Sendhelp Posted March 2017
Caregiver's cats behaving badly.
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Does your Cat (or any pet) misbehave since caregiving your loved one?
Have you been required to take care of your loved one's pet after they have passed? Does your pet have cute antics that entertain your loved one?
And finally, has the cat or dog transferred their loyalty to your Mother?
As for vets. I'll tell you something that someone told me once. Those big, spacious veterinary offices that have all the gadgets and rooms for this and that and a huge staff are not always the best choice because being huge places they have huge bills to pay and therefore charge more and quite often are a lot more impersonal. When I had to have my Daniel put down I was very disappointed in the care he received. We eventually had him put down at an emergency vet hospital. But we have since found a nice vet. The place is small and old and thinly staffed but they are like family. We always stay and chat with them before we leave. When it's Henrick's time to go I'm sure they'll do us good.
Again, so sorry for your loss Ali.
The better part of love is the strength and compassion to act when our pets need us most.
Goodbye Lilah, sweet cat.
l wish we could post pictures of all of our fur babies on this site.
One of the cutest photos that I have of my cat was of her sitting inside of a grocery bag looking out! It was a favorite hideaway spot for her.
I accidentally dropped the bag on the floor and she got inside and turned around inside of it. She loved hanging out in bags. So funny!
Another time, I was getting socks from a drawer and I didn’t see that she jumped inside of it. I closed the drawer and she started meowing. I had no idea where she was.
I kept following her meowing and opened the drawer and she popped out of it like a Jack in the box!
She destroyed all of the satin balls on my Christmas tree one year! Yep, in the middle of the night when we were sleeping she jumped in the tree and had a blast playing with the balls! We came downstairs to red satin thread all over our living room floor!
I would love to hear stories about your Lilah when you feel like sharing.
Cats have the cutest personalities.
If you’re not satisfied with your vet’s service, don’t hesitate to look for a different vet.
It’s important to be comfortable with the vet who is treating your animals. Veterinary care is expensive. I didn’t have insurance for my pets. Some people do choose to purchase insurance for them. I suppose that you would have to research different policies.
I didn’t keep my pets cremains either. My daughter chose to keep her dog’s cremains. I know that she paid extra for them. She will most likely do the same thing with her current dog.
I loved all of my animals but I have no desire to have their cremains. I have nothing against anyone who does want them. It’s not something that I am interested in though.
I hold their memories in my heart. I don’t need their physical ashes in my home.
I'm not happy with my vet because I feel the signs of a growing stomach mass should have been evident to them. By the time she passed, Lilah looked awful with a volleyball belly, while the rest was bones.
I tried to find what was wrong with her a couple of times in the past six months and paid for labs, etc. But it was RIGHT THERE. I feel they should have been able to discern that her abdomen was tight and distended, with a few lumps in different places, while the rest of her was getting thinner.
I'm not putting any future pets or myself through subpar care again. And from what I read online, the $700 service fee today for basic euthanasia is too much. I would pay anything I could for my pets, of course. The issue is I think I have a lazy and too-expensive vet office. Appreciate any opinion you want to give.
*I've been rereading this thread today, remembering my own kitties' journeys and all of your pets, too—very sweet and funny stuff. I'm laughing a lot, thank you.
*As I went back to the bookmarked place in the thread history, I found my posts from the summer of 2021 when Divo had sores and an ER vet dx'd hyperthyroidism. And even though D had been to the regular vet many times, they never said anything about that. I answered my question here; thank you. I'm done with that vet.
I am so sorry that Lilah is gone. Cherish your memories. She will live in your heart forever.
I know that you will grieve. It’s so hard to lose our fur babies.
One thing we know, pets just don't live long enough. We enjoy them while we are blessed with them, mourn them when they are gone and rescue another to love and be loved by when the time is right.
She and you were blessed to be brought together.
Soooooo I'm awake at 3 am, just feeling so bad for her, but not in any shape to take her anywhere. I wish I had pushed harder for answers in previous vet appts. It may not have changed her course, but I could have been more prepared and had meds on hand. Tonight I noticed she has more than one bulge/mass area around her midsection. They're easily noticeable when I rub my hand along her sides... how did I miss them??! They must be growing quickly.
I sat by her and stroked her softly throughout the day and evening. I keep checking on her, but there's nothing to do except sit with her and try to comfort her. She seems to appreciate it. It's going to be a long night for me, and even longer for her, I think. She isn't sleeping. She's hurting, and I'm just so so so so so very dang sad about it.
