Kidney disease, or as Vets put it, "renal failure" is a terrible thing to watch an animal, usually a cat, go through.
My first cat, long gone now, Jasper got kidney disease when he was about ten-years-old. He was drinking more and more water and became listless and less playful.
It came on (seemingly) suddenly. He started throwing-up food that I guess was loaded with impurities. He started hanging out in the bath-tub where the faucet dripped. He drank and drank because his body was telling him he was thirsty, that he needed water to help flush out impurities in the blood that weren't getting flushed-out by the kidneys.
He cried a lot because he had a feeling, a pain in him that told him to keep drinking water and no matter how much he drank, it wasn't enough, it had no effect. He stopped grooming himself, started pee-ing uncontrollably (not in the box) because of all the water he was drinking.
The "renal failure" came on suddenly and got much worse just as quickly. After a couple of months of watching him suffer -- he was miserable -- I knew it was time to end his misery.
Oh, his vet put him on dialysis and that would put him right for a couple days, but that's no way to live and besides, I couldn't afford it on a continued basis.
Finally, I took him to the vet and made that first-time for me decision to have a pet, a friend euthanized. It was a terrible day. I started the morning by walking with him through a nice grassy field by my home. I played with him as much as he could get involved with his unquenchable thirst first in his mind. And then I made that terrible drive with him to the Vet.
That was a long time ago now and I am past it. I know I did the right thing. My friend has a garden supply business and I buried Jasper just outside where all the flowers are grown. I put him in a box with my pillowcase (for "my smell") and his favorite toy and a water dish and a catnip bag. And just in case there's anything to it, a silver cross.
I went home finally and got very drunk and cried most of the day. Something else happened that night but I'll discuss that in a future post.
I've been lucky since. Rainbow (who was best friends with Jasper) is just a few days short of 20-years-old and while she's had her health problems, kidney disease is, mercifully, not one of them. Critter is so small and active that I just know he won't be struck with it. He'll steal my car and "go" in an accident.
But I worry about Sambo. She's much like Jasper, huge and such. She's only about six now but I just have an unpleasant feeling that she's a candidate for kidney disease. I now feed all of my cats "low ash" food. But I worry... Within the last year two of my friends have had to put their feline friends to sleep because of kidney disease. It's a bitch. As with myself and family, we all wish we could "go quickly" but we have cancer and cats have "renal failure." It's a bitch and I will idolize the man or woman who finds a cure for this horrible disease.
Posted by Jeff at March 28, 2004 08:42 AMI lost a cat last summer to renal failure. It was totally out of the blue. I came home at lunch and found her barely able to move and obviously in a lot of pain. My usual vet is a "housecall" vet and I couldn't get her on the phone, so I rushed Gwyneth to a friend's vet. They told me she was in severe renal failure and said she would not live through the weekend. She was the first pet I have had to decide to let go. I regret not having more time with her...she was only 4. I'm with you on finding the cure. Whoever can cure this and find a way to keep dogs from eating their own poo will be my eternal hero, as well as a very rich person.
Thanks for doing Tarazet Jeff! I love having a place to go where folks are as crazy about their pets as I am.
Posted by: Ace at March 29, 2004 03:33 PMThank you Ace. I am truly sorry for anyone's loss of a pet but Gwyneth certainly went far too soon. I just received an email from someone who (to summarize) said, "Why don't you care about "people problems" as much as a bunch of animals.
*Sigh* Of course I care when a human being is suffering, but this isn't a blog about human problems, except as they relate to their four-legged friends.
Humans can seek help on their own, usually. Animals, dogs and cats, depend on us to take care of them. Feed them, love them, protect them, and yes, provide what medical care we can for them.
Anyway, Tarazet has been a joy to start and a nice place for me to retreat to when I worry too much about "human problems" on my other blog.
Again, my sympathies to you.
Posted by: Jeff at March 29, 2004 09:01 PMI can relate. My cat was diagnosed with renal failure when she was about 2. We did it all, the initial hospitalization, the special diet, the fluids 3x/week. She dropped from 10lbs to just under 6. I struggled, watching her suffer, and not knowing how or even if I would know when it would be time to let her go. I can definitely sympathize with anyone who has to go through this; it can be agony.
However, I was lucky. She miraculously took a turn for the better, and is still here with me 4 years later, her treatments no longer necessary. I'm not sure what happened.
I don't know really what my intent was in posting, other than to express my heartfelt sympathy for anyone dealing with the terminal illness of a beloved pet, and to point out that sometimes, miracles do happen. My cat is one of those miracles, and I am thankful for that gift from God everyday.