It was a long and hard struggle, but since my last post, Mr. Mew started to slowly decline. I think he had a stroke, which halted the progress he was making against neuropathy. I tried everything I could to get him better, including acupuncture, massage, medicines, alternative treatments, etc. But his body had other ideas. Through it all I kept up his blood tests and his insulin. The last three days of his life, his BG leveled out and he got no more insulin shots. I had kept him on his other meds but his back end became weaker until he could not move it at all. Nor could he go to the bathroom on his own.
He stayed in good spirits, however, purring and cuddling up to me at night. He was not in pain nor was he suffering. But today, after a night of exceptional cuddling, he started to appear uncomfortable. I have known for about a week that he wouldn't be getting better, but as long as he was comfortable and not suffering or in any pain, I let nature take its course, so to speak. I was hoping he would go at home, where he's most comfortable. But, when I saw him open-mouth breathing today, thougfh he was not struggling to breathe, I knew I had to do something... before he did start to suffer!
The vet put up a tranquilizer that I gave him to him an hour before bringing him in, so he would sleep and be relaxed and not stressed, as the vet hospital usually makes him so stressed out. He was pretty relaxed and slept most of the time. I stayed with him, held his head as he was cuddled still in his fleece blankets and kissed him good-bye.
He was a good cat, a true fighting spirit, and it will be hard and lonely without him.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Continuation of Mr. Mew's Therapy
Sept 26th. Around 3 AM I had to put Mr. Mew in the back room on the floor on his blankets because he kept meowing to go to the litter box, yet when I held him over it, he did not go. I tried a bit of pressure on his bladder, but only drops came out and he seemed a little painful, so I put a wee wee pad under him on his blankets, covered him up warm, and went back to bed. In the morning he had gone on the pad and was near the litter box. He really does try to get from place to place as best he can. His muscles were twitching today, especially in his hind legs.
Sept. 27th. Mew moved around most of the night. He was showing a bit of soreness, but moving more. No progress on the back legs. His left hind still moves a bit, but nothing on his right hind. He seems to be losing feeling in his spine as well. On Sept. 29th I gave Mew some good massage therapy for his muscles and physical therapy to see if I could loosen him up a bit and make him more comfortable. He seemed very sore today and won't eat much.
Sept. 30th. I had to bring Mew to the vet today because I realized he was not sore in his muscles, but in his abdomen. He had not been urinating well for the past 2 days even when I would gently squeeze. The vet put in a catheter and emptied his bladder, which made him feel much better, but she noticed some infection so he is on Clavamox. He's not painful now and purrs, but I am starting to wonder if he's ever going to get better. Several vets now have mentioned they think there's more going on than just neuropathy. He was getting better and then suddenly went downhill even though his blood sugar is fairly regulated. What is going on and what am I going to do? Katy thinks it might be he's throwing blood clots, so she has him on very tiny doses of baby aspirin every few days.
No better on October 1st. He did eat a tiny bit better and drank some from the water fountain, but he can no longer hold himself in a sitting position as before and he just lays there unless I prop him up. He can hold himself for short periods, but then flops over again. I have to make a decision! Katy and I agreed to give it until his next appointment, which is next Thursday. He's not suffering, but he also has no quality of life at this point. I will do all I can to sustain him, work with him, and keep him comfortable until our appointment, unless I see something that tells me he's suffering or I need to let him go. My insides are like Jell-O. We've worked so much, it's hard to think we have come this far only to fail. This is my last ditch attempt to see if I can get any progress, any sign he may have a chance... But I have to be honest, it's not looking good at this point. But, I will fight for that cat until I have exhausted all means. This is very hard!
Sept. 27th. Mew moved around most of the night. He was showing a bit of soreness, but moving more. No progress on the back legs. His left hind still moves a bit, but nothing on his right hind. He seems to be losing feeling in his spine as well. On Sept. 29th I gave Mew some good massage therapy for his muscles and physical therapy to see if I could loosen him up a bit and make him more comfortable. He seemed very sore today and won't eat much.
Sept. 30th. I had to bring Mew to the vet today because I realized he was not sore in his muscles, but in his abdomen. He had not been urinating well for the past 2 days even when I would gently squeeze. The vet put in a catheter and emptied his bladder, which made him feel much better, but she noticed some infection so he is on Clavamox. He's not painful now and purrs, but I am starting to wonder if he's ever going to get better. Several vets now have mentioned they think there's more going on than just neuropathy. He was getting better and then suddenly went downhill even though his blood sugar is fairly regulated. What is going on and what am I going to do? Katy thinks it might be he's throwing blood clots, so she has him on very tiny doses of baby aspirin every few days.
No better on October 1st. He did eat a tiny bit better and drank some from the water fountain, but he can no longer hold himself in a sitting position as before and he just lays there unless I prop him up. He can hold himself for short periods, but then flops over again. I have to make a decision! Katy and I agreed to give it until his next appointment, which is next Thursday. He's not suffering, but he also has no quality of life at this point. I will do all I can to sustain him, work with him, and keep him comfortable until our appointment, unless I see something that tells me he's suffering or I need to let him go. My insides are like Jell-O. We've worked so much, it's hard to think we have come this far only to fail. This is my last ditch attempt to see if I can get any progress, any sign he may have a chance... But I have to be honest, it's not looking good at this point. But, I will fight for that cat until I have exhausted all means. This is very hard!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
