There Has To Be A Way To Save My Cat From Starving To Death!!

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TheFloofAbides

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Yes I believe so. I didn't notice at first because I think she was using the same spot several times, but her other litter box has small clods in it which is not normal for her since she's a CRF kitty. Just got back to the vet with an antibiotic. They were unable to get a urine sample from her but they advised me to go ahead and start her one them...
 

sweetblackpaws

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Poor baby...so glad you were able to get to vet and get an antibiotic. Keep us posted!

:vibes:
 

emily487

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How old is she? My cat is 17 and has CRF and was recently diagnosed with suspected small cell lymphoma. Based on the ultrasound they suggested IBD or small cell lymphoma, but more likely the lymphoma, and I didn't want to put her through anesthesia to get a biopsy if they had a good idea of what it was from the ultrasound. She wasn't eating well and was straining in the box but not passing anything, which they said was likely due to the inflammation in her intestines. If she's already on steroids though, that should help with the IBD and help with her appetite.

In my research on lymphoma, I've read that Cerenia is often better for vomiting and ondansetron (brand name Zofran, also used in humans) is better for nausea. I had my cat on Cerenia after she had an acute kidney episode. I recently switched to ondansetron and she eats *much* better now. It seems like the Cerenia wasn't cutting it for the nausea, so it might be worth talking to your vet about trying another anti-nausea medication. She wasn't actually vomiting, just not eating but still drinking water, which is apparently a sign of nausea.

Her teeth may be bothering her too as you mentioned. I recently had my cat's teeth done, but I put it off for several years until it was unavoidable, because of the risk of anesthesia for CRF cats. For the past several years, I've been giving monthly antibiotics (clindamycin) to try to reduce the bacteria in her mouth. In the couple weeks before her dental, I was also giving buprenex (buprenorphine) injections for tooth pain while she was waiting to get her dental done. Those could also be something to discuss with your vet if her teeth may be an issue and getting a dental isn't an option.

Good luck with everything!
 

lisahe

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One thing to keep in mind if the cat isn't eating or drinking a lot is that the cat won't pee much: I remember that from when Brooksie was sick. I don't remember that she strained much, though it's possible I didn't see it. (Toward the end, her food intake was so small that there wasn't much of anything in the box, despite getting fluids. She did best in the box when she was eating Rad Cat!) In any case, it's great that you already got antibiotics!
 

MrHandsomesMama

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I nearly lost my guy shortly after adopting him, because he developed fatty liver disease and I had to drive cross country with himlike that. He made it but it was touch and go for awhile. I can imagine how hard this is for you, and I am sending you and your girl all the love and good juju I've got!

I am sure you have your hands full caring for your baby girl but when you get a chance( or just need a sympathetic ear) give us an update. I hope she is getting better!
 

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One of my cats has had dental problems all her life. She has had six teeth pulled all on her lower jaw. I found the food she likes best is wet and definitely not anything that’s carb free or Pate style. I’ve had her many times more than I can count refuse to eat when she was very very hungry. I feed all wet diet on a schedule. I never feed treats anymore because more than likely I will see a diarrhea episode because she does not chew the treats all the way.

For her, Fancy feast gravy lovers is the one. It’s available anywhere. Some flavors have larger chunks I would not suggest those. I find my cat likes the beef and turkey the best because the chunks in those flavors tend to be much much smaller. You can take what’s left in the can n mix in with a little of water to get more water in her diet. My cat will drink daily even outside of the meal so I sometimes don’t even do that.
 
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TheFloofAbides

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Got a second opinion and new bloodwork/urinalysis with new vet. Her teeth are fine and she doesn't have a UTI. Her kidney failure hasn't even progressed much. Apparently it's her IBD and possibly cancer, as the vet could feel some kind of mass in/near her colon. The next step is to takes X-rays and an ultrasound I guess. But then it sounds like the only way to fix this would be with surgery and a blood transfusion, since her white blood cell count is low. I don't even know if her little body can handle all that, and my wallet definitely can't. I don't know what to do. She's 16 years old. I don't want to lose her during anesthesia and have her last memories consist of being terrified in a vet's office.
 

lisahe

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I am so sorry to hear this news, TheFloofAbides TheFloofAbides -- this is so much like what we went through with Brooksie because she was too frail for diagnosis, let alone treatment. (In her case, too, the vet could feel a mass but that was the only diagnosis we had, other than similar relatively positive news on the kidney disease side.) It's hard to know what's best, though you obviously know your cat and your options well. Thinking of you!
 
