My cat Buddy was born in the fall of 2000, I adopted him as a kitten right after my 21st birthday. We lived in so many states together and he was with me through college, my first serious relationship, multiple breakups, and really loved my partner of 12 years, he was with me to comfort me during my chronic illness and he has been through my side through every hardship and joy the last 18.5 years.
Buddy was always a pretty healthy cat, but developed chronic kidney disease 2 years ago and IBD a year ago. I had always been able to control his health issues and keep him stable with medication, sub q fluids, a special diet, and supplements. Just this past January he was still in Stage 2 kidney disease, but then about 10 days ago he had what we think was a seizure or possible stroke/blood clot at night. We thought we could nurse him back to health, but after a few days of not recovering, his hind legs were still very weak and we had to help take him to the litterbox every 3-4 hours because he was walking so slow and wobbly. He was still happy, eating well, and enjoying snuggle time, but we were worried about his weak legs. We made a vet appointment Monday and were in shock to find out he was severely anemic and already entering late stage 3 kidney disease and would soon be in the end stage.
When I talked to the vet Tuesday she said he would need a $250 injection for the anemia, but couldn't guarantee that it would work, and if his anemia worsened or the injection failed he would need a blood transfusion. I spent a lot of time Tuesday and Wednesday thinking about what to do. Even if the injection did help his anemia, he would be in the end stages of kidney disease soon where they finally just shut down. His kidneys would just make him sicker and sicker, once in end stage renal disease he'd need nausea medicine for vomiting, pepcid ac for the stomach acid, medication for mouth or GI ulcers caused by failing kidneys, probably would need an appetite stimulant to keep him eating and would most likely require Sub q fluids twice a day.
After thinking about everything, on Wednesday night I decided to help him cross over Friday afternoon. Even though Buddy was weak from anemia, he could still enjoy snuggling, being pet and enjoy his favorite treat Fancy Feast pate, which I gave him Thursday night and Friday morning. I wanted to say goodbye while there was still joy left in his life, and not wait till kidney disease made him feel incredibly ill.
When Friday morning came, I woke up and gave him sub q fluids to help him feel hydrated, gave him his gabapentin medicine in case he was in any pain, and fed him Fancy Feast salmon pate for breakfast. He spent some time on the back deck getting fresh air, then on his heated pet bed he took an afternoon nap. When the vet came to our house to help him cross over, my boyfriend held him in his arms and I kept one hand on his warm furry chest, and stoked his chin and told him how much I loved him, the sedative made him very relaxed and he looked peaceful. I closed my eyes for the final injection that would stop his heart, but kept talking to him, petting him and kissing his sweet face.
I felt gutted when the vet left with his little body in a basket to be cremated. My house feels so empty, so lonely, and i've went to bed and woken up without him for 2 days now. It's really tough to not see him and care for him after 18.5 years together. I hope I made the right decision, I just didn't know how much time he would have before things would naturally shut down. I didn't want him to suffer, but wasn't sure if he had days left or a month before feeling really sick. I'm feeling guilty that it happened so quick, but my boyfriend and parents reassured me I did the right thing. I don't know what to think, it was really the toughest decision I've ever made
Buddy was always a pretty healthy cat, but developed chronic kidney disease 2 years ago and IBD a year ago. I had always been able to control his health issues and keep him stable with medication, sub q fluids, a special diet, and supplements. Just this past January he was still in Stage 2 kidney disease, but then about 10 days ago he had what we think was a seizure or possible stroke/blood clot at night. We thought we could nurse him back to health, but after a few days of not recovering, his hind legs were still very weak and we had to help take him to the litterbox every 3-4 hours because he was walking so slow and wobbly. He was still happy, eating well, and enjoying snuggle time, but we were worried about his weak legs. We made a vet appointment Monday and were in shock to find out he was severely anemic and already entering late stage 3 kidney disease and would soon be in the end stage.
When I talked to the vet Tuesday she said he would need a $250 injection for the anemia, but couldn't guarantee that it would work, and if his anemia worsened or the injection failed he would need a blood transfusion. I spent a lot of time Tuesday and Wednesday thinking about what to do. Even if the injection did help his anemia, he would be in the end stages of kidney disease soon where they finally just shut down. His kidneys would just make him sicker and sicker, once in end stage renal disease he'd need nausea medicine for vomiting, pepcid ac for the stomach acid, medication for mouth or GI ulcers caused by failing kidneys, probably would need an appetite stimulant to keep him eating and would most likely require Sub q fluids twice a day.
After thinking about everything, on Wednesday night I decided to help him cross over Friday afternoon. Even though Buddy was weak from anemia, he could still enjoy snuggling, being pet and enjoy his favorite treat Fancy Feast pate, which I gave him Thursday night and Friday morning. I wanted to say goodbye while there was still joy left in his life, and not wait till kidney disease made him feel incredibly ill.
When Friday morning came, I woke up and gave him sub q fluids to help him feel hydrated, gave him his gabapentin medicine in case he was in any pain, and fed him Fancy Feast salmon pate for breakfast. He spent some time on the back deck getting fresh air, then on his heated pet bed he took an afternoon nap. When the vet came to our house to help him cross over, my boyfriend held him in his arms and I kept one hand on his warm furry chest, and stoked his chin and told him how much I loved him, the sedative made him very relaxed and he looked peaceful. I closed my eyes for the final injection that would stop his heart, but kept talking to him, petting him and kissing his sweet face.
I felt gutted when the vet left with his little body in a basket to be cremated. My house feels so empty, so lonely, and i've went to bed and woken up without him for 2 days now. It's really tough to not see him and care for him after 18.5 years together. I hope I made the right decision, I just didn't know how much time he would have before things would naturally shut down. I didn't want him to suffer, but wasn't sure if he had days left or a month before feeling really sick. I'm feeling guilty that it happened so quick, but my boyfriend and parents reassured me I did the right thing. I don't know what to think, it was really the toughest decision I've ever made
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