old cat with both thyroid and kidney issues, when to make the decision of being cruel to be kind?

[nipersvest]

our cat is almost 17, he's been treated for thyroid issues for the last 18 months, firstly using tablets (both brands made him vomit though), then with diet. the diet has been a bit too effective and his thyroid is now underactive, plus he's stopped eating.

took him to the vet last week, blood tests confirm he is now suffering from chronic kidney disease. have switched him to renal diet, which he is eating, will have to treat thyroid with tablets again once he's stronger.

question is, at what point do we stop? he's looking like a bedraggled bag of furry bones. his breath stinks, his teeth are in a bad way, he doesn't groom himself either, but i am brushing him daily. he is not in a good way and our last cat died of kidney issues so we know that it can be pretty fatal. we're sad at the thought of loosing him, but its also upsetting watching him decline.

anyone else made the decision to have their cat put to sleep?

We had one of ours put to sleep last year, because of her kidney problems. She had been burbling along quite happily for a long time, with just her diet changing, but she went downhill suddenly. I will never forgive myself for letting the locum vet talk me into trying her with some medication to be honest, because I made her last couple of days miserable and just delayed to inevitable.

If he seems happy in himself then I probably wouldn't be in too much of a rush, she wasn't happy, couldn't keep herself clean,and in the end it was pitiful to see her suffering so the decision wasn't even really a decision, it was a kindness

Good Luck

No answer from me I'm afraid - I'm in exactly the same situation - my old cat also 18 seems happy enough although I have to keep giving her cat malt - another symptom of renal failure is constipation. I'd just go with your gut instinct, I think they tell you when the time is right.

You are in the period where there is no wrong time to make the decision.
When my beautiful moggy girl added chronic renal failure to her list ailments I made the decision straight away, she was not eating and for me I didn't want her to decline.

its good to hear other views, its such a hard decision to make. he seems to be rallying with the renal food, but am so aware that we're currently not treating the thyroid, last time the thyroid wasn't being treated, he went downhill very quickly and ended up being admitted into the vets overnight.

we did say when the thyroid was bad, that if his kidneys went too, that would be it, but now we're at that point, we're hesitating.

I'd agree with Lone on this one. My own Darling Twoago had renal failure and I've always wished that I had let him go earlier than actually happened. (The decision was taken out of my hands in the end.)

When an animal is seriously unwell, you have to remember (in my view) that it has to be all about them. I kept Twoago going for my own reasons and I should have let him go while the sun was still shining for him a little.

All the best in your situation - and take care. It may be a loving decision but it's always a hard one.

Earlier this year we let our old boy go when the meds were no longer working for his kidney disease. He was also very thin and no longer washing himself. He was still eating and his arthritis was under control, but he cried a lot. We decided he was starting to suffer and we weren't going to prolong it. It is not being cruel to be kind... it's being loving to be kind. We had two cats pts in two weeks and it was HARD, but rather a day too early than a day too late.

well that was hard. he was not good today, had pooed all over himself this morning, and not eating again. the most disturbing side was he had not really made a sound today, and he's usually such a vocal cat.

i took him to the vet this afternoon and he was put to sleep. i held him while they did it and stayed with him for a bit afterwards. kids are distraught and i am holding back the tears myself but i know it was the right thing to do. not told dh yet

So sorry nipersvest, I've been in that situation too and you have done the right thing

(((HUGS))) The night after we had our old boy pts my 12 year old dd kicked her dad out of bed so that she could sleep with me, she missed him so much. Just go with whatever you need to do, it's ok to show the kids you are sad.

So sorry they're part of the family. You did the best for him.

You 100% did the right thing. Well done for giving him a long and happy life and not being selfish x

can't stop crying, ds has sobbed for hours, is finally asleep. we have a cat shaped hole in our house tonight. i know we'll be fine and begin to remember the silly memories, like when he first went onto prescription food for thyroid, he wasn't allowed to eat anything else but gave it a good try when after our annual summer bbq i spotted him in the back garden at 2am dragging a chicken drumstick around! or the time he had what we thought was one, single very thick whisker, which turned out to be a mouses tail and he had a mouse in his mouth, his one and only hunting experience as he was rubbish at it, the mouse got away and was fine!

rip old man cat

I've only just seen this thread and I'm sorry for your loss. I made exactly the same decision on Monday morning for my cat with kidney failure (but she was only 11.) It's absolutely the kindest thing to do. I cried so much on Monday that my eyes looked bruised. But that's OK - crying is a totally appropriate reaction. Be gentle on yourself. It's good that you're remembering the good times.

thank you for all the kind thoughts, its helping deal with the guilt, i felt like a cat murderer last night.

this is our old boy in his much younger hayday.

What a handsome fellow. He looks a bit superior I think - was he a 'Lord of All I Survey' type of cat?

yes he was, he was very regal looking, definitely king of his own back garden. its only now we see pictures of him when he was younger we realise how much he'd aged and also how poorly he had become.