16 year old with CHF

Hi All,
I am new to this, however, I am not new as a cat owner. I have had my maine
coon cat, CJ, for 16 years now. I got her for Christmas when I was in
kindergarten and have loved every minute with her. She was just recently
diagnosed with CHF and has slowly started to decline. She refuses to eat and
has lost a lot of weight. She is on lasix, but is so weak she just lays
around all the time. Right now I feel as if I have already lost her, I am at
school and she is at home with my parents. I cry a lot because I know it
wont be long now. Right now I just would like some words of wisdom or
encouragement. CJ has become a part of me, and I dont know what will happen
when she goes. What do I do? I cant come home to a house without a cat
around. Please help.
Thanks all,
Laura

cjsfriend wrote:
She was just recently
diagnosed with CHF and has slowly started to decline. She refuses to eat and
has lost a lot of weight. She is on lasix, but is so weak she just lays
around all the time.

Hi Laura,

I have a 14-year old cat at home which was just diagnosed with severe
cardiomyopathy, the stage just before CHF. The situation was exactly
the same though as far as her behavior was concerned...Lilly lost a lot
of weight, refused to eat, was very depressed and unresponsive. Only
the third vet diagnosed the HCF and I was actually ready to let her go
because she was so emaciated. When she was diagnosed, I had her
hospitalized initially for 24 hours to see whether aggressive treatment
would lead to any results or whether it would be better to let her go.
Within 24 hours, she improved greatly. She was rehydrated via IV-fluids
(this may be more difficult with your cat depending on the severity of
the heart failure), put on ACE inhibitors as well as an antacid and an
appetite stimulant. No diuretics (lasix) as she was so severly
dehydrated, which by itself will make a cat extremely depressed. She
started eating within 9 hours and was discharged after 36 hours.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying the condition can be reversed, but
your cat can possibly be made comfortable for long enough to give you
time to say goodbye. The vet is not giving Lilly more than a few weeks,
but although she is of course declining (she is now generally very calm
and sleeps a lot), she is not starving herself to death (which will
invariably also lead to hepatic lipidosis which makes her appetite
worse) and seems to enjoy life again. Surely to a lesser extent than
previously, but she now again comes into the hall to greet me when I
come home from work, and when I am at home I notice her move from room
to room with the sun again, which she had stopped doing during the
crisis.

Best of luck,

Petra

Thanks Petra,
CJ went slowly today, she was 16 years old, what a life she had. My dad
found her in my bedroom on a blanket, the same place my mom left her this
morning. Thank you so much for your words and for caring. I am 21 and CJ
is the only cat I have ever had, next to my mothers cat, which is actually
her sister. When my mom called tonight I was ok with it. I knew she was
suffering and now she isnt. I was just not prepared to put her down by a vet.
Im almost glad she is gone now, because now she isnt in pain. I just hate
that I didnt get to see her one last time. When I left to come to school
Monday I was scared that this would happen and it has bothered me this week.
I called my mom this morning and told her I wanted to come home tomorrow to
stay with CJ. Then tonight when my mom called she gave me the news. I know
both of us are glad we didnt find her, my dad did. We have our memories. CJ
was an amazing cat, I will never forget her. She will not be my last, but
she will be in my heart. Thank you for everyone who read this. I hope not
too long from now, I will be able to talk about a new cat in my life. Cats
are a part of my life, and when its time, I will have another one, not to
replace CJ, but to love another like I loved her.

Laura

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cjsfriend via CatKB.com wrote:
Thanks Petra,
CJ went slowly today, she was 16 years old, what a life she had. My dad
found her in my bedroom on a blanket, the same place my mom left her this
morning. Thank you so much for your words and for caring. I am 21 and CJ
is the only cat I have ever had, next to my mothers cat, which is actually
her sister. When my mom called tonight I was ok with it. I knew she was
suffering and now she isnt. I was just not prepared to put her down by a vet.
Im almost glad she is gone now, because now she isnt in pain. I just hate
that I didnt get to see her one last time. When I left to come to school
Monday I was scared that this would happen and it has bothered me this week.
I called my mom this morning and told her I wanted to come home tomorrow to
stay with CJ. Then tonight when my mom called she gave me the news. I know
both of us are glad we didnt find her, my dad did. We have our memories. CJ
was an amazing cat, I will never forget her. She will not be my last, but
she will be in my heart. Thank you for everyone who read this. I hope not
too long from now, I will be able to talk about a new cat in my life. Cats
are a part of my life, and when its time, I will have another one, not to
replace CJ, but to love another like I loved her.

Laura

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200610/1

I'm so sorry you lost CJ. It sounds like she went peacefully, and that
is a blessing. When you are ready for your next kitty, he or she will
be very lucky to be loved by you, just as CJ was.

I am so sorry to hear about CJ. I hope the good memories that you have of
her helps you through this difficult time.

Sue

"cjsfriend via CatKB.com" u27753@uwe wrote in message
news:67a106c700b56@uwe...
Thanks Petra,
CJ went slowly today, she was 16 years old, what a life she had. My dad
found her in my bedroom on a blanket, the same place my mom left her this
morning. Thank you so much for your words and for caring. I am 21 and
CJ
is the only cat I have ever had, next to my mothers cat, which is actually
her sister. When my mom called tonight I was ok with it. I knew she was
suffering and now she isnt. I was just not prepared to put her down by a
vet.
Im almost glad she is gone now, because now she isnt in pain. I just hate
that I didnt get to see her one last time. When I left to come to school
Monday I was scared that this would happen and it has bothered me this
week.
I called my mom this morning and told her I wanted to come home tomorrow
to
stay with CJ. Then tonight when my mom called she gave me the news. I
know
both of us are glad we didnt find her, my dad did. We have our memories.
CJ
was an amazing cat, I will never forget her. She will not be my last, but
she will be in my heart. Thank you for everyone who read this. I hope
not
too long from now, I will be able to talk about a new cat in my life.
Cats
are a part of my life, and when its time, I will have another one, not to
replace CJ, but to love another like I loved her.

Laura

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200610/1