Update on Charisma
Well we took our beloved cat to the vet this morning.
He has lost 3 lbs. He appears healthy. There are no lumps, pain, temperature is good and he does not appear to be dehydrated (all good signs) . We are looking at potential diabetes or fatty liver disease (brought on by not eating due to anxiety, most likely). Either way unless we can get Charisma to eat we are going to lose him. We are making every effort to help him.
This move has been hard on me. Now the thought of losing our cat, ugh. He is now on anti-nausea medication and we are trying a vet food. He will not touch the vet food. Pounce and fresh tuna out of a can from J. I had to force a pill down the poor cat’s throat this morning. Not fun.
I know I will not be popular for this but it has to be said. We cannot afford huge medical interventions to save Charisma’s life. We did not order blood tests to confirm or deny the medical illnesses that may be present. I feel awful. I love my cat. He is part of our family. However, I have two hairless babies to feed. Even if we could afford a feeding tube, or insulin for the cat I am not sure I would go to such lengths. How comfortable would Charisma be? Quality of life is important too. And although he is not the oldest cat on the records he is not a spring chicken anymore either. His weight has always put him at risk for a shorter life (we have had him on a diet for years to no avail). Gosh I am so not ready to say good bye to him.
We have talked for some time about getting another cat. Not only has Charisma excelled with other cats (we used to foster shelter cats, see I love animals!), but in case we did lose Charisma. Charisma and Becca truly are BFF. I cannot imagine her reaction if we lose him. Will another cat fill that void? Help with the loss before hand? Will we stress Charisma out more? Replacing the cat after is that a good idea? I feel so lost right now.
Your thoughts? Hate me? Hug me. Pray for our cat.
I’m so sorry to hear this.
I totally agree with you about not spending a ton of money & also quality of life.
As you know when Chewy started having his seizures we didn’t test as to why, we didn’t try meds. I chose to relieve him of his suffering as hard as it was on me, it wouldn’t have been fair to him, especially since his cancer kept coming back too.
((HUGS))) to you & whatever decision you make it will be the right one.
As to Becca, she will probably take it hard at first but really it is part of life and I think as much as we try to shelter our children there is just some things they need to know about.
(((HUGS))) Please don’t feel bad or guilty for not ordering expensive tests. Civilian vets are insanely expensive and there’s nothing to guarantee that spending all that money will make him better or improve his quality of life. Just spoil him and cherish the time you have together.
I think getting another cat is a good idea… for you and Becca. You can “test” one out for a few days first to see if Charisma is ok with a new friend before you commit to another cat. I think having a new kitty around will help if Charisma doesn’t do well… that way the house doesn’t feel like something is missing. When my mom’s cat Sam died, the house just felt empty and sad even though there were four or five of us living there. Pets have a huge presence that you sometimes don’t fully comprehend until they are gone. And I don’t think it’s possible to replace a loved one, but I think Charisma wouldn’t want Becca to be without a little furry friend.
Before bed tonight, Julio and Cesar and I will pray for Charisma. The boys send friendly puppy kisses. (((HUGS)))
I’m in a similar dilemma with my cat. We moved into an apartment and didn’t have the money to pay the deposits to bring him here, so he went to my parents’ house. But they have two cats and a big dog already. He is not doing well with this. While he’s eating just fine, he is peeing all of the place and my parents have had it up to here. I took him to the vet and after shelling out $250 to have him seen, boarded for a week while we were all on vacation and then a urinalysis, we do know he has a bladder infection, but the vet really thinks it is stress. He won’t take the medicine we were given (we managed to get 2 pills down his throat but today no luck and he won’t eat anything but Purina Cat Chow dry food). But that is it. I can’t afford to spend anything more on him, so I’m not sure what I am going to do.
So big hugs to you for having to face this dilemma too
I did all that other stuff for my cat, Puddin.
IV’s, Liquid injections for rehydration, meds for anti nausea, special food, hypothyroid meds…ALL of it…it didn’t work..still made me fee like crap. He still didn’t last very long…
I’m sorry your baby is feeling sickly…
I’m sorry Becca is losing her friend…
hugs.
We had a cat that started throwing up his food. We tired a few different things and ended up putting him down because all the easy and relatively cheap things were not working. Don’t feel bad about not having the money for expensive vet care.
I am so sorry to hear that your 4-legged baby is ill. I know how hard it is we lost both of our bunnies and I was destroyed. I am glad that Miles wasn’t old enuf to know what happend. Let Becca decide if you all should get another cat, it may help in her process. Hugs and kisses! No hates!
I wish I had some advice for you, but I’ve never really owned a pet that was part of the family like that. You just do what is best for your family and don’t worry what anyone thinks of your decisions…you don’t need to justify anything as you have your reasons for doing what you can. I hope your cat starts eating soon though. Sending you hugs.
