Canesisters 2023 journal - turning my Disasters into Delights

[Ridgetop]

Buy the small bag of special food first. Buying the small bag gives you hope, and you can afford the expense while seeing him recover a bit more. If he makes it through that bag, he may fully recover, and you can invest in the big bag.

 

[Baymule]

Yes, my head knows.. but my heart is arguing.

I totally understand that. I took Ringo on his last ride… my heart said save him at any cost, the farmer said spend a thousand dollars to save him, at the end of his life cycle, and he dies of something else next month. The practical farmer also said take that same thousand dollars and go buy 2 new young rams.
My heart saw my dear friend in pain, not understanding what was wrong, only that he hurt and he kept bleating at me to fix it. So I did. I held his head, stroked his face and shed tears while he drifted off.
Dammit. Tears now, I sure miss that old guy.

 

[SageHill]

Yes, my head knows.. but my heart is arguing.

There is a huge difference between quantity and quality (quality for both even). You'll know when it's his time. All the $$ in the world can't buy quality time.

 

[canesisters]

I totally understand that. I took Ringo on his last ride… my heart said save him at any cost, the farmer said spend a thousand dollars to save him, at the end of his life cycle, and he dies of something else next month. The practical farmer also said take that same thousand dollars and go buy 2 new young rams.
My heart saw my dear friend in pain, not understanding what was wrong, only that he hurt and he kept bleating at me to fix it. So I did. I held his head, stroked his face and shed tears while he drifted off.
Dammit. Tears now, I sure miss that old guy.

That's been the point I've watched for in the past.
My sister in law just lost her beloved cat this past week... we've been talking a LOT.
I told her that I believe we make a 'contract' with them when we take them into our family. They promise boundless love, companionship and entertainment and we promise that they will never have to live afraid, hungry or in pain. Naturally, there are times when it happens short-term (surgery, vet visits, boarding, etc) but if any of those are ever going to be the condition of the rest of their lives, we owe it to them to keep our end of the bargain.
Right now, he's improving. He's not showing signs of being uncomfortable or in pain - except for when I put him on the counter to give him the antibiotics. He might be sleeping more than normal (... more likely, I'm watching so much more closely) but since his appetite is depressed, that's to be expected. Other than that, now that the worst is over (hopefully) he seems pretty content and is liking the extra attention.

 

[canesisters]

Buy the small bag of special food first. Buying the small bag gives you hope, and you can afford the expense while seeing him recover a bit more. If he makes it through that bag, he may fully recover, and you can invest in the big bag.

I WISH I could. I've asked several times if they would sell me 1/2 a bag - and if he gets through all of that I'd buy the other half. If he doesn't, they can feed it to the cats in their care or have it available as samples to other clients?
They just smile and say that there is no reason that I can't feed it to MY other cats..

He's always eaten kibble. I understand now that that's part of the problem. This food will actually lower the amount of crystals that his body produces. He is eating the Rx can food.. just very little. I figure that if I seal it up in 3# or 5# bags, it should keep fresh.
I don't want to get past the urinary problems only to have him tumble down the rabbit hole of liver failure.

 

[SageHill]

I WISH I could. I've asked several times if they would sell me 1/2 a bag - and if he gets through all of that I'd buy the other half. If he doesn't, they can feed it to the cats in their care or have it available as samples to other clients?
They just smile and say that there is no reason that I can't feed it to MY other cats..

He's always eaten kibble. I understand now that that's part of the problem. This food will actually lower the amount of crystals that his body produces. He is eating the Rx can food.. just very little. I figure that if I seal it up in 3# or 5# bags, it should keep fresh.
I don't want to get past the urinary problems only to have him tumble down the rabbit hole of liver failure.

Guessing the Rx food is Science Diet since they do all the Rx food. Maybe you can contact them for a small bag or possibly samples??

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah, call the company and see if they will send samples... or if they sell smaller sized bags.... Chewy???? One of the "pet stores"?

 

[canesisters]

Guessing the Rx food is Science Diet since they do all the Rx food. Maybe you can contact them for a small bag or possibly samples??

Oddly enough... Science Diet is considered support for a healthy system - at least for this kind of problem. Royal Canin Urinary SO is what they're telling me he needs to 'treat' this condition.
I'm going to call in a bit to check how much it actually costs... all my shocked brain can remember from last week is 'NOPE!' when considering adding to the bill. I can't even remember what size it is.

 

[Ridgetop]

I told her that I believe we make a 'contract' with them when we take them into our family. They promise boundless love, companionship and entertainment and we promise that they will never have to live afraid, hungry or in pain.

So true. It is our last responsibility to them after a lifetime of them giving to us. I like to think they will be waiting to meet us on the other side.

Guessing the Rx food is Science Diet since they do all the Rx food. Maybe you can contact them for a small bag or possibly samples??

Can you check with Chewy? Or Tractor Supply?

 

[SageHill]

Going out on a limb here - esp if the food is costly and you can't get samples to see if he will even EAT it.
There has got to be a homemade diet for this that you can cook up and freeze in sandwich bags. Many years ago one of my dogs had kidney issues, she was a working dog and the "experts" would not take that into consideration - they'd only work within the lines of what a pet dog would need. Spent $ for a consult, got basically nowhere - and ended up working things out on my own. On their diet she was "dead dog walking", on mine she was happy and still got to work.
~maybe you can find something you can cook up.