Is my kitty shutting down?

eminenz2

eminenz2

Cathlete
Thanks to all who voted for my kitties :), but now I have a problem :(.

The Brown tabby (extreme right in the pic) has refused food since Friday. Well, that's not completely accurate - she's only been eating chicken flavored baby food (NO onion powder - I made sure of that).

She hasn't eaten anything today. She hides in the back of the closet, under the hanging clothes. The litter box is empty, but no surprise when you're not eating anything - nothing to come out, right?

She's almost 16 YO and hyperthyroid and extremely thin (about 5 lbs). I'm afraid to go to the vet because we can't afford all kinds of tests and treatments that most likely will prove nothing except she's old and dying. But I don't know what else to do.

She stares off into space all hunched up under herself. She cries if I touch her or try to pick her up. She does not want to be comforted or held (although she never was a cuddly kitty.)

What do I do? Sniff!;(

Susan L.G.
 
Susan - I don't have any experience with older kitties but just wanted to say how sorry I am. Hugs to you and your tabby.

Sue
 
susan,

i have a 20+ cat with a hyperthyroid and kidney problems. i have been through it all. i cant tell you if she is dying, but something is definitely wrong. not eating, hiding, crying out in pain, and not using the bathroom and signs not to ignore. i know you dont have money for tests, but i do suggest taking her to the vet. this happened to alice this summer, and she simply needed to be rehydrated. is she on meds? maybe they need to be upped a bit. sometimes a vet can wave the fee if they know your situation. it simply kills me to know she is in so much pain. i know this is hurting you to, so i am sending you a hug as well. let me know how it goes.

suri
 
Susan, I had an older cat when I was younger and he went through the same thing you're describing. Eventually he got to the point where he lost a lot of weight and rarely ate. We finally had to put him down. Maybe he's just not feeling well. I hope that's the case for you.

*♥´¨)
¸ .• ♥ ´¸.•*♥´¨) ¸.♥•*¨)
(¸.•♥´ (¸ ;.♥•Jennie•♥
 
This makes me feel so bad. I hope she is going to be okay. 16 is an old age for a kitty - she has had quite a long life. I hope she will continue on. SHe sure is cute...I voted twice!

Clarissa
 
Thank you for all the good karma. DH and I will call the vet first thing in the AM.

Our vet is not very compassionate when it comes to $$.

We do know that her kidneys are beginning their inevitable decline, as it goes with many kitty-cats.
 
good luck tomorrow. we control alice's kidney trouble with special food. she is a prima donna- i guess she has earned it, but she varies between k/d, canned nf and dry nf from the vet. no meds. she is on methimazole for her thyroid. that i do have to get checked every few months. i would like to give your vet a kick in the butt. i know they all have to make a living, but, sometimes cant they just...you know.

my thoughts and prayers are with all three of you.

suri
 
Sadie is getting Tapizol too (methimazole). She also gets the K/D wet food from the vet (for her kidneys). Well, she was before she started refusing it. She's extremely finicky and reluctntly ate the K/D food even when she was eating.

Thank you for your good mojo.

Susan L.G.
 
I sympathize with your concerns about cost (I can't seem to get out of my vet's without spending at least $400) but please please please take kitty to the vet. It might be nothing or it may be something but she's in pain and she relies on you to ease her suffering.
 
It could be something that is treatable, like a urinary blockage (which is very painful, and can become fatal if not treated), so get your cat to the vet ASAP. Once there, you can always refuse any 'extraordinary measures,' but wouldn't you feel bad if it was something you could easily help with, and you let your cat suffer and die instead?
 
>BTW, I love the avatar of your sitty - "No, don't work! Adore
>meeee!"

LOL! Yep, that's pretty much sums it up. ;-) Seriously though, keep us posted on how it goes.

Sue
 
Susan,

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. Try and be strong, but if you think she is in pain, perhaps a visit to the vet is necessary one last time. See what is wrong first and if you can't afford any more money to help her condition you might want to consider laying her down. I hated to say that. Just don't let her suffer.

(((hugs))), (((hugs))) and more (((hugs)))

I feel your pain,

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible

http://www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey
 
Kitty Update:

So far, Sadie has been diagnosed with severe dehydration. More blood work is being done to find out if anything more serious is going on (infection, cancer, etc. eek!).

Right now, all of here CBC (complete blood count) levels look OK, including her kidneys. The doc does not know why the cat is so sick, since blood basically looks normal, so hopefully more bloodwork will indicate something.

Sadie is getting 100ml subcutaneous fluid each day for the next 10 days, administered by yours truly. She is also getting Pepcid AC for nausea, and was given an appetite stimulant.

Cat is resting comfortably. She ate some baby food tonight, and even lay on the couch with us, rather than hide in the closet. She also was purring at a higher "decibel" than she has been in days past.

Thank you all for your good thoughts! So far so good, with fingers and toes crossed. The cat is not out of the woods yet. If she doesn't improve by Wednesday, more ominous things must be considered.

Peace!
Susan L.G.
 
Susan,

Just a note to say I'm thinking of you and sending good thoughts to Sadie! I'm glad she's feeling somewhat better with her new treatments. My sweet 17 year-old kitty Ivy died in early January, after years of going through periods like the one you describe with Sadie. The good news is that she bounced back many times from similar episodes (she was also hyperthyroid, about 4.5 pounds, and would often need subcutaneous fluids and encouragement to eat -- and her kidneys were never a factor, even though that's so often an issue for aging cats!). So I'm hoping that Sadie will improve quickly and feel better soon. It sounds like you're on a good path!

Keep us posted, and sending best wishes,
Allison
 
wow susan,

this is so much for you and sadie. this is like what i went through with alice this summer. she was dehydrated as well, and i forgot to mention that they found a slight ulcer. she now gets a quarter pepcid each morning. sound familiar? i hope everything works out. hang in there. i know exactly how stressful it is.

suri
 
Thanks Allison, for the kind words! Isn't it funny how the two kitties seem to have the same issues? Perhaps it's an unfortunate kitty thing. I'm heartened that your kitty was as petite as mine and seemed to do well - I worry that mine might just disappear! I suppose the low weight is a function of the thyroid being out of whack?

I imagine one day her thyroid issues, etc. will just outpace her ability to cope with it. Which makes me sad.

But today is good - she was talkative and even jumped up on the bed to wake me and the DH - a soft meow right in the ear. Then she walked over to his side and meowed to him. Funny!

Susan L.G.

P.S. Thanks everyone for your continued kind words and good wishes! :)
 
Susan - I'm so glad to hear your kitty is doing better. I'll keep fingers, toes and anything else I can find crossed. :)

Sue
 
Glad to hear you got things checked out and that Sadie is doing better.

Dehydration can really take a toll, and it's amazing how much some sub-Q fluids can pep up a kitty. I've heard that feeding exclusively dry food can contribute to this (I can't deal with wet food, but I add water to the bowl of my cats' dry food and they drink it before they start to eat the food).

As for the 'wake-up call," you're lucky she does a soft meow in the ear. My newest, Pete, likes to come right by (or even ON...mostly ON!) my head and start purring so loud it wakes me out of a deep sleep...and not just at reasonable waking times!
 
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