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Poor old lady
Jul. 4th, 2006 12:28 pmThe house is strangely empty without a cat in it...
Piffle is at the vets, having tests done. She's still eating lots (and this is a cat who has only ever picked at her food), is very thin under all that fur, and in the last week or two has started to stagger quite noticeably (imagine what a cat would look like slightly drunk, and you're about there).
The vet has just rung me - some surprises with the tests. Thyroid function is completely normal (last time it was slightly elevated). Liver and kidney function are excellent for a cat her age - this is good because it means the vet can give her an NSAID to try and help sort out the stiffness that is causing the staggering. After searching through the literature and on the Web, the vet has found that lots of others have reported similar findings in elderly cats - it looks as though, despite there being no vomiting or diarrhoea present, the cause of the eating and weight loss is some problem with her digestive tract.
We're not keen to put her through lots of very invasive tests - it doesn't seem fair at her age (the vet agrees). So our plan of action is special food that is easy to digest, and anti-inflammatories to try and ease her hips. We'll give it a week or two and see how it goes.
I'm not looking forward to the day we have to make the hard decision. She's very special and very dear to all of us, and we'll miss her dreadfully. But then that's the price you have to pay for the pleasure of their company.
Piffle is at the vets, having tests done. She's still eating lots (and this is a cat who has only ever picked at her food), is very thin under all that fur, and in the last week or two has started to stagger quite noticeably (imagine what a cat would look like slightly drunk, and you're about there).
The vet has just rung me - some surprises with the tests. Thyroid function is completely normal (last time it was slightly elevated). Liver and kidney function are excellent for a cat her age - this is good because it means the vet can give her an NSAID to try and help sort out the stiffness that is causing the staggering. After searching through the literature and on the Web, the vet has found that lots of others have reported similar findings in elderly cats - it looks as though, despite there being no vomiting or diarrhoea present, the cause of the eating and weight loss is some problem with her digestive tract.
We're not keen to put her through lots of very invasive tests - it doesn't seem fair at her age (the vet agrees). So our plan of action is special food that is easy to digest, and anti-inflammatories to try and ease her hips. We'll give it a week or two and see how it goes.
I'm not looking forward to the day we have to make the hard decision. She's very special and very dear to all of us, and we'll miss her dreadfully. But then that's the price you have to pay for the pleasure of their company.
