How does one judge quality of life?
June 16, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Other
Yesterday my 18 year old cat, Isabeau, got the official diagnosis of kidney disease. Apparently most cats will get this if they live long enough, the same way most elderly humans have at least some arthritis. The question I have to answer for myself and for her is what is the right balance of intervention, money, and care?
Some will say it’s just a cat and others will say that no effort should be spared. It’s true that she’s not a child (heck, even if she was human she’d be in her 90′s) but we’ve been a team for a very long time. However, I can’t quite see that dragging her to the vet every few weeks would be something she’d vote for. So like many things I’ll be figuring this out one piece at a time and trying to balance all of the above. Right now I’m ok with changing her diet to the special prescription only food – of course I haven’t seen the bill yet… but I’m not ok with giving her IV fluids. I’ve given shots before so it’s not a question of my nerves, just that this cat likes being in control of her movements and her environment, even more than other cats. Forcing her to sit still with an IV every week feels wrong. That’s not a decision I made lightly and I’ve discussed it with the vet but it’s definitely where I separate from the majority of pet owners dealing with this.
The other challenge in all this is my perspective. This isn’t a problem that can be faced, won, and we all move on. It’s something to be managed and I have to be able to switch my attention back to all the other challenges I’ve set myself. The garden needs weeding, I’ve got marketing to get out, jewelry to make, and things to post that are way behind. After a certain point, turning all this over in my mind becomes wasted effort. I should probably take a lesson from my cat; she doesn’t seem worried at all.
My cat was diagnosed with kidney disease almost 2 years ago, and lived a normal life for another year. Last August, she started sub-q (under the skin) fluids daily, which I can give her in under 5 minutes. (You can get the Lactated Ringers online for cheaper than the vet with a prescription.) I take in her in every 2 months for blood tests, and I admit we have had some rough patches where I didn’t think she would make it, but she bounced back. Overall, she has lived a normal, comfortable and enjoyable life for the last 2 years since her diagnosis. However, just this week, she took a turn for the worse. I would recommend that you try to manage the disease… it’s not hard, not too expensive and I wouldn’t give up those last 2 years for anything. Good luck!