When Pet Ownership Sucks...
Shelly is sick. Really, really sick. She's not going to get better, but we may have as many as six more months with her, or as few as a couple of weeks.
She's always had a heart murmur. A few years ago it was diagnosed as a congenital problem that could be managed but not cured. We were managing it, but it has caught up with her. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that she seemed to be breathing quite hard and fast. It was hot, though, and it seemed to pass. I made a mental note to take her to the vet for a look-see, but other things always got in the way. Then on Sunday I noticed that it was alarmingly bad, although she seemed fine otherwise. We took her to the vet yesterday evening, and the vet sent us right on to the emergency pet hospital, where she spent the night in an oxygen chamber, IV'd on heavy duty diuretics.
Part of her heart muscle is dead (result of the structural problem that produced the murmur), so fluid is building up in her chest around it. Last night, our regular vet was worried she would not survive until today, but today the kitty cardiologist gave us the six months v. two weeks prognosis. We're going to try a mix of meds to slow down the process--that is IF we can get her to take them--but they will only slow it. Not stop it.
She's 14. She's had a good life. A cushy life. We dote on her. We'll dote on her some more.
I'm just so sad.
Labels: Shelly
posted by Cathy VanPatten at 6:56 PM
5 Comments:
Oh, Cath! I'm so sorry.
Yeah, dote on her, spoil her rotten(er).
I was so worried that she would die in the hospital last night, all alone in a scary place, thinking we'd abandoned her there. But she's her ticked off diva self this evening. Particularly ticked at me, since I picked her up this afternoon and drove her home, and in rush hour traffic that took the better part of an hour. She hates the car!
I just dread giving her the meds. We're going to try to put all the tiny pieces of pills in one little capsule and hope for the best.
Oh man, that sucks. We had to put our cat Buddy down in January, it was exceptionally tough for my husband.
I'm really sorry.
I'm so sorry. Bad week for kitties, I guess. Calvin was diagnosed with kidney disease yesterday. I cried. A lot.
Will Shelley eat cat treats? I could sometimes get pills down Calvin by making a pill sandwich out of cat treats. Of course, he caught on to that...
I hope that you have a full six months with Shelley. Give her a good scratching and a kiss from me, please.
Thanks, Jenn and Anne Marie. So sorry to hear about Buddy and Calvin. It's just so hard, because they don't understand at all. They just think you're trying to torture them with the pills and all.
Shelly's doing okay, all things considered. She's eating (although not the prodigious amounts she used to) and drinking water. And she's just as feisty and diva-ish as ever! She won't eat the cat treats (she's pretty savvy for a dumb "blond"!), so we have to wrap her in a towel--Jeff holds her still while I administer the capsule. She just hates it! And she's getting her strength back, so she tends to try to fight it. We've succeeded so far, though, and her breathing is much better.
I know we don't have much more time with her, but we want to make what time she has left comfortable and as healthy as can be.
Post a Comment
<< Home