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Original poster

[gulp] It may soon be time to say goodbye to SoupKitten

207 replies

SoupDragon · 29/05/2013 14:21

She has a fair amount of fluid on her abdomen - according to the vet there are a few possible causes and pretty much all of them are bad.

She was found in a gutter as a tiny kitten with cat flu, eye infections and mites which left her with a few problems but has spent nearly 5 happy years here with us and FatCat.

Waiting for the results of £250 worth of blood tests but have primed toe children that she is unlikely to be with us much longer.

[wail]

OP posts:
CajaDeLaMemoria · 02/06/2013 11:34

Oh, and if you want me to be quiet, feel free to say. I hope I'm helping, but I can understand if you'd rather just have support.

Original poster
SoupDragon · 02/06/2013 12:17

Oh, that's fine. :)

The weightloss could be a red herring as there are two other possible reasons (teeth and dieting FatCat) plus she is a little cat (around 3kg when healthy). Or it may not be a red herring - impossible to tell right now :)

She's not insured as such - I saved the premiums instead. Either way, money is not an issue.

The vet originally said that she didn't look like a cat in heart failure - whatever that means.

If the prognosis is for a short life, heavily medicated, I would probably opt to PTS now rather than face it later. Harsh, but I think we are already prepared for bad news and I do not believe in prolonging life at all costs. Not a decision I really want to make and part of me hopes she simply dies peacefully in her sleep instead. Of course, the largest part of me hopes she makes a full and miraculous recovery!

In other news, FatCat finally curled up with her to sleep last night. After sneakily eating her left over salmon. The DisreputableDog has just come out of the futility room, licking his lips, and sure enough, any remaining food has gone and the bowls are gleaming.

OP posts:
CajaDeLaMemoria · 02/06/2013 13:10

No, I completely agree that a heavily medicated short life wouldn't be fair on her.

I've been through this a few times...we often get dogs and cats with congestive heart failure left at the vets, as it can be expensive and hard work to sort them out.

Our last cat was 15 when she was left. The vet said probably 2 to 3 weeks before she'd be dead, if that. She was coughing and couldn't walk much and had a lot of swelling from water retention, but the moments that she was totally alive and healthy were so worth it. We tried Vetmedin and diuretics, on the understanding that if there was no change after a week, we'd let her go.

It took almost the full week to sort her diuretics dose out, and for the vetmadin to kick into action. I spent Thursday night sobbing that she was not going to make it. Friday morning she woke me up by jumping on my head. She ate a whole breakfast, and went out to play. Came back hours later and slept in the sun. She weed a lot, and didn't take to her tablets for a while, but she lived for four years after that. We let her go in the end because her joints were getting stiff and her cough was coming back, and she wouldn't have been happy to have her medications increased again, or spend the night in the vets. By year three her meds had dropped, so we knew that the end was nigh when she needed them back up to a full dose.

I'd definitely give your cat the same chance to respond, although it is completely your decision, and I'd totally respect it either way. It's tough.

We've had 7 cats and 5 Cavaliers' with this now, but it's always hard to make the decision whether to treat. I'm sure we'll be given a cat one day that just doesn't want to try, but so far, I'm very thankful for the meds!

FatCat sounds adorable. He may well help her out; having a healthy cat around always seems to help, provided he doesn't wear her out.

I really hope her scan is good tomorrow. Be prepared to be very shocked by the change if they drain her: but also that it doesn't hurt too much. Our wimp of a cat went through it seven times in the end, it's quick and she didn't mind too much. She loved running and playing afterwards, it looked like she'd just given birth!

I'll cross my fingers. And sorry for the essay!

Original poster
SoupDragon · 02/06/2013 14:57

:)

I think she'll be sedated for the ultrasound so they may well drain the fluid then. Of course, part of the problem is that we still don't know what it is - I find it better to be overly pessimistic, especially when talking to the children about her (they're 14, 12 & 7)

OP posts:
Original poster
SoupDragon · 02/06/2013 14:58

I need to take into account that she was never a robust cat to start with.

