dquesnel
Well-Known Member
Hi, didn't want to post this story on the open forum as it is more touchy and really LONG, per se.
My inlaws have a cat at their house, which actually belongs to my significant other. We see them every Sunday for dinner, and I have seen kitty get progressively worse: first, she was GROSSLY overweight for several years and became less active. The turning point came when they arrived home one night to find her cornered on their porch by a raccoon, she was in shock from the event for over a week and immediately lost quite a bit of weight as she stopped eating. She gradually pulled through, but we all noticed she had slowed down quite a bit and chose not to go outside anymore. This was a couple years ago and has since continued to lose weight.
The inlaws are decent owners, they provide her with a heated bed and she gets attention. No medical care however- outside of the flea medicine she recieved every 6months. Even though she was outdoors she was not vaccinated.
The past year in addition to losing weight she has also developed horrible mats in her fur. Mostly where it is hard to reach- I figured for a long time she was arthritic, possibly because she was so obese, for so long. She began to meow in pain whenever she sat down or stood up. I brought home new food and vitamins for them to try with her, she had only been on dry food but I introduced wet food with vitamins mixed in to help relieve her arthritis. They have not been keeping up with her vitamins, but they have been trying hard to keep her on good food. She put on some weight, then was taken to the vet (for the first time in many years, and to my significant others pleading) as she had some eye irritation and the mats in her fur had to be shaved. The inlaws totally complained over how much the cat's bills cost- as the vet forced them to vaccinate her at this time too. She was given eye and ear drops, as it seemed she had infections going on for some time- no suprise there. She was beginning to perk up but just after a week of being shaved/vet visit, we came over for dinner and found that she was dragging her hindquarters behind her, had not eaten for a couple days and was completely lethargic. We went away for the weekend, I mentioned that they should bring her in to the vet as she is senior (15years) and has not had xrays to show the extents of the arthritis in her body. We came back 5 days after the original problems came up, she is not dragging her hindquarters anymore but is still very lethargic and limping, she has begun to eat a little which is good and has now developed very crusty eyes and nose. The inlaws say she must have caught a cold from being shaved- she still had a layer of short fur on her body combined with the heated bed so she could not have been that cold... I think she has a virus, and it can get really bad at her age especially if she is not eating or drinking. They will 'wait and see' to bring her to the vet this week, but I wouldn't wait. She could at least recieve fluids and pain medicine to help her perk up.
I am afraid of offending them with any of my suggestions. We are very close, they are a second set of parents to me but we disagree as far as animals go. They had a small dog when they were younger, that they would let out and forget that it was out. He died at a year of age after being hit by a car, they did not know the dog was even missing until the animal control came to their door. When they heard the news that the dog was dead, the children said 'can we get a REAL dog now?' :grumpy: They are kind loving people but clearly animals are not equal... I want their kitty to at least recieve some relief for the last bit of her life but I really have no experience with dying arthritic kitties. Mine are indoor cats that live with my parents, and although they are old they are really healthy and active still. Does anyone have any suggestions over how I can handle this situation without anyone getting touchy? And anyone have any suggestions to improve kittie's quality of life if she pulls through this?
My inlaws have a cat at their house, which actually belongs to my significant other. We see them every Sunday for dinner, and I have seen kitty get progressively worse: first, she was GROSSLY overweight for several years and became less active. The turning point came when they arrived home one night to find her cornered on their porch by a raccoon, she was in shock from the event for over a week and immediately lost quite a bit of weight as she stopped eating. She gradually pulled through, but we all noticed she had slowed down quite a bit and chose not to go outside anymore. This was a couple years ago and has since continued to lose weight.
The inlaws are decent owners, they provide her with a heated bed and she gets attention. No medical care however- outside of the flea medicine she recieved every 6months. Even though she was outdoors she was not vaccinated.
The past year in addition to losing weight she has also developed horrible mats in her fur. Mostly where it is hard to reach- I figured for a long time she was arthritic, possibly because she was so obese, for so long. She began to meow in pain whenever she sat down or stood up. I brought home new food and vitamins for them to try with her, she had only been on dry food but I introduced wet food with vitamins mixed in to help relieve her arthritis. They have not been keeping up with her vitamins, but they have been trying hard to keep her on good food. She put on some weight, then was taken to the vet (for the first time in many years, and to my significant others pleading) as she had some eye irritation and the mats in her fur had to be shaved. The inlaws totally complained over how much the cat's bills cost- as the vet forced them to vaccinate her at this time too. She was given eye and ear drops, as it seemed she had infections going on for some time- no suprise there. She was beginning to perk up but just after a week of being shaved/vet visit, we came over for dinner and found that she was dragging her hindquarters behind her, had not eaten for a couple days and was completely lethargic. We went away for the weekend, I mentioned that they should bring her in to the vet as she is senior (15years) and has not had xrays to show the extents of the arthritis in her body. We came back 5 days after the original problems came up, she is not dragging her hindquarters anymore but is still very lethargic and limping, she has begun to eat a little which is good and has now developed very crusty eyes and nose. The inlaws say she must have caught a cold from being shaved- she still had a layer of short fur on her body combined with the heated bed so she could not have been that cold... I think she has a virus, and it can get really bad at her age especially if she is not eating or drinking. They will 'wait and see' to bring her to the vet this week, but I wouldn't wait. She could at least recieve fluids and pain medicine to help her perk up.
I am afraid of offending them with any of my suggestions. We are very close, they are a second set of parents to me but we disagree as far as animals go. They had a small dog when they were younger, that they would let out and forget that it was out. He died at a year of age after being hit by a car, they did not know the dog was even missing until the animal control came to their door. When they heard the news that the dog was dead, the children said 'can we get a REAL dog now?' :grumpy: They are kind loving people but clearly animals are not equal... I want their kitty to at least recieve some relief for the last bit of her life but I really have no experience with dying arthritic kitties. Mine are indoor cats that live with my parents, and although they are old they are really healthy and active still. Does anyone have any suggestions over how I can handle this situation without anyone getting touchy? And anyone have any suggestions to improve kittie's quality of life if she pulls through this?
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