Pet dilemma

[pixc]

My poor cat Pizza! She has been eating like a pig lately. She has been very chatty to the point of being annoying, and shes been sleeping alot. I took her to the vet because her eyes werent dilating properly. Vertict was shes got Diabetes. Shes at least 14 years old, much to the surprise of the vet. She has already been in the wars. My daughter slammed the door on her tail and cut it off. It happened to be on easter weekend so the vet bill was $500.
Shes going to need 2 insuline shots a day, 3 visits a week to the vet for tests etc. This means no more running away on a whim for the weekends, and im gonna have to get a second job to pay the vet costs. Im not sure if I should just let her go as she is and let her die of natural causes or have her put to sleep. I so want to have her treated but the cost and commitment might be just a little too high. I know some of you will be thinking 'pfft its only a cat...Ill lend you my 202', but shes my pizza cat.

[Gremlin]

Yes, I am thinking, "its just a cat". No I do not own pets. No, I don't really love pets either.

However, the way I figure it, if her quality of life is diminished (you could judge that) and she is in pain... I view it as harsh to draw out her life, while she suffers

[**AJ**]

Hard call... don't envy ya the decision.. I love my cat too, & I'd be devistated to have to make a call like that!!

good luck!

[pixc]

She doesnt seem to be suffering. Although it must feel very uncomfy to have such an extended gut and still feel hungry. Shes downed about 15 cicadas, at least one weta and 2 months since I first posted this. ewww

[mstriumph]

she's had a good innings -

and it's a hard call

but, i reckon that if you are questioning whether you have enough $$ or committment to keep up with her treatment then you probably don;t

.... what do the rest of the family think? it could be managed, but only if everyone is willing and eager to chip in .....

sorry to sound harsh ......... but it seems to me you are going to feel bad no matter what you decide

good luck with it

[elle-f]

i have diabetes - its not a good reason to get put down

[Karma]

Although it must feel very uncomfy to have such an extended gut and still feel hungry.

From personal experience yes it does

i have diabetes - its not a good reason to get put down

Depends if you're as cute as the cat

[Lou Girardin]

Does she really need three visits a week?
Can you not adminster the shots yourself?
Our vet didn't charge for follow-up shots when our old girl had a dental problem.
Depending on how much you trust your vet, I'd get a second opinion?

Cats live a lot longer than 14, ours is 17 plus. Whatever you do, don't let nature 'take it's course'. Either treat her or have the courage to put her down now.

[Edbear]

Sympathies with your dilemma! I was a real softy but have hardened over the years as pets have come and gone. Now I'm a man of steel...

At 14 your cat could live a long time yet, with treatment. My first cat, which Mum got me when I was 1, lived 19 years, was very hard when you've literally grown up with one! Has the Vet given any indication as to its life expectancy? That will give you an idea of how much you're going to have to spend to keep it alive and how much inconvenience to your life in taking it to the Vet, etc.

Personally, though elle33f may be worth saving... I honestly feel you should make the hard choice, as a cat has no concept of life beyond eating, sleeping, etc. and will not enjoy the regular shots and Vet visits. It will greatly diminish its enjoyment of life, unlike elle33f whose treatments are balanced by the increase in her enjoyment of life and the freedom it gives her to pursue things that she would otherwise find herself restricted in.

Hope I make some sense, it's early in the morning and I haven't finished my first coffee yet!

[Mrs Busa Pete]

i have diabetes - its not a good reason to get put down

I'm with you

Have you ask the vet weather that is for ever or if those 3 vist a week are until they have the diebetes under control. Also i would be asking the vet why you cant adminster the injections yourself.You know your cat can still go on to live a normal life once the diebetes is under control.
But good luck with your desission.

[judecatmad]

One of my cats (Moppy) ended up with Polycystic Kidney Disease a few years ago and I kept him going and going. It cost us a small fortune (we both have good jobs and yet it had us on the bones of our arses almost) and in the end he had no quality of life.

I had set myself lines that I was determined not to cross, and yet each time I was presented with one of these lines, I would push the treatment that little bit further. It was done out of selfishness because I loved him so much I couldn't bear to let him go.

When I did finally get him put to sleep it was THE hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. I still miss him 2 years later.