OP posts:
JulesJules · 02/06/2013 15:14

Oh Soupy Sad

Have just looked at your photos

wahhhhhh [sobs]

It's heartbreaking, isn't it, the price you pay for love. She could have easily died as an abandoned kitten and you have given her a fantastic life.

Original poster
SoupDragon · 02/06/2013 15:29

That's actually what I said to the vet in January when she had her jabs - my job was to love her for as long as we had her, regardless of how snuffly/sneezy/gammy-eyed she was. None of those things were curable or causing her problems.

OP posts:
MissStrawberry · 03/06/2013 07:54

Good luck today SoupKitten.

greenhill · 03/06/2013 08:01

Wishing soupkitten good luck for today x

cozietoesie · 03/06/2013 08:03

Yes- Good Luck today.

Original poster
SoupDragon · 03/06/2013 08:12

Thanks.

I've just remembered that I forgot to deliberately starve her from 8pm last night Blush She won't have eaten much though.. I can't remember whether she ate anything or not! What an idiot!

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Original poster
SoupDragon · 03/06/2013 08:13

I think she may have eaten a little at 10pm but it won't have been much. I'll just mention it when I take her in.

OP posts:
greenhill · 03/06/2013 09:51

It would've been hard to starve her if the other animals had any food down too. My cat would think the world had ended if there wasn't hard food down at all times.

At least you realised she had eaten (and subconsciously were pleased that her appetite was returning?)

Original poster
SoupDragon · 03/06/2013 10:39

Starving one of the three animals at a time generally isn't hard as I can restrict access to the futility room, which is where the cats are fed, and the dog rarely has a bowl with any food in for more than 5 minutes :)

The fact that she was fed is down to pure stupidity and ineptitude on my part :o I simply didn't think. Anyhow, it's not a problem as she needed to have been starved for 12 hours and the vet is unlikely to get to her before 10 anyway. I confessed my idiocy on her consent form.

She was shockingly light when I put her in the carrier this morning. Still had the energy to fight being put in and to protest loudly the whole way to the vet though :)

what will be will be.

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 03/06/2013 10:48

I hope all goes reasonably well. Let us know how she gets on when you hear later in the day.

Original poster
SoupDragon · 03/06/2013 10:59

Will do.

It's annoying as DD (7) has inset days today and tomorrow so if it's bad news, she'll be around.

OP posts:
Original poster
SoupDragon · 03/06/2013 11:00

Obviously if it is good she will also be around!

OP posts:
MissStrawberry · 03/06/2013 11:01

Will be thinking of you. Please let us know when you can.

cozietoesie · 03/06/2013 11:02

Almost better that way, soupdragon. You'll have to keep an eye on her and not brood quite so much. And anyway, if she was at school, she wouldn't be concentrating on lessons.

ClaraOswald · 03/06/2013 11:08

Hoping for good news.x

Original poster
SoupDragon · 03/06/2013 11:08

I think she would have been OK at school TBH.

Whilst I have made it clear since last weekend (when I noticed the swelling) that Scout is ill and there is a good chance she may not make it, I don't think DD has grasped that she (the cat) may go to the vet and not come back. I'm not sure whether the DSs quite grasp that either, and I've not pointed it out or specifically mentioned euthanasia.

Anyhow, she is having a ultrasound plus xrays today - I wasn't given any estimate of when she'd be finished.

OP posts:
Original poster
SoupDragon · 03/06/2013 12:59

Heart does not appear to be enlarged but her liver looked patchy in places so they are doing a liver function test whilst they have her.

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 03/06/2013 13:03

Good news about the heart. I can appreciate that they will want to test the lot, though, while she's snoozing.

Original poster
SoupDragon · 03/06/2013 13:06

That's the odd thing - she wasn't snoozing Confused He said she was wriggling about a lot during the ultrasound which makes no sense to me but [shrug]

Damn cat stringing us along with might-be-this might-be-that. Why can't she just have a specific and straightforward to diagnose thing wrong

LOL - all this money on tests and still no idea what the matter is :)

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 03/06/2013 13:08

Under a light sedative then? Wait and see till all the tests are done.