- Just out of his reach, the Feliway
Artie's field trip to the vet
For a geriatric cat of 17, Artemis is kickin' along fairly well but after trying to help him through two weeks' worth of barfing hard foods, soft foods and all forms of liquid matter KD and I took him to the vet today.
The thermometer up the pooper proved a normal temp. No suspicious bumps or lumps. The blood test showed that his kidney function is whacked though, so kind vet Rachel stuck a needle into his bladder to take a urine sample which will be checked for a variety of bad stuff.
In the meantime, Artie is having a not-exactly-spa weekend at the vet clinic where they will have him hooked up to IVs to rehydrate him and I'll hope not to have to make those euthanasia decisions for a little while longer.
Comments and faves
alida saxon (70 months ago | reply)
I hope it turns out for the best! He's certainly making his opinion known.
McBeth (70 months ago | reply)
Thanks for the kind wishes alida.
Shyness has never really been much of an issue for him... while my sister and five-yr old niece have been staying at my home the past couple of weeks all three of our cats have been doing the eggshell dance (varieties of 'quit.touching.me./I smell the small one, where is she?') but Artie is the mellowest of the three. By far.
The other two are just starting to figure out he's missing @home. They're kinda dumb but it really is kinda sweet at the same time. Ah well.
BenODen (70 months ago | reply)
Allo Arte'. Hope you're doing better you handsome brute you.
McBeth (69 months ago | reply)
He is. Mostly.
While I haven't been witness to the overnight peeing, SOMEone is relieving him or herself both in front of the kitchen sink and in front of the back door of our home on a sadly regular basis. My moneys on Artemis. I have moved one of our litter boxes to the back door location since the humans don't really use the door v. often but I can't really put another litter box in front of the kitchen sink
~ well hmm, maybe I could. Then I could just belly up to the dishwashing chores like I'm at a neighborhood bar or something and maybe I wouldn't dislike that job as much as I do? I'll think on that.
I'm feeding him two prescriptions/day now, varities of 'this should make you poop' meds to help his bowels empty (glad to know this, hunh?) and these are in conjunction with expensive Prescription KD wet food to help his kidneys (which are slowly failing).
I'm not convinced he's happiest alive. He purrs, he doesn't complain, he sleeps an awful lot and I force-feed him his meds 2x/day. But is that a satisfactory life for a cat? I'm having great difficulty trying to determine what factors should/do come into play when it comes to the end of (his) life decision making which currently rests squarely on my shoulders.
BenODen (69 months ago | reply)
Awwww, yah.. That's a tough state for a kitty. The two location peeing is kinda odd, but the other stuff is just tough going. I suspect he's fairly happy though, mom gives him lots of attention, and he can sleep all day. But that final decision is painful. I haven't had to make it, so I'm not much help, but *sigh* I'll be thinking of ya.
alida saxon (69 months ago | reply)
Aw... I'm sorry it's going so hard. It really is a difficult decision.
themich3ll3 and horstgeorg added this photo to their favorites.
ClairedeeCat (52 months ago | reply)
That's my vet too!!
(Can you tell I am new to Flickr?) ;)
I hope Artie gets better. Oregon Vet Clinic is really good with animals. They'll help you through it!
Best wishes!
McBeth (52 months ago | reply)
That's a kind wish, ILJ&A. Thanks. : )
Because the IV fluids I gave him daily weren't really helping him much and because he appeared to be suffering more than I estimate anyone - human or feline - should have to I had to choose on his behalf what to do, and I chose to have him put down.
But to be clear, it was by no means Oregon Vet Clinic's fault. They were kind to him, so gentle with me, and did what they could to help both him and me through the hard parts.
Artie was a wonderful squirrely old coot whose body was no longer able to keep up with his spirit. I miss him terribly. Given the chance to do it over again I wouldn't have chosen differently, but I desperately miss him.