OT - Stress

Hi tewcute,
I'm so sorry for what you are going through. My 17 yr old cat died last year and I currently have a 12 yr old dog who has health issues and is failing. I'm sharing this before my next comments to make sure you know I'm a big animal lover.

I am concerned that it is not safe to give your cat the fluid injections. First of all you need that cat bite looked at immediately. My cat once bit me on my hand. I quickly developed an infection that became cellulitis. Oral antibiotics were not effective enough, and I needed a shot of Rocephin, which then caused c.difficile....not a fun time! With Crohn's we are immune-compromised, and while cat bites are bad for everyone, they are especially bad for us. I don't mean at all to sound harsh, but I think if you can't afford for the vet to give the fluids, then you should consider euthanizing the cat. Your cat lived a long life, and it doesn't mean that you don't completely love the little guy. But my understanding is once they start needing fluids, they don't live a lot longer and it may be better for him too. I know this is a terribly hard decision, but you really shouldn't be risking getting another cat bite. I hope I didn't offend you. Maybe others who have experience giving the fluids will come along and have better advice.

Thank you for the input guys, and I am not offended in any way.
For the bite, it is ok..no skin broken..it just shocked me that he did it. I can shove pills down His throat and basically do just about anything to him he is that docile. I really think I am screwing this up which is why he lashed out.
At this time he is alert and moving around and living an otherwise normal life so it breaks my heart to consider Euthanizing him. But at the same time how much longer can I expect him to live after being dx at 19? If he were ten or twelve years old I would put the expense out,
I guess I needed someone else besides my family (who know my heart is breaking and want to make me feel better ) that I am not horrible for worrying about the cost at his age.
It is just hard because this little guy saw me through the worst of my crohns when I was first diagnosed. He would lay next to me and just purr and lay his head on my belly. I knew this day was coming and I would dread vet visits every time it was time for a check up.

My dog has hypoglycemia. They suspect a pancreatic tumor, but the only way to know for sure is by doing an ultrasound and exploratory surgery which would cost me thousands of dollars. We decided not to do anything and just keep her comfortable. It is heartbreaking, and I understand that it is very hard to make the decision to euthanize until your pet is having no quality of life. My dog was my best friend when my mom was dying of cancer. I know how hard these decisions can be. Try not to feel guilty. I'd bet you have given your cat a great life. Take good care. You will know what to do when the time comes.

So sorry to hear what you are going through. Glad you are going to try and get back and talk to the vet about options.

I went through caring for a kitten who wound up with FIP after about 6 months of worming his way into my heart. The vet was great about helping us with making the decision and also the options for quality of life.

You might ask if one of the vet techs would be willing to coming to your home and administer treatment there. Not sure if that's affordable, but might be another option.

Be gentle with yourself (easier said than done). Sending love to you and your cat.

Well almost 10 months later I had to make the decision to euthanize my sweet fur baby. He had an excellent quality of like up until literally this last Thursday. He was eating, drinking and coming to me for love and attention. Then Thursday I just noticed something off in his demeanor. He wasn't hiding and still accepted petting, but there was just a sadness about him. That morning he crawled up next to me while we were still in bed and purred his little heart out and we laid there for about half an hour. Then around 12:00 I came back into my work room(I work from home) and realized he was wet. He had urinated while he was laying there. I think I Knew then it wasn't going to be good. his labs were pretty crazy off the charts and the vet recommended admitting him to administer fluids and antibiotics as he had a UTI. I knew chances were slim but it was still heart breaking for me to have to make the decision Saturday when his labs just weren't any better. The vet offered to have him transported to the ER and let them continue to administer the fluids and antibiotics but said we could be right back here in two weeks. Ultimately I had to put aside my own feelings and do what was best for him. Thankfully he survived long enough for me to have alone time with him prior to them taking him and was able to say goodbye and say how sorry I was and thank him for being such a good boy. I miss him desperately and had a really rough weekend just missing him. My worst times right now are at night because he used to sleep with me and we would hang out before going to bed and mornings because the routine was meds and feeding. I'm still trying to manage stress due to my condition. I already lost two pounds this weekend for lack of appetite but that is coming back. Each day gets a little easier and luckily I found a good support forum for pet loss where they get people like me.
Thanks to everyone for the support that was given when I was so upset over his treatment. Now I just need to get through this. But as I told my mom when she asked why I do this to myself and have pets. Yes,it is devestating right now..but I wouldn't trade it for the 20 wonderful years he gave me.

I'm sorry gumby. It's a crazy situation we put ourselves in loving animals the way we do. I know it gets better. I just have to keep myself healthy along the way. Finding a balance between grieving and managing my condition.

Thank you sparkle plenty