What I think I'm trying to say is that you need to carefully weigh up the benefits of treatment against the cost of treatment and how your particular cat will handle such hands-on medicating.

We have Moppy's half-sister still (Bucket, the cat in my avatar) and she's got a 50:50 chance of getting the same thing. Her temperament is such that she simply couldn't handle even daily tablets. It would ruin her existence. We have already made the decision not to treat her if she gets sick with the same thing.

If you have a cat who thinks you're cuddling her and giving her love every time you give her her shots, then go for it. Give the treatment a go. If not, then you're going to have one miserable cat and it's simply not fair.

The cost is something only you can work out. If you're going to have to get a second job just to pay for treatment, then this sick cat is going to wonder why mum's not around any more and could end up feeling neglected. That also is not fair.

Having a cat put to sleep is really hard but if the cat is not happy, not responding to treatment, or you simply cannot afford treatment, it's the kindest thing to do. I wish we could do the same for terminally ill people rather than having to watch them suffer through to the end (but that's a totally different thread!).

I would hate to be in your shoes at the moment. Be strong and think it through with your head, not your heart. PM me if I can help at all.

[elle-f]

awww jude - hugs for that. i dont think you were being selfish at all - i think you were just being as caring as you possibly could be.

busa you are right and edbear you as well. as hard as it is a decision has to be made fairly quickly.

i think the thing is that its wonderful to see people caring about their animals the way you do. but we have to remember that we are humans and sadly, we get to make hard decisions. Quality of life is most important.

[magicfairy]

This is a decision that only you can make. From what you have said - not being able to go away weekends, extra cost I suspect you already know that from a sensible point of view that having her put down is the right thing.

But you love her to bits, and feel guilty at the thought of having her put down for what seem to be selfish reasons - cost and lifestyle.
All normal reactions. But not selfish. Selfish is getting a kitten for Christmas and abandoning it when it isn't cute any more.

Keeping her alive however is not what nature would have decreed, this would be her "time" if she were living in the wild.

We have an epileptic dog, 9 pills twice a day, lots of vet visits, can't put her in kennels due to the likelihood she will have seizures so I can appreciate the issues. At the moment we can afford the cost of all this but we have agreed any more health problems (e.g. her hips go) or if she started fighting us when giving her pills, or the money became an issue, then we will have her put down. With love.

For every owner whose pet has medical issues there is a point at which you say "this is it"
At best you will probably only get a few more years out of her, and then you will be facing this decision again.

But always remember she won't know, all she will know is she was loved, and had a great life.

If you do decide that now is the time, see if you can get the vet to come to your house (if you can face it) so her last moments are in familiar surroundings with the people she loved. If only humans could be guaranteed the same dignified ending.

[erik]

If the cat's going to need 2 insulin shots a day and 3 visits per week to the vet, it sounds like you pretty much haven't got any choice but to put her down. The cat's going to hate the injections and if she's anything like our cats, won't like the visits to the vet either.

We had to have an old cat put down a couple of years ago because his kidneys had gone. Me and my dad were there when he was put to sleep, I helped the vet by holding him still. I was surprised by how quick and painless it looked.

[SDU]

I have looked after a few Diabetic cats over the years one was a diabetic for over 7years. At 19 he had some complications that come with the disease & it became time for his owners to farewell him. He had a great quality of life leading up to then.
It is a commitment but you don't have to give up on going away there are professional people working in cattery's/petsits & although initially the costs will be high that should settle down to mainly medication with the odd test.
The cost of insulin will be an on going but the going in for tests will be initially to monitor your cat's glucose levels to ensure that the insulin dose is right after that is sorted than those tests will probably be less frequent to check that it is under control or only if your cat becomes sick or unbalanced will he need to go in & for the regular 6 mthly checkup. There are going to be some ups & downs & it is a commitment to give daily shots but over time you'll be confident with this, depending on your cat's general health there is a good chance with the diabetes being controlled that quality of life will be good. Yes there will be complications at some point where quality of life will be compromised, there is so much to consider only you can choose the best thing for your cat & you with good advice from your vet. all the best


http://www.petdiabetes.org/home_bg_testing.htm