Favorite Pest

[Xyzzy]

[storm5510]

My cat Levi is nearing the end of his life. He has lost most of his weight and is basically a skin-covered skeleton. He still nibbles on soft food a little and drinks a bit of water. His litter box trips are rare.

Is he in pain? I don't think so, but I have no way of knowing for sure. If he were, I don't think he would want to do anything at all.

I decided not to take him to a vet because of his age. He's 14. I don't think a vet could do anything to help him now, or even six months ago when he started to decline.

[kriesel]

There are several possible causes. The best time to determine which it is and what could be done about it is soon after it's noticed. The second best time is now. https://www.greatpetcare.com/cat-hea...losing-weight/ Some causes are quite treatable.
Whether 14-15 is a normal lifespan depends on breed.
https://vetsofeasttexas.com/how-long...oor-cats-live/

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by storm5510

My cat Levi is nearing the end of his life. ... I decided not to take him to a vet because of his age. He's 14.

Please trust me when I tell you I have been there. Done that.

Many times. It is always emotionally devastating.

My paths has been to provide the best palliative care possible (without going "heroic"). Talk to them. Give them the food they like. And as many cuddles as they welcome.

And, then... Lots of crying.

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by chalsall

Please trust me when I tell you I have been there. Done that.

Many times. It is always emotionally devastating.

My paths has been to provide the best palliative care possible (without going "heroic"). Talk to them. Give them the food they like. And as many cuddles as they welcome.

And, then... Lots of crying.

He's been with me since January of 2009. What is happening now is the inevitable ending of having pets. A person does their best to prepare for the loss. When he does pass away, I am not sure how I will feel or react. I know it will be really strange him not being here. I took a couple of photos to send to my sister. One is attached here. She said to do my best to keep him comfortable during his remaining time.

[kriesel]

Originally Posted by storm5510

When he does pass away, I am not sure how I will feel or react. I know it will be really strange him not being here. I took a couple of photos to send to my sister. One is attached here.

It will hurt.
There may be regrets. Consider taking him to the vet for an exam. Your cat, your cash, your call, and he might have more years if there's an infected tooth or two that could be pulled, now preventing him from eating much. A domestic shorthair can live to 20. Or you find out he's got diabetes or some other disease of age, and make an informed decision to treat a chronic condition or not.

Where I live it is illegal to deny a pet regular (periodic) veterinary care.

That is one handsome cat. Take more photos.

A little over a year ago my Sawyer got the grim diagnosis of oral cancer instead of more mundane dental issues. A clear clue of that is swelling on one side, which could also be a broken tooth. It became difficult for her to eat.
Toward the end I bought her tuna in water, baby food such as pureed beef or chicken, and finally fed her raw egg yolk by oral syringe. Dehydration is what I think killed her, and quickly.

The current feline resident is PD, age 5, acquired about a year ago. He's been through hell recently, and has bounced back, with lots of emergency vet care to save him that cost more than my old car is worth.

In Sawyer's case aggressive costly intervention could have gained her a couple more months that probably would have been unpleasant for us both. That seemed a poor cost/benefit ratio compared to what the funds could do for other pets or people. In PD's case, surgical intervention seems to have given him the prospect of another decade or more of good health, instead of putting him down or waiting for kidneys to fail and toxicity to kill him.

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by storm5510

He's been with me since January of 2009. What is happening now is the inevitable ending of having pets. ... She said to do my best to keep him comfortable during his remaining time.

All things are ephemeral. That is not flippant; it's the truth.

The pain is felt by those left behind; as it should be. I still cry sometimes for my friends, family, and kittens, who have passed before me. Crying is cathartic.

Take joy in the amazing quality of life you provided for your friend. And all the good times you had together.

When my step-father died, I took some solace in listening to music I was familar with.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by chalsall

All things are ephemeral. That is not flippant; it's the truth.

The pain is felt by those left behind; as it should be. I still cry sometimes for my friends, family, and kittens, who have passed before me. Crying is cathartic.

Take joy in the amazing quality of life you provided for your friend. And all the good times you had together.

When my step-father died, I took some solace in listening to music I was familar with.

+1

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by kriesel

Where I live it is illegal to deny a pet regular (periodic) veterinary care.

That is one handsome cat. Take more photos.

Required by law opens the door to excessive fees. They can charge whatever they want without oversight.

More photos? I lost many of my good ones to a drive failure a while back. Below is about the best of what I still have. If memory serves, this may be as recent as 2021.

[Xyzzy]

We probably are in the minority for this opinion, but we tend to euthanize pets when they no longer have a quality life.

We think that most people keep pets longer than necessary out of their (perceived?) inability to process grief and loss. Basically, selfish reasons.

We are not judging anyone with this statement. It is just our opinion.

Num-Num needed fairly serious medical treatment last month, at one point needing a temporary feeding tube installed. Had the vet indicated that the tube needed to be permanent, we would have euthanized him.

YMMV of course.

[storm5510]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

We probably are in the minority for this opinion, but we tend to euthanize pets when they no longer have a quality life.

We think that most people keep pets longer than necessary out of their (perceived?) inability to process grief and loss. Basically, selfish reasons.

We are not judging anyone with this statement. It is just our opinion.

Num-Num needed fairly serious medical treatment last month, at one point needing a temporary feeding tube installed. Had the vet indicated that the tube needed to be permanent, we would have euthanized him.

YMMV of course.

YMMV?

I was under the impression that euthanasia was the vet's decision to make and not the owner.