On Nov 28, 3:13*pm, "Angela" wrote:

If anyone has been through this I would appreciate some thoughts?

Angela

Angela:

Tough as this may seem, *untreatable* renal failure is a slow,
agonizing death for your cat starting with exhaustion, ending with
tremendous joint-pain.

For a close, but not entirely precise analogy, imagine a person with
gout - now think of your cat that way, only much more so.

Do discuss options with your Vet, but at the same time think of the
cat, not how much you will miss him. From the tone of your post, your
heart is in the right place, I wish you well and hope that there are
some options you have not already explored. If the vet offers hope
with restricted diet and some drugs, read on:

Now, on the positive side - just as no cat has ever starved in a tree,
if your cat starts to feel better, it will eat. That it has become
finicky over the years is more because you let it than because it
actually is so. That written, consider that brand-name cat-food runs
$2.50+/- per pound, and boutique food much more than that. These
prices put various cuts of chicken, beef and lamb, purchased in bulk,
well within reach, and when used with with feline-specific supplements
and fresh roughage (AKA "kitty greens") the actual cost of feeding
your cat will not be excessive - just more trouble on your part. But,
if you eat what he eats (excepting the supplements), even that is
minimized.

We went through it with one of our rescue cats some years ago. He went
through all sorts of complications after being neutered - or so we
thought until the vet found kidney complications - finally his kidneys
just gave out at about 2-1/2. Sadly, his kittens (3) had similar
symptoms - none made it past 5 months - they stopped eating, stopped
peeing - the vet advised us that they were untreatable at that age.
The father outlived them by a year and a half, so we did not make the
connection until he was finally diagnosed with kidney problems.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA