My Loving Companion
 
Oh My Goodness. Thank you all for all of your compassion and sympathy in this difficult time. Cat Blogosphere, thank you for the graphic, it is beautiful and brought happy tears to my eyes, I am so thankful and .. .just thank you, I don't know what to say.


For the Living Love, thank you for that, it was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes as well. It is all so very true. 


Katie Kat, thank you, I am looking forward to that day with great want.


For the poem, my gracious God, thank you for showing me that. Tears again, and so true, I will not ignore any other animals, I will continue to adopt strays, bring in the unwanted and try to tend to them and love them the best I can. I can somewhat understand those who say "I don't think I'll ever get another pet, I cannot bear the loss," because for a few fleeting seconds I had thought the same thing. But I now have Chickster, and the 4 outside cats, Boca who is the most loving and least fearful of me, who licks me and seems to know I am sad. My mother hopes one day we can bring him in. 


For all of your comments, thank you so much. I will keep in touch with the Cat blogosphere and begin helping others now, to try to return a small fraction of the great compassion you all have shown Boo, and me. Thank you so much. Love, and hugs. <3
 
I am sorry to inform everyone that Boo passed away peacefully this morning at approximately 10:15AM at the vet's office. I held him in my arms and told him I loved him, and he went without a single growl or meow. He was very tired. In short, his body had given up, his kidneys had given up, his fur wouldn't even grow. His soul was tired, his body was tired, so I had to let him go. 


He has been buried in my back yard in a beautiful cardboard casket the vet so sweetly gave me, along with his favorite cuddly blanket and my mother put a small red rose bud with stem in there with him. I am carving a headstone for him. 


I have nothing else to say right now, I don't believe it has fully hit me. I must gather all of his things and put them away. Chickster wouldn't get near him as I tried to let her smell him, but she growled and ran away. This was her first experience with death so I can imagine. 


Thank you all for your kind words and support, it was so helpful and desperately needed, along with everything else. 
 
Boo has an appt with Dr. Pierce at 10am this morning. He only pee'd three drops from what Mom says last night, and this morning I found him laying on the bathroom rug too exhausted to leave the bathroom. She said his breathing got very bad last night and this morning he is wheezing badly. He won't eat. I will update later.
 
Boo started breathing easier last night and Mom said he went pee twice and drank water. This morning he is still breathing easier, I gave him around 50mL of fluids like I did yesterday, he has no pouch left, and he drank a very large amount of water this morning from the fridge water in a coffee cup. He ate a little bit of baby food but otherwise acts like he can't be bothered. Mom said he went pee by himself and she helped him back into his box, otherwise he has had no collapsing episodes. He just acts very tired. 


Will be asking Dr. Pierce Monday (getting a visit and bringing him in) about maybe his kidney stones shifting and causing him pain, we may just have to go in and remove them. That kidney is very swollen. Also will try to get a full panel done on him and see if anything else is off. I love this vet, they are so willing to work with me and care about Boo so much. 


The male vet I saw claims it is his kidneys failing further and he has less than 25% function left (Sorry if I repeat myself in these posts, I can't remember what I've said and what I haven't) but maybe if we get those stones out things will improve for awhile. 


Am also wondering (Grasping at straws here but watching Dr. House has screwed me up) If our taking the floor up in the downstairs bathroom has anything to do with this sudden onset. Because it WAS sudden, his breathing issue. He was doing great before Thursday. I can't understand it. It's a 1975 house, we took up carpet (newer) padding (older) and old '75 particle board 1" thick, which we had to break apart. This is a split level house (3 levels) and he is in the middle at either staircase on a server, and this dust doesn't blow around. But we've been breaking the particle board for several weekends now so I .. don't think it would be the case. I was wondering if something was coming up through the actual wood boards (the actual boards that make the sub floor) from underneath the house that could be affecting him. All that is probably wrong, it is probably just his kidneys. But I have no clue.


Gave him his pet tinic, male vet said to keep up with that. He is only getting .25mL 


He is still breathing easy. I cannot move his pans to him or he will not use him, he will just go back down to the pan room. He always has been very mannered and hates to make a mess and wants to do what we want him to do. He really is the perfect gentleman. Thank you all so much and I will update if anything changes or as soon as I talk with Dr. Pierce. <3 <3 <3
 
Boo isn't doing well. It's 10:30. If I try to move him he starts breathing even more desperately, and while his gums are pink I just feel like he's struggling for some reason. His eyes are slitted, his third eyelids are showing and his tail is flipping around like he's annoyed. He won't even let me give him fluids now and took a swipe at me but I may try again. CAlled the vet andw aiting on him to call me back, as I don't want to take him up there and stress him out more. I put him in his box and he just sat there. In tears now. not sure what to do. 
 
Thank you Kaika's mom. I do have to remember to treat the cat, not the numbers. 


He is eating the baby food like it's the best thing he's ever had, and is now refusing the Hi Tor (Well, I can't probably say refusing since I offered it right after he ate some baby food, and in comparison, yes, Hi Tor smells not so great) but he ate the rest of a 1/2 jar of Roast beef and a 1/2 jar of Turkey. I am worried that the protein is going to overload his already weakened system, but he needs it for muscles. He has barely any, and he's wasting away. And he loves it. So, he gets it. He gets whatever he wants. And he doesn't want any temptations either. I haven't seen him touch any dry food since I've started the baby food. I offer it constantly. He is drinking water, got it himself out of the tub earlier but once back downstairs was a bit tired so I put him in his box for him. I am going to take him outside in a few minutes as it's a nice 70 degrees, but might be a little chilly. He may not even want to go out. 


He doesn't feel like doing much, purrs when I rub on him or say hello or kiss him all over and bother him (I kiss him at the base of his tail and say "I'm kissing your butt! I'm kissing your butt!" And he grunt/purrs at me everytime LOL) but he can get down and go where he needs. He jumped out of the tub with no trouble.


Still confused about breathing normally when asleep. And he hasn't slept like this (after his last surgery to fix his extraction) since December, and he has been sleeping LOTS. Which I guess he needs. He likes for us to be around, which is why we guess he picked the server in the livingroom because someone is always down there. We washed his blankie that he tinkled on and put it back in his box and he's happy with that. 


I have decided to skip fluids today, since if skipping 200mL/day at the beginning of all this "wouldn't hurt anything" then I am doubtful 100mL/day skipping for one day will hurt anything. He has been getting  ALOT of water in his food and out of the tub, and I am worried that while he doesn't have any fluid in his lungs (Said the vet) he may have fluid AROUND his lungs/heart. He is not sitting up constantly like when he was over-hydrated the last time, but I am wondering. He just has a funny breath sound. So one day skip and then we will see. I am also skipping the Pet Tinic as with all the good nutrition in a baby food, I don't want to overload him with Pet tinic either. So as for today, water, food and petting, is all he gets. 


Thank you all so much <3 <3 <3
 
Went and bought some 2nd level Gerber baby food like the vet said. Boo ate nearly an entire jar of Chicken and Chicken gravy (No onions or garlic) and loved it. Mom said while I was gone he went and tinkled, got on the server and had to lay down to recover for about 1 minute, then bounced right back up and was fine. I am guessing this is from the muscle wasting the vet mentioned, because his PCV is 20%, up from 19%. Which is good. 


Before I left to get the baby food, Mom and I caught him curled up in his box on his right side (The side with his enlarged kidney, he always lays on that side usually, doesn't seem to cause him any pain) with his head down on its side and he only lays like that when he's REALLY comfy. His breathing was NORMAL guys. It was deep and relaxed. What GIVES? I am so confused! I can't wait to tell Dr. Pierce about this.


Another interesting thing is the vet I saw today, at the same hospital, said he had "heard about Boo-Boo". I was like what? Wow, he's getting around huh? :) Guess those x-rays made an impression on those vets. Good. 


Anyway. Boo is resting now, I must clean out pans and try to get some rest too as both Mom and Boo are napping. Chickster, too. She has been very quiet since we got back from the vet, ... which kinda worries me.. but can't do much about it now. She is in her little kitty tent sleeping.


Thank you all so much <3 <3 <3
 
My regular vet I see at the new place is on vacation, so I saw another vet there. I will go over all of this with her and see if she has any different ideas. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know, as it's hard to remember things and remember where I found certain people offering advice. 


Boo had a BUN and PCV done. His BUN is off the charts, so the vet "diluted" it 1:1 (Whatever that means) to get a certain number. He got 199. That is way worse than it ever was. This just happened suddenly, I noticed him breathing oddly yesterday. His PCV however went UP to 20%, which is great. I am wondering if the Pet Tinic had anything to do with his BUN level rising but will ask the vet.


He is feeling pretty crappy. I gave him his fluids per vet instructions once returning home, he has peed (in the carrier as usual) and pooped (already mentioned that one) and drank water when he got home. He hasn't eaten and refused his temptation. I have been instructed to give him 1/4 of a pepcid everyday to help with the acid. His body is basically very acid right now. The vet said his back leg muscles have wasted almost completely away, hence the balancing problems and falling off of things. Also when I go to pet him in his box he nearly falls over. And I don't whack him either. 


