Dearest NoGrayZone,
I have a cat that is diabetic and visit a forum called felinediabetes.com and CRF often seems to be a complication of diabetes. In my heart I’ve already resolved that when the time comes for Atlas...and his time will come...I will not be selfish.
Yesterday the most horrible thing happened though. My other cat, my precious Krueger. The lap cat, the naptime buddy cat, the one to greet me when I get home friend, the snuggle up by the fireplace feline...was sick. He had seemed fine just wasn’t keeping his food down. So, a call to the vet, led to a vet trip, and that led to an x-ray to see what was going on. A tumor filled his abdominal cavity, there was no stool in his colon...the mass encased his entire intestines and blocked off all food passage.
Krueger was not fine, was not going to be fine, and the vet said he was not in pain, but uncomfortable right now. Without food being able to pass through his body would begin to shut down this weekend. While Krueger appeared full of energy...in hours this would change. Surgery and chemotherapy would only prolong his life a few months if successful...at what level of quality one really wouldn’t know. Krueger was most likely at Stage 4 lymphoma....
I wasn’t ready to let Krueger go, I’m still not, but I did. The doctor said Krueger wouldn’t know I was there, but I told the vet...no, I have to be there, hold him, talk to him. Krueger was still under gas in the x-ray and as I tearfully sobbed his situation to him his ears moved to listen, his paws tried to knit to my touch...I told him he would not suffer and with that I let him go.
Today I am still not OK, my very best feline friend isn’t here today. I believe though God has one of the best parts of His creation snuggled in His lap today.
Get your kitty to the vet, ringers lactate will be needed with the CRF. The vet can teach you to do this at home for your cat. It doesn’t need to be done in the office every time. You have time to say your good bye, take it for now.
This page will give you an overview of the treatment of CRF/Diabetic kitties and includes the links to the CRF Support List and the CRF Food pages. http://www.indulgedfurries.com/petdiabe ... ailure.htm
Another great site for explaining CRF (thank you Steph & Cuddles!): http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ch ... ilure.html
Of course, there’s the main CRF caregivers site at: http://www.felinecrf.com/
And for comprehensive CRF information or for all you CRF kitties across the pond (or meow with a British accent), go to this link as well or just go anyway - it’s the best site for CRF info:
http://www.felinecrf.org
Want to find fluids, needles, etc. at the best prices? Go to this great CRF Supplies page at: http://members.verizon.net/~vze2r6qt/supplies/
Thanks to Steph & Cuddles, here’s a fantastic site for learning to administer SQ fluids! http://www.weirdstuffwemake.com/weird/s ... juice.html
And here are some other SQ fluid links given to us by Chris & Cleo:
Videos on Administering SubQ Fluids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmaNe1YaUrk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Ta537YEOU [Mar Vista Animal Medical Center]
Acupressure trick for cat stressed during SubQs:
http://www.felinecrf.org/giving_sub-qs_ ... _peg_trick
Many thanks to www.felinediabetes.com for the links. http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=30349&p=313334&hilit=crf#p313334