My girl is going across the rainbow bridge very soon. Please wish her godspeed and an easy transition. I've been chatting to her about it, telling her it will be soon and telling her stories about what to expect. She might run into Divo, and they can be buddies again, or she'll make new sweet friends and leave that rascal with all the other bold, feisty kitties in pet heaven.
One Vet told me that an ill cat has a choice to either breathe or eat, they can't do both at once. Thus the cat will choose breathing. Even drinking water was difficult :(
Let us know what the Vet says.
Awwww…what a sweet vet.
I think that I must have sounded a bit neurotic to my vet when I said to him, I will pay any price for you to fix my cat.
He said that he would love to have been able to treat her but there wasn’t anything else that he could do. It was time for me to let go. Even though we know it’s time, it’s still so hard to lose them.
It is SO much sadder when you don't know WHY your fur baby is dying. Our vet was comforting when he said that we didn't want to cause Sherlock unnecessary discomfort by poking to find out whatcwas irretrievably wrong.
Big (((hugs))), Ali.
My older vet was not a friend of ours and he was great. He was knowledgeable and cared about the animals that he treated.
My latest vet is a friend of ours too. His girls went to school with our girls and we were always at each other’s houses. He’s also a fantastic vet. He sees my daughter’s dog. He has treated many of our fur babies.
I hope that you find a good vet soon. I know that you will keep looking. We want the best for our animals.
Part of our problem is he was a personal friend and he spoiled us. He loved all animals and treated his patients as royalty but, being a friend he was extra attentive.
We aren't looking for that level, we just want one that actually does their job and knows how to do it.
I think that kind of professional is, unfortunately, a thing of history. It is tough in every industry to find competent help.
I love the name, Lilah. So sweet for a sweet kitty.
I have to say that my faith in vets is totally diminished. We have tried to find one that has a mediocre level of ability and we are not having any luck. It's like they couldn't care less and charge top dollar for nothing.
Our girl put a deep laceration on her back knee, you can see tendon and the vet put 3 staples in and sent her home. Within 24 hours she had torn the skin from the staples. We decided to research how to wrap this up and she is now resting quietly, thank The Lord.
Best of luck with your girl. It is so hard to not know how to help.
Great big warm hug for you. You got this!
Edit: I use arnica Montana sublingual to treat our dogs pain. Works great and relaxes them as an added bonus. No idea about cats but, worth checking out.
She needs to go back to the vet asap. She may be terminal, but I don't want her to be uncomfortable, so at the very least, I'd like some pain medication for her.
I'm sorry, Need. And I get it. If Lilah's best option is humane euthanasia, I want to hold her.
Laying by food or water bowls definately means she is experiencing discomfort if not some pain. Inability to stand could be a blood clot in her back legs.
I would get her to your vet Tuesday. Maybe the emergency vet sooner if she gets worse.
Cats sure do hide things they seem fine until they aren't. I have gad to make the euthanasia chouce with one cat and had another pass unexpectedly. Neither was easy. Whether you make the choice for them or they die suddenly both just suck and are equally as heartbreaking.
When my cat was sick with cancer he started losing muscle mass and you could feel all his bones in his spine and neck. I knew something was wrong but vet said it was just old age. A few months later an x-ray found the cancer after he had a seizure. I had 7 months with him before he started to decline. Not eating. Unable to walk properly like you described into litter box so we had puppy pads for him to go and he used those but would lay down after peeing or just lay down and pee. We gave him sponge baths and he purred and he loved those. He was also laying by his water bowl. We had to let him go last September. And our orange boy died unexpectedly this October from a heart attack.
Is there an emergency vet nearby in case she looks like she’s in any discomfort.
My cat was getting old. She wasn’t doing well and I brought her to the vet. They told me that the vet would see her as soon as possible and that they would be in touch by phone.
He called me and said that there was nothing that he could do for her and to come back to his office.
I went to the vet’s office and he informed me that I should put her down. I was so sad and told him that she was such a good cat.
The vet said to me, “She was good to you and now it’s your turn to be good to her and not allow her to suffer.”
So, I agreed to put her down. I asked if I could hold her until the end. He said. “Of course, you can.” She died in my arms.
I cried the whole way home. My vet was so sweet and gave me a box of tissue to take with me.
It was raining horribly that day. Between the rain and my tears, I could barely see. I pulled over so I could compose myself so I wouldn’t wreck my car.