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TheFloofAbides

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I am so sorry to hear this news, TheFloofAbides TheFloofAbides -- this is so much like what we went through with Brooksie because she was too frail for diagnosis, let alone treatment. (In her case, too, the vet could feel a mass but that was the only diagnosis we had, other than similar relatively positive news on the kidney disease side.) It's hard to know what's best, though you obviously know your cat and your options well. Thinking of you!
I went back and re-read your other post, it really does sound like the same situation! I tried some of the foods you mentioned last week, to no avail. How long did Brooksie hang on after the assumed IBD/cancer diagnosis? As of this week Lita isn't even really drinking really...she just hides most of the time and occasionally comes to sit on my lap. I'm less concerned about prolonging her life at this point and more worried that she is in pain. I don't want to feel like I'm giving up on her but I also don't want to keep her around for my benefit.
 

lisahe

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I went back and re-read your other post, it really does sound like the same situation! I tried some of the foods you mentioned last week, to no avail. How long did Brooksie hang on after the assumed IBD/cancer diagnosis? As of this week Lita isn't even really drinking really...she just hides most of the time and occasionally comes to sit on my lap. I'm less concerned about prolonging her life at this point and more worried that she is in pain. I don't want to feel like I'm giving up on her but I also don't want to keep her around for my benefit.
What you say about Lita this week sounds very similar, too: Brooksie also rarely drank anything (we even got her a new fountain) and though she mostly hid, she also still liked to be with us. And she still wanted to have the run of the house. Even on her last morning, she'd squeezed through a child fence because she wanted to go jump up on my husband's desk.

I think it was about a month and a half from the diagnosis until the day we had Brooksie put to sleep. (What was different here is that the vet she saw most often was more concerned about kidney disease -- the only real diagnosis other than, like Lita, a very low white blood cell count, which they considered less conclusive than the kidney numbers -- than IBD, though I was sure the IBD was the worst part. That didn't really matter much in practice, though, since she wouldn't eat much and was too frail for anything other than what was essentially hospice care, as my husband put it. In any case, the foods I bought for her were all low or moderate in phosphorous and grain-free.)

Our thoughts were very much like yours at the end. What was most confusing was that she was still been trying to do things like jumping on furniture, despite having no strength, since she was barely eating. The most important sign for us was when she got a blank look in her eye and just looked utterly defeated. (I don't know how else to put it.) We took her to the vet the next morning and were lucky to get the nicest vet -- and tech, too -- at the practice. The vet did a pretty thorough exam, found the mass, and told us she could tell that Brooksie's body was just completely shutting down. That was in December 2013 and I still think about her all the time!

Just ask if you have other questions. :hearthrob:
 

1 bruce 1

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Got a second opinion and new bloodwork/urinalysis with new vet. Her teeth are fine and she doesn't have a UTI. Her kidney failure hasn't even progressed much. Apparently it's her IBD and possibly cancer, as the vet could feel some kind of mass in/near her colon. The next step is to takes X-rays and an ultrasound I guess. But then it sounds like the only way to fix this would be with surgery and a blood transfusion, since her white blood cell count is low. I don't even know if her little body can handle all that, and my wallet definitely can't. I don't know what to do. She's 16 years old. I don't want to lose her during anesthesia and have her last memories consist of being terrified in a vet's office.
Shoot, I was hoping to read a better update =(
If they think the IBD is causing issues and she's straining (constipated) did they mention miralax as a shot in the dark to pass things along and let her go more "regularly"? It doesn't "fix" IBD/IBS and the possibility of cancer but can really help move things along in a kitty that's backed up. When we first realized our guy was constipated we felt a mass near his rear end that I thought was a huge, HUGE tumor...all poop from being backed up. =/
 

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I have no specific advice for you, but thought I would comment from a people perspective. When you are in late stage kidney failure, even food that you love suddenly tastes terrible. I saw my sister spit out her favorite foods as though they were rotten. My uncle ultimately refused virtually all foods because of this (he could still eat applesauce, but not enough to keep him alive). Here they could talk and tell you what the food tasted like, unlike a pet. Although the cat's blood tests don't show it, it could very well be that your cat is further along in her disease. It may not be a matter of smell but the poisons accumulating in her system that are changing what food actually tastes like.

I did not understand this with a prior CRF cat and personally regret pushing the syringe feeding for one of my cats (she died in 1983 and it STILL bothers me to this day!). My nearly 19 year old CRF cat only had problems eating because of acid reflux - once that was treated, she ate right up until an hour before she died.
 

1 bruce 1

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I have no specific advice for you, but thought I would comment from a people perspective. When you are in late stage kidney failure, even food that you love suddenly tastes terrible. I saw my sister spit out her favorite foods as though they were rotten. My uncle ultimately refused virtually all foods because of this (he could still eat applesauce, but not enough to keep him alive). Here they could talk and tell you what the food tasted like, unlike a pet. Although the cat's blood tests don't show it, it could very well be that your cat is further along in her disease. It may not be a matter of smell but the poisons accumulating in her system that are changing what food actually tastes like.

