Agatha cat

[nlbarber]

My old lady Agatha-cat is failing. She's lost a pound (dropping from 9 to 8 pounds) in the last 6 weeks, and last Thursday she almost completely stopped eating. I took her to "her" vet, Dr. Dunn, on Friday, but there wasn't any obvious cause or anything much to do. We gave her subcutaneous fluids in case it might be just a temporary imbalance that could be corrected and get her eating again. However, all my tempting with baby food and cat treats got no more than a few teaspoons or so down her on Saturday. A phone consult with Dr. Dunn on Sunday led to a suggestion of Pepcid, as she's swallowing hard, but that didn't change anything, though a can of tuna did interest her in lapping at a little most of the day. Monday's phone consult reached the conclusion that it's probably something like cancer that's in the esophagus or stomach, perhaps spread from the mammary lumps that appeared a few months ago. At Agatha's age (17 and a half) and with the advanced kidney disease, high blood pressure, and blindness, extraordinary treatments for a cancer just seem cruel. I vetoed even an overnight stay at the vet for additional supportive care, as Agatha hates cages and strange locations. I think she's better off at home.

She seems comfortable, and does sometimes eat a little though the tuna has ceased to be interesting. When I left for the hospital to spend a few hours with my father, she was in her favorite day-time spot under a lamp, basking in the heat. She still moves around fairly well though she's been trembling a little when she stands up. If she starts to look like she's in pain, or if she goes to find a corner to hide, it will be time for the last trip to the vet.

Comments

[idiotgrrl.livejournal.com]

My friend and sometime cat sitter Becca is doing the same thing with her aging cat, who is undergoing the same process. OTH, Jane Lindskold, also from Albuquerque, is hand-feeding her cat soft food and doing all sorts of things to keep kitty going. I have to wonder which is harder on the cat.

Blessings on you and your dear old kitty.

Pat

[nlbarber]

I will do the hand-feeding, within the limits of the time available between work (neglected for the last month anyway) and visiting my father in the hospital. I tried squirting a little baby food in her mouth with a syringe once before deciding that was just making her miserable, and wasn't likely to get enough into her to help much in any case. I've decided to respect her decisions on how much and what to eat.

That doesn't mean I'm not looking for items to tempt her with--she just rejected sardines, but ate three little "Good Life" cat treats. Silly old girl.