This vet (a male vet) is a very reality based vet, which is all well and good, but of course he said Boo might not have long, but his lungs were not wheezing and it did not seem there was any fluid in the lungs. His breathing, while just a bit quicker, was ok, and his breathing like this is a part of getting the toxins down in his blood. It is some metabolic thing going on. The more C02 he gets rid of, the more the toxins metabolize out of his system I guess? That is what it sounded like in my head. On top of that he is getting fluids and foods to flush it. 


He lost .6 ounces and is down to 5 pounds even. This vet seemed to be very concerned about his weight (It IS concerning) but as for as LOSING weight, I think he was 5 pounds at the surgery. In any case, the vet wants him eating whatever the heck he wants. I have to go buy some baby food too. I am not to assist feed him as this will cause stress and make everything worse, per the vet. 


My mom and I are at a loss and are very depressed about this news. Not sure what to say about it. Boo is a fighter, and I don't want to give up on him, but I am to make a list of everything I think a cat loves to do everyday, and then start marking off the things Boo can't do anymore. Once I'm down to 2 items he can do, "the decision is pretty much made up for me," as he put it. Which sounds like a decent way of making that particular decision but I don't know. I think I will know when it happens. 


I do not understand the sudden jump in BUN though it could've been piling up for awhile now. I also don't understand the anemia going UP and the BUN following. That just seems suspicious like something is causing it. 


I am looking at his Pet Tinic and the Temptations I've been giving him (For tartar control, I only gave them to him as treats after his meds and he loved them, maybe anywhere from 2-5 based on how well he acted each day) I am wondering if the Temptations could have helped the BUN go up, ... I just do not know. I will have to consult with Dr. Pierce when she returns. I trust her, not to say I don't trust this man, but let's just say it's me that's the issue and I want a second opinion. 


That's about it. He offered hospitalization for 2 or 3 days with IV, but with Boo's attitude and personality he thought it was better for him to be at home and less stressed as stress would just make everything worse. I have no doubt that Mom trying to redo the bathroom, tearing things up and bringing in fresh wood board is helping matters. 


Anyway. Yeah. That's all I can think to say. Vet said to leave him be and let him rest, so I'm going to go knock myself out so I don't bother him and I will try to get my Mom to do the same. If you believe in it and are not offended by it, please pray for Boo. Otherwise, please send vibes, cross your fingers or do some sort of dance. I really don't care what it is. Boo needs all the good mojo he can get. 


Thank you all so much <3 <3
 
Boo is breathing just a bit fast but has a strange grunt at the end of every exhale. He was constipated, I assisted with clearing that up, he had a big poop and was tired afterwards (Had to help pull one out, it was that big :( ) So I am taking him in in a few minutes and will have his anemia and BUN ran, and have the vet listen to his chest. He may be getting over hydrated again with 100mL every day. With water being added to his Hi Tor and his drinking water, we may not be having to administer 100mL eevery day. We will see though. It is hard to tell with Boo, his skin is loose from age and doesn't lay down even when hydrated, so will discuss that as well. 


Thank you all <3 Will update later.
 
Boo doesn't even need his muzzle on for fluids anymore. He lets me do them as long as I give him a beef temptation. Also, I am using 19 gauge needles now. The 20's were going too slow, but the 18's were too painful for him. So the 19 is a nice meeting place midway, it flows decent for 100mL and goes in like butter. Terumo's are nice :)


Boo is eating well and got to go outside for a few minutes. Bobbie-Jo was a little curious and started to come up on the front porch, which shocked me because she acts feral and won't let me get near her. She is also a bully so I told her NO and she went back to the walkway. Boo could've cared less. Once he saw her he grunted and meowed a couple of times, otherwise, he was like, "Whatever man, I'm too tired and it's too nice out here."


The other cats stand at the backdoor and watch him get his fluids, though. They seem very amazed by it. I hope Boo is not embarrassed (Not as long as he has his temptations!)


I've also added a picture to the Lab Work photos of the X-ray I received. It is a before and after shot and the caption explains what took place. But I think it's pretty evident. I was shocked when I first saw the left one. 


Thank you all so much <3 <3 xo

    About Boo

    Boo was a 13.5 year old Persian male with Chronic Renal Failure diagnosed 03/15/10. He passed away peacefully on 08/02/10. For more on Boo, visit Boo's Life Story page.

    Boo's Ma

    I live in Central North Carolina and take care of 6 cats. 4 outside 'wanderers' and 2 indoor, Boo and Chickster. Boo is 13 years old and Chickster is 1-2. I'd rather be at home with my cats than anywhere else. I devote most of my time to Boo and try not to accidentally ignore Chickie Sue. I am starting to notice they can be a lot like children sometimes! It is not always an easy job!


    Archives

    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed