took him back to the vet before work, where he stayed all day and received fluids and monitoring. The vet said that his kidney seemed slightly enlarged but for the most part his values were normal. However, his blood sugar kept dropping even though he hadn't any insulin administered in 24 hours. It climbed back up to 280 at one point so they gave him 2 units (he usually got 3 twice a day). I took him home that evening with instructions to give him 2 units after he ate his recovery wet food. However, when I went downstairs to give him dinner I found him lying unable to walk or stand in a puddle of his urine. I rushed him back to the emergency hospital. His BG was back down to 25. The vet said that I could keep him overnight again, but this cycle was likely to continue at least a few more times and that it was only going to be a bandaid for whatever was causing these episodes. Since I couldn't afford further testing or the treatment it would entail, I made the horrible decision to put him to sleep. What made it even harder was that right before, he was able to stand and he ate quite a bit of baby food. I got to spend time petting him and he was purring constantly. I was able to pet him when they put the medicine in, and he went quickly and peacefully.
I can't help but feel awful that I couldn't do more for Bobo. Part of me wishes that the hospital had provided me with other options to go home and try to treat him there, although I know it would have been difficult since he was severely hydrated and wasn't drinking water much on his own. I'm 38 weeks pregnant and don't have anyone to help me care for him, so I also knew that in the coming weeks I wouldn't be able to monitor him the way he would need it to avoid another crash. But I miss him so much, and I can't believe he's gone. This time last week, I had no idea that he would become so ill and would be gone. I feel like I've let Bobo down and my dad, and I've lost them both all over again.
Thank you for taking the time to read and listen.
This Tuesday night I had to put my 13-year-old cat Bobo to sleep. Now, I'm struggling with the decision and missing him painfully. I appreciate this site existing; I've been looking for the last 24-hours for an online place to go to to share Bobo's story, and mine.
Bobo was my dad's, and he passed away in 2012. My dad lived in a rural area and Bobo was a feral cat from one of the neighbor's houses. He chose my parents' house more than they chose him at first, but I'd say that in many ways my dad loved Bobo as much as any of his kids. When my dad died my mom couldn't take him to the apartment she moved to, so my husband and I inherited him.
Until 2015, Bobo did well adjusting to indoor life in a more suburban area--I was scared to let him outside even though he clearly wanted to go. However, he gained weight and developed diabetes. Prior to this diagnosis, he peed all over the carpet and for the year that it took to regulate his diabetes, I largely kept him confined to the laundry room. I felt horrible about his lack of freedom, but I also knew that I needed to get his diabetes under control before I could let him out again. Eventually he became more stable and we were able to let him out more frequently, and over the last year I began letting him outside during the daytime. His vet cautioned me against this as did other people, but he was so much happier getting the opportunity to wander the neighborhood, lie in front yards, and get attention from the neighborhood kids. Letting him outside was difficult because he would occasionally miss a dose of insulin, but it was not often and he seemed pretty content.
Last Sunday evening, though, my neighbor called me to let me know that he was lying next to their poor unable to stand and crying. Just that morning he had eaten then gotten his insulin. I rushed him to the emergency vet hospital and they said his blood glucose was at 26 and he was having a hypoglycemic episode (he'd never had one before). They told me that I needed to keep him overnight for fluids, dextrose, and so they could run tests. The next morning they said that his BG was coming up, and they saw that he had an underlying infection so they treated him with antibiotics. I had him transferred to his regular vet for the rest of the day where they continued to give him fluids, but when I picked him up at the end of the evening they said that they weren't sure what had caused his hypoglycemic episode. I did not have X-rays or ultrasounds done because they told me that I should bring him the next day for more fluids and blood glucose monitoring. Since I had paid $1300 for the overnight hospital stay and $350 on Monday at the regular vet, I couldn't afford the testing. He did well on Monday night at home: he ate and used his box, but he did still seem lethargic.
On Tuesday I took him back to the vet before work, where he stayed all day and received fluids and monitoring. The vet said that his kidney seemed slightly enlarged but for the most part his values were normal. However, his blood sugar kept dropping even though he hadn't any insulin administered in 24 hours. It climbed back up to 280 at one point so they gave him 2 units (he usually got 3 twice a day). I took him home that evening with instructions to give him 2 units after he ate his recovery wet food. However, when I went downstairs to give him dinner I found him lying unable to walk or stand in a puddle of his urine. I rushed him back to the emergency hospital. His BG was back down to 25. The vet said that I could keep him overnight again, but this cycle was likely to continue at least a few more times and that it was only going to be a bandaid for whatever was causing these episodes. Since I couldn't afford further testing or the treatment it would entail, I made the horrible decision to put him to sleep. What made it even harder was that right before, he was able to stand and he ate quite a bit of baby food. I got to spend time petting him and he was purring constantly. I was able to pet him when they put the medicine in, and he went quickly and peacefully.
I can't help but feel awful that I couldn't do more for Bobo. Part of me wishes that the hospital had provided me with other options to go home and try to treat him there, although I know it would have been difficult since he was severely hydrated and wasn't drinking water much on his own. I'm 38 weeks pregnant and don't have anyone to help me care for him, so I also knew that in the coming weeks I wouldn't be able to monitor him the way he would need it to avoid another crash. But I miss him so much, and I can't believe he's gone. This time last week, I had no idea that he would become so ill and would be gone. I feel like I've let Bobo down and my dad, and I've lost them both all over again.
Thank you for taking the time to read and listen.
