Molly is poorly, but still has plenty of life left in her

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TruffsPoodle
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Molly is poorly, but still has plenty of life left in her

Post by TruffsPoodle »

Molly is our much-loved family pet. We rescued her from the RSPA in York (where we live) about 5.5 years ago, after her previous family "moved away". We now need to find a new loving home for her, with somebody who has the skills and/or knowledge to care for her.

I believe she's a Calico coloured American Short Hair. She's very pretty and quite small at her normal 3.4kg. A couple of vets have said she's likely to be somewhere between 8 and 10 years old, but there's no way of knowing for sure.

I've lived with cats most of my life - mostly Persian - which I've always found to be aloof and only want attention on their terms. Molly is totally different to all of them. She's more like a dog trapped in a cat's body.

Molly comes when called, regardless of where she is in the house. She follows us around the house like a shadow and has become a master of diving through small gaps in doors to be with us, while we're trying to close her on the other side of it.

Looking at her, you would never know she has kidney disease. She's still quick, light on her feet, stealthy and often plays with cat toys like a kitten. Wrapping presents while she's in the room is near impossible, as she's all over the sellotape.

She only ever wants to sit in the lap of me, my partner Claire or our four year old Jamie and can be relentless in her pursuit of attention, diving at our hands to get us to stroke her. My regular evening routine is to lie down on the sofa, which is her signal to jump on my chest and curl up a few inches from my face while purring at 100 decibels.

She gives high fives on demand (most of the time) and often gives impromptu face-fives too, i.e. she taps us on the cheek with her paw if we're not looking at her. She has zero problem with being picked up or having her legs/paws held, which means we've been able to clip her claws (fuss free) every two weeks to prevent carpet/furniture scratching. She even follows us out of the house and to the end of the road - to the point where we've repeatedly had to carry her back home again as she was getting too far away.

She's never scratched or bitten us, as its just not in her personality. She is the most daft, docile, affectionate creature I've ever come across and I will miss her sorely. Despite our four year old boy's best efforts while growing up, she has remained calm and even stood still without care while he has chased her, tried to pick her up, etc.

We've got to give her up for adoption because she's poorly, so needs somebody who recognises the signs when she's not well and can give her the medical care she needs. I'm ideally looking for a veterinary practitioner, nurse or somebody who lives/works with such professionals and has access to low cost medical care.

To summarise:

- 2014 ... gallstones. Apparently extremely rare for a cat. Had to be operated on to remove, as her biliary duct was blocked, grew an abscess and stuck to her liver.

- 2015/2016 ... suspected infection every year. We're not sure what it was, but a couple of days overnight in the local vet's hospitality on a drip with some antibiotics resolved each time. NB: we live on the back of a farmers arable field, so its very possible she's been eating something she shouldn't, as she's only ever ill during the summer.

- Jan 2017 ... early renal failure spotted. Bloods showed a figure was very slightly below acceptable level for a cat, so technically renal failure, but ok. Put onto a diet solely consisting of Royal Canin Renal dry food.

- Early 2018 ... vet check up shows she's doing remarkably well and her levels have barely changed since initial renal diagnosis.

- Dec 2018 ... urinary tract infection nearly killed her, but after a week of antibiotics, she's infection free and getting back to her normal self, albeit on a diet of tuna to get her weight back up.

The vet has said she's now kidney disease stage two. We didn't spot the signs of the urinary tract infection until the middle of December, but looking back she may have had it for several weeks before she suddenly and very visibly became extremely ill. The vet said she was within a couple of days of death, but miraculously she the antibiotics kicked in and she started eating after 4 days of not. Having now fed her tuna for two weeks to get her weight back up, she's more or less acting completely normally.

She's been ill in the past and needed hospital care, but I've never been so concerned and sick to the stomach as this latest infection caused me to be. Our inability to spot something was wrong had allowed the infection to take hold for so long that it made her very ill. The infection has probably led to the worsening of her kidney issues, which worries me, as the same may happen again and next time it might be too late.

We want somebody who has the skills and/or knowledge to spot any symptoms early on, so that the correct care and drugs can be administered. The vet has said she should be getting Laurobolin and B12 shots every month from now on, which is likely to cause us some financial strain, given we're both self employed and currently business isn't great.

So many people have said "Why don't you just get her put down?", which I find an incredibly callous question. Molly is an amazing cat and potentially still has a couple of years or more left in her with the right care. I'm sure if you asked her, she wouldn't want to die right now. She still has a good quality of life ahead of her and she is worth every minute and penny spent on her.
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Lilith
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Re: Molly is poorly, but still has plenty of life left in her

Post by Lilith »

If Molly needs monthly injections, then there will be the fee for that, but you can buy meds online more cheaply, supplying the vet's prescription (Viovet I believe is one of the main suppliers; haven't done this myself but it's common practice nowadays as vets' charges can be more expensive.) Most vets should co-operate regarding this.

I'm not an expert on ckd; have lost cats to this disease though and the last time have let the cat decide what she needed to do; she was stage 4 but my vet didn't offer any meds ... vets do vary.

Sadly, kidney disease isn't reversible either. With my last cat, Emily, I let her have palliative care and loads of pampering ... don't regret that. This wasn't because of financial worries either. If there had been a miracle cure I'd gladly have paid for it, but I do sympathise with straitened circumstances - been there, have dreaded next vet bill!

However, I'm wondering if what is more important to Molly is her need for lasting companionship with you, rather than treatment which might or might not prolong her time. Have you considered a second veterinary opinion? Another vet might have different, but do-able, ideas.

Molly seems very bonded to you and your partner and child - sorry if I seem judgemental but I do feel that it would be awful to take her away from a home where she is so settled and loved, for all of your sakes.

Good luck, and fusses to Molly (I have a Molly of my own - dreadful character and just as possessive!)
booktigger
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Re: Molly is poorly, but still has plenty of life left in her

Post by booktigger »

Honestly, I appreciate you thinking she might be better with someone who can pick up the signs better, but it's hard for older cats to adapt to a new family, and the stress of it might even speed up her illness. Finding someone who could deal with will be very hard, as they won't be able to get insurance to cover anything, so they are also going to have to commit to the expense. I've had a few CKD cats and never done monthly injections, never done more than diet change - if they will even tolerate it!
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