Coping with Feline CRF: A Tribute to Melsy

On December 30th, 2004 I had to make the toughest decision of my life.
Melsy, a neutered male cat who came to me eight years ago as a gift
(stray) at a time when I needed a friend the most, had been diagnosed
with CRF or kidney disease one year ago and I decided this last 'crash'
or kidney failure episode, would be his last. It was a gut-wrenching
decision but I could not see my friend suffer any more. While things
are still fresh in my mind, I wanted to make sure I passed along what I
had learned during this process. Please take what you read here at
face value, and work closely with the most qualified vet you can find
in determining what is best for you and your friend.
First and most important to me is to stress how important it is for you
to get your cats over 5 years old tested every year. Early diagnosis
will let you adjust easier things like food and water availability.
Melsy was put on Science Diet K/D formula at an early stage and the
decreased protein intake likely helped his kidneys by having to work
less to process his food. I was fortunate in that Melsy took to his
new food almost immediately and I kept a constant supply of both moist
and dry K/D available to him at all times. I know he really
appreciated this. A 'CatMate' feeder, which opens on a timer, was
helpful to keep fresh food available when I was not there to open a new
can. I simply added an ice cube on top of the moist food to keep it
fresh while the lid was closed.
The next most important thing was Melsy's subcutaneous or 'sub-Q' fluid
therapy. This is one of the most important aspects to keeping cats
happy and healthy while managing CRF/kidney disease. It is of critical
importance that you work closely with a vet who is very familiar with
this therapy, and if your vet does not approve of this technique
(unlikely but possible) you may want to find one that will consider it.
At the time of this writing, it is accepted that this is the best way
to extend the length and quality of life of cats suffering from CRF.
But please make sure you and your vet work to discover the minimal
amount of fluids that need to be administered as extra fluid does make
the kidneys have to process more liquids. This is the trade off, but
in the end I believe it kept Melsy much more comfortable throughout his
long fight.
Should you decide subcutaneous fluid therapy is in your cat's best
interest, You will no doubt be apprehensive about using a needle on
your cat. That is completely natural. Melsy and I didn't get used to
it until several weeks after we first started. Here is how our typical
routine went:

Each morning at roughly the same time of day we did Melsy's fluid
therapy. Cats love routines, and I think it helped a lot that Melsy
knew when it was coming. I would fill a plastic tupperware container
about halfway with hot water from the tap and submerge the bag of
fluids into the hot water with the nozzle end up. Warming the fluids
first is very important because cats' body temperature is much higher
than room temperature and you will chill your cat unneccessarily and
uncomfortably if you do not warm your fluids. I would usually take a
shower in the meantime and by the time I got out the fluids were nice
and warm (but not too hot). Then I would hook the fluid bag on a nail
up as high as possible. Let gravity work for you. Run some of the
fluid through the administration set into the sink until it is flowing
warm, then attach the needle (use Terumo needles because they are very
sharp, I recommend starting with the 18 or 20 gauge) and run just a
little more fluid through the set. Now with the fluids warmed and the
needle ready, I am ready to get the cat. For me, this is was a one
person operation. I found that by far we were most comfortable when I
crouched down and put him in between my knees. This way I was able to
control the cat without using my hands by applying pressure between my
knees when I sensed he was becoming fidgety. After time, Melsy
realized he could not struggle out of this position and he stopped
trying. And I had both hands free
to work with. Pop the cap off the needle and make a tent in the cats
fur by pinching with your thumb and forefinger and raising the skin
upward. With your other hand, keeping the needle parallel to the cat's
spine, simultaneously insert the needle while pulling gently on the
cat's skin in the opposite direction. If you do this quickly but
firmly, the needle (again use Terumo Needles because they are extra
sharp) will slide in easily. Remember to alternate incision locations
to avoid bruising/scarring any one particular location. The trick is
to insert the needle far enough in to the 'pocket' that you can begin
filling them with fluids but not so far that the needle pokes out the
other side. If you need to, simply pull the needle back a little bit.
The turn the dial on the administration set to begin the flow.
Hopefully there will be no leaks and you will see the drip going fast.
If not, you may need to readjust the needle position. Let me make
something perfectly clear he there IS a learning curve to this and
the first month or even longer can and will be hard on you and your
cat. It is of critical importance that you not frustrate yourself or
the cat will sense this and will panic also. If things get too rough,
let the cat go and try again later. We had a terrible time when we
first started the process, but eventually we got into a routine and it
became just another part of the day to us. I promise this will happen
to you too, so hang tough and learn from your mistakes and trials and I
guarantee things will get better in time.
Once you have administered the correct amount of fluid, remove the
needle from the cat and 'pinch' closed the incision point for several
seconds. This is important because the cat will leak if you don't do
this. Now comes one of the most important parts of the whole process -
the reward. If you give your cat a reward after each and every fluid
session, they will come to associate the fluid session with the reward
and things will be MUCH easier. I found that the best reward I could
give Melsy was tuna juice drained from a can of low sodium tuna fish.
I served him enough to cover the bottom of a small saucer, and I kept
the remaining juice in a shot glass in the refrigerator. Melsy really
appreciated this, and it signified to him that he had done a good job.
I was very proud of the way my cat adjusted to this procedure, and his
tuna juice reward - as well as lots of love and
praise - made it a lot easier on both of us.
The other part of Melsy's therapy that gave us both trouble in the
beginning but became routine eventually was pilling. I found my best
weapon in this fight was using a piller - a long, plastic pen-like tool
with a soft rubber tip on one end and a plunger on the other. Many
vets will give you one of these for free if you simply ask. Again with
the cat between my knees, I would raise his nose directly upwards and
with a free finger I could easily open his lower jaw. Using the other
hand I could push the soft end of the piller tool (loaded with the pill
of course) such that I could place the pill *behind* his tongue. Then
hold his mouth shut and rub his throat and he would swallow. If need
be, rub their nose gently as this often triggers the cat to
instinctively swallow. Melsy was pretty good at fake-swallowing but
with practice I knew if he got it down or not. This was tough for both

of us at first, but like fluid therapy we got it down eventually with
practice and patience. If you have to combine medications or
administer split pills, I recommend using gelcaps. When moistened with
water, they become slick as ice and are generally pretty easy to get
down their throats. Make sure, however, that you check with your vet
before combining any medications.
Throughout the stages of CRF, pay particular attention to your cat's
eyesight and hearing. Hypertension is common, and in many cases (and
indeed Melsy's) it can cause blindness and deafness. Bring these
symptoms to your vet's attention immediately as you can often halt
and/or reverse the process with blood pressure medication. Although
Melsy was blind and deaf at the end, we were able to give him several
more months of eyesight when we found a
combination of drugs that kept his blood pressure down.
For upset stomachs, your vet