Is it time to let him go?

danteshuman

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So Salem is 17 years old and has been dealing with kidney failure the last 3 years (we honestly thought he would be dead in 6 months 3 years ago.) He isn’t going to get extraordinary care, it is more hospice care. This last month he has started to loose more weight (after gaining it back) he is throwing up more, not really grooming himself well (his fur looks worse) and I could barely get him to play for a couple of minutes. Giving him 3-4 wet food or lickable treats a day has helped him gain weight.

⭐It is worth noting he doesn’t live with me. He was my x-husband’s cat & he adopted my stepdad when I was living with my mom. I tried taking him with me to my new apartment 3 years ago but he just shutdown and wasn’t having it. I’m only allowed one catin my apartment. So I took the hyper problem kitten off my mom’s hands and she let Salem keep living with her. She has taken good care of him so no judgment on that. I see him almost every weekend and love on him but I was never his human.... he likes me but he LOVES my stepdad! At the same time this is happening my grandpa’s dementia is rapidly declining otherwise I think she would have taken him to the vet already.

So after looking at him and how he has declined the last month or two I brought upwith my mom that I think a vet needs to weigh in on if it is time. Am I wrong? I don’t want him to suffer and would rather let him go a bit early then to late. I don’t know enough about kidney disease here.

Here is Salem (peach) & Dante when they were younger & healthy. Dante passed 3 years ago.
 

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FeebysOwner

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I guess my main question is what treatments/meds/supplements does Salem receive? There are a whole host of reasons that a CKD (chronic kidney disease) cat will throw up if certain treatments/protocols aren't in place. (And, man, I wish my 17+ yo cat who has hyperthyroidism and CKD would play at all!!) Tbh, all CKD cats are kind of getting hospice care as there is no cure, so treating the symptoms so that they can retain whatever level of health/comfort for as long as they can is pretty much the same as hospice, so to speak.

If this is a matter of your mother not being able to tend to his needs adequately with all the other things she has going on, then that is harder for me to speculate on. I know you can only do so much to intervene and help. All I know is that for what I know so far from the information you have provided and then comparing Salem to Feeby, I can only tell you it is not Feeby's time, and she and I are not going 'down' without a fight.

Can you take on a more proactive role in learning the kinds of things that can be done to help Salem with his CKD? Are you in a position to take Salem to the vet on behalf of your mother?

This web site is an excellent source to learn about CKD - but I will forewarn you it is soooooo loaded with good information, you cannot take it all in at once. But it is a place to start. Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat (felinecrf.org)
 
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