My two kitties, Phaedra and BrieBrie, are 12 this year. They both have come down with old cat issues and I just can’t think of them as old kitties. Stella was an old cat, at 17, when she started having trouble. Kiesha was 16 when she had trouble. Basette was 14 and Ambush was 16. 12 just seems so young.
First, it was BrieBie with some odd issues. She started losing some weight and wasn’t acting like herself. Took her to the vet and, after a series of tests, she was diagnosed with liver disease. It was a roller coaster ride for a few months. It’s an aggressive form of liver disease–it impacts the bile ducts in her liver. She’s been on prednisone for a few months and another medication.
BrieBrie has been so good. All of these trips to the vet take a toll, but she’s been a trooper. She’s been excellent for the vets. We went back for a checkup at the clinic this week. The clinic had been slammed–a lot of emergencies. We ended up waiting for a long time while they helped all of the emergencies. BrieBrie was so sweet and kind for them. The vet said that BrieBrie gave the staff some love and helped all of them calm down and have some love.
Thankfully, her test results were improved. Her numbers have been coming down towards normal. We can reduce the prednisone to once per day instead of twice per day. We’ll recheck in a month.
And now, Phaedra has also gotten an old kitty disease. She has kidney disease. Stella and Basette both had kidney disease. Like the liver disease, this isn’t something that can be cured. It’s something that we have to manage. After the test results came back for kidney disease, my vet sent me home with a bag of fluids to give Phaedra subcutaneous fluids three times per week.
I’ve tried to give sub-q fluids before with Stella. We ended up going to the vet three times per week for fluids. Stella wasn’t a good candidate for doing this at home.
Phaedra is totally different than Stella was. I sit on the floor with a blanket on my lap. She gets all excited because it’s cuddle time. Once she settles after a few minutes, I slip the needle in and start the fluid drip. She purrs and stays put for the entire time. She gets a bunch of treats after. Such a good kitty.
Her tests last week came back with the numbers almost in a normal range. We can reduce the fluids back to twice per week and she’s regained some weight.
Even with them both having old kitties issues, it’s at least looking positive because the treatment plans are helping them.
Here’s hoping that it keeps on helping for a long time.