Well I hope he just miraculously recovers. However, he’s not young. Whatever you do will be tough unless he does recover fully. Hugs!
Sorry to hear about Charisma. I hope he recovers. I totally get what you are saying about the length you could go to for Charisma, but I am a believer in quality of life. What ever you choose will be the right decision for you.
Feeling for you guys! We would be thinking the same things as you if it was our dog Brodie. Vets are sooooo expensive, we can only do our best by our pets - and it sounds as though you are doing that!
Aww hugs to you all.
I can totally understand the reasoning on not putting out extra $$$$. When you have children it changes things, and while you certainly can’t minimize Charismas importance in your family a life of shots etc would be so not fun for him. I hope he ends up fooling everyone and gets better. Love him and give him all he needs and all you can and see what happens, he will always know you guys love no matter what happens.
don’t feel bad, just do what ou can. the vet bills can be amazingly high and that is not always an option. thinking of you both!
I am so sorry to hear about your cat. We only have had ours since May, but she is already Brendan’s best friend. He carries her around everywhere, and sometimes I actually feel sorry for the cat. I hate to know how he would be if something happened to Minnie.
I hope you will be able to get a new one “just in case.” Animals dying is so hard to explain to little ones, but if something is there to get her mind off of it, it would be a good thing.
Still….:(
This is always very tough. I will agree with you that paying so much for all the tests and medicine is too much. Medical care is just plain too expensive in my opinion and even if you get insurance, it’s really still expensive! We take our cat to banfield now, and while having the insurance helps with annual visits and emergencies, honestly, it’s still a lot of money.
I think I’ll agree that getting a new cat would be a great idea. If your baby doesn’t mind having another one around, I say the more the merrier! It will definitely help in the gravest of situations.
I’ll be thinking about you and hope for the best!
(((hugs))) ALWAYS Love you, NEVER hate you. And of course I’ll pray for your cat… but mostly I’ll pray for you and your family. I don’t think there is any easy answer about when to get a new cat. If getting a new cat now will stress out your current already over-stressed cat, then I would recommend holding off.
Jessica got a bunny for her 11th birthday and she named her Floppsy. She loved Floppsy so much. The bunny stayed in the house until she out-grew her cage. Then we had to put Floppsy in a larger cage outside and Jess would go out there to visit her and some times we would bring the bunny inside and let her hop around. Floppsy even had babies. One day out of the blue we found that Floppsy had died. Jessica was distraught. She cried for several days and kept saying, “she was alive yesterday” and didn’t understand how it could happen so fast. (Jessica is developmentally delayed so it was as if she were 5 yrs old or so at the time). Anyway, Jessica put away ALL HER BUNNY STUFF. She has some stuffed bunnies and two bunny snowglobes… she put everything away having to do with bunnies. Every once in awhile we would talk about it but she wasn’t ready to get her bunny stuff out for quite awhile. Daddy didn’t want to get another bunny to “replace” Floppsy so we didn’t. Well… 3 years ago Jessica started having lung bleeds. She was hospitalized and the tests revealed that there were many (hundreds) of blood vessels that were bulging and waiting to burst and bleed into her lungs. There was nothing that could be done. We went to see the pulmonary doctor for a follow up and Jessica asked the doctor point-blank if she could die from it. The doctor didn’t lie to her and she said “yes, you could.” Jessica thought about it for a minute and then turned to her daddy and asked, “Daddy, can I have a new bunny?” With tears in his eyes he said “Yes, Jessica. I’ll let you get a new bunny.” And that’s how we got our “replacement” bunny. I was the one who found the new bunny and this time we got her a netherland dwarf bunny who is small enough to hold and she stays in a small cage in Jessica’s room during the day but goes out to a larger cage outside at night.
That was our experience with Jessica losing her beloved pet. Jess takes everything to heart but she can also be a drama queen. It was very sad when she put away all her bunny things. She said that she put them away because looking at them made her sad.
Everyone griefs in different ways and there is no ONE right way to grieve. I hope that if Charisma doesn’t make it, that Becca will be open to getting a new cat. Maybe you could make a little scrapbook about Charisma so Becca can always remember him.
Also, have to talked to Becca about Charisma being sick? We have an old bunny who is still alive (we got him one year before Floppsy) and I remind my kids from time to time that he is old and that bunnies don’t live forever… and I do so because he is looking frail and old. He is probably about 9 years old and for a bunny, that is ancient. He isn’t acting sick or anything but I guess I’m trying to cover my butt by trying to prepare them. I know that Becca is only 3yrs old but she is a smart one!
My hugs and love to you all and I hope you have a good outcome.
*Hugs*
I love animal too but I would do exactly what you are doing. Like you said he is not a spring chicken and vet bills can e just overwhelming and you still my not have the animal afterwards. I think you are doing the best just trying to get him to eat and loving him. I hope thinkg work out. I will keep your family (along with Charisma) in my prayer.
Wicked, big Hug.
Seriously, it would be crueler to let Charisma suffer if he gets sicker. And losing a pet is a part of life. My parents beloved dog died a few months ago and my 3-year-old is very matter of fact about it. She’ll talk about Lilly being dead and not around but doesn’t fall apart or become maudlin. While hard for you, if you present it as a part of the life cycle, you’ll be sharing an important lesson with her.
I am with you. I love my cats, but I’m not going to spend thousands of dollars to torture them and give them a few more months of life - your cat has had a long, well-loved life and IF he gets worse (which isn’t for certain), I know that you’ll make sure that he doesn’t suffer. SO often these life-preserving methods are ONLY for the owner’s benefit and quite cruel to the cat - feeding tubes? what cat could bear that?
Nothing but support and hugs from me.
Oh Chelle, I’m so sorry your furbaby is sick. We lost Minou who was 18 years old in May to renal failure. She was so old we did not intervine but honestly I had her for so long that if there was something I could have done to save her I would have, but that’s just me. Once I realized that she was suffering and in great distress I called our vet and she was at our house that evening to help my litlte baby pass on. I just knew that it was time and could not stand to see her suffer for one more second.
With regard to your situation, I would not bring another animal into the house without knowing what is wrong with your cat, animals act differently around sick animals and sick animals act differently. You might just stress kitty out by bringing in another animal right now. Please don’t feel bad about not wanting to or being able to spend money on all sorts of expensive tests. If you do feel you want to pursue further testing inquire if there is a vet teaching hospital or school in your area, sometimes they will take sick animals and charge a lot less.
Praying for your little kitty and I so hope that he gets better soon. Big Hugs Sweetie.
We did get another cat 1 month after Minou passed our house was just not the same without a cat in it. We got a retired breeding cat, she’s a purebred Maine Coon and has been a wonderful addition to our family. I didn’t think I would want a another cat so soon but I did.
I’m so sorry Chelle. This is just too much. If Becca wants too, and you think your heart will be open to it, I think you should get another cat. It’s so lonely when your house has no animals and you’ve always had them, especially if Charisma has always been good with other animals. Look at how Penny perked up when we brought in another dog? And she hates other dogs. Bringing in the other dog really helped Jamie get over Sunshine’s death, much more so than when Junior died and we didn’t bring in another animal.
Hopefully, Charisma will bounce back. If not, The Tenth Good Thing about Barney is supposed to be a good book for helping kids understand (I know it’s about a cat but we don’t have it). I’ve read to Jamie I’ll Always Love you, which always makes me bawl, it’s about a dog, but really, it doesn’t matter. I imagine your library should have some you can read and decide what is appropriate.
You will, as always, be in our thoughts. My only recommendation, is, if it comes to this, is that you get J to take the kids so that you get some time to grieve for yourself. I found, the first time, I was so busy caring for Jamie, that I had no time to mourn myself. That was the hardest part.
Much love.
Wow, that’s tough, Chelle. My husband and I have spent more than a thousand dollars on a cat (two cats, come to think of it), and sometimes you still lose them in the end. Now that we have a baby, that kind of money doesn’t come easy…. So who could blame you?
There could be other reasons Charisma isn’t eating. Have you looked at his teeth? Maybe they are bothering him and it hurts to eat. That happened to one of our cats. Maybe he’s just stressed over the move and will be himself in a few weeks.
In any case, I hope he will eat soon!
I didn’t read through the comments today, so my apologies if I repeat someone else. I think if Charisma has done well with other cats it might provide solace, perhaps even get things back on track. I understand and pass no judgement on your financial situation. I cringe when I hear of families who seem to prolong an pet’s life at great cost emotionally and financially to questionable effect. Talk to Becca, spend time with Charisma and allow nature to take its course. I am so very sorry for you, your precious babies and for Charisma who has already battled for quite some time.
Fierce, fierce hugs!
I’m praying for Charisma! Sadly, I have no advice to give. You will know what’s right for you and your family.
I’m so sorry to hear about your cat. I wish we could all help you!
I think it would be good to get another cat but not right now. It might make Charimsa sicker due to stress or it could possibly make the other cat sick too depending on what illness Charisma has. There are some very contagious illnesses in animals.
I’m sending HUGS your way.
Have you checked Charisma’s teeth? Buster developed a recurring plaque problem around 10, and seemingly overnight, he’d have massive (and pointy) formations that made it hurt too much for him to eat. It is easy to flick them off with your nail - and certainly not life threatening…good luck and keep us posted. (Found my way to you via my dear friend Soccer Mom)