I did not understand this with a prior CRF cat and personally regret pushing the syringe feeding for one of my cats (she died in 1983 and it STILL bothers me to this day!). My nearly 19 year old CRF cat only had problems eating because of acid reflux - once that was treated, she ate right up until an hour before she died.
Having seen relatives with kidney failure, I can agree with this and note that in many cases, a certain food sounds good for a few moments, but after the initial thought passes the food becomes very nauseating for them. It's so upsetting and frightening to see someone we love wasting away, offering to cook foods, go buy foods or whatever they want only to have them decline, or take a bite and turn away.
I syringe fed a cat that was very sick, and after 1/2 a CC, he leapt out of my arms and threw up. I stopped but I'll never forget how helpless I felt as he stumbled and wobbled away, weak from hunger but unwilling/unable to eat. I regret it, but I don't regret trying, and I don't regret my motives, which were a desperate attempt to see my beloved cat eat and grow stronger. If my cat knows that now (and I think he does!) he'd probably beam with pride at how much his "mom and dad" cared, and I bet your cat would/does, too!

Acid reflux can be really disturbing on the system and mimic other, scarier diseases. We had one that I wrote off as dying and was making the mental preparations for the idea that he wouldn't be here much longer when we discovered the reflux, treated it, and the symptoms lessened.
 

sweetblackpaws

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Got a second opinion and new bloodwork/urinalysis with new vet. Her teeth are fine and she doesn't have a UTI. Her kidney failure hasn't even progressed much. Apparently it's her IBD and possibly cancer, as the vet could feel some kind of mass in/near her colon. The next step is to takes X-rays and an ultrasound I guess. But then it sounds like the only way to fix this would be with surgery and a blood transfusion, since her white blood cell count is low. I don't even know if her little body can handle all that, and my wallet definitely can't. I don't know what to do. She's 16 years old. I don't want to lose her during anesthesia and have her last memories consist of being terrified in a vet's office.
I am so sorry both of you are going throug this. For what it is worth, I would feel as you do regarding the surgery, transfusions, etc. For a 16 year old furbaby, I probably would not do it, but this is your choice and at 16, there certainly is no right or wrong answer regarding her course of treatment. If you decided not to go through with any of it, anyone would understand. You should feel no guilt whatsoever - you make very valid points regarding what she would be going through. This is so very hard. I do not envy you this tough decision.
 

Blakeney Green

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Unfortunately, it sounds like it's time for you to start considering the possibility of euthanasia. :(

You obviously take good care of your cat and you've done a lot for her, but there comes a point where prolonging the attempts at medical intervention only causes more suffering. Personally I would not agree to any invasive treatment for a cat in the situation you describe - it's just too much to put a pet through without a positive prognosis to balance it out.

I don't think there's any immediate need to make the decision, but if she stops eating or seems to be suffering, it is probably time to make that call. Sorry for what you're going through!
 
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TheFloofAbides

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Thank you all so much for your replies. I've been away for a bit and missed the last few until now. We are definitely in the throws of trying to decide when is the time to let her go. I posted in the crossing the bridge section to gain some more opinions.

Again thank you so much all for your support it has been hugely helpful for us. <3
 

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Alright guys I'm desperate here. My senior CRF kitty has essentially stopped eating the last few weeks, even though her blood levels aren't even late stage yet and she seems to be doing OK otherwise. She just doesn't eat. She's been on both appetite stimulants (currently sticking with Mirtazapine since cyproheptadine made her super depressed) and I've tried basically every brand of cat food on the market, boiled chicken, tuna... I'm at a loss. I've been syringe feeding her a/d to keep her going but its not enough.

Is there something, anything I can give her that is more calorically dense so she can actually maintain or even gain weight until we figure out how to get her interested in food again? Watching her waste away is killing me. It would be one thing if she was very sick in a variety of ways but her main problems appear to be constipation and lethargy from just not eating enough! I don't want to put her down just because she won't eat but she is painfully thin and I worry that she is suffering :'(

To preempt some possible troubleshooting: she gets fluids daily, is on steroids for IBS, has been given anti-nausea meds (though the ones she has been on can only be given daily for five consecutive days at a time, cerenia), antacids, and slippery elm bark. I've tried tempting her to eat with smelly foods and warming things up. She's even been given roasted chicken or beef off our plates and won't eat that either, despite begging for it. Which is very confusing. Her teeth are bad but have been for a while and have never caused problems in the past, no mouth ulcers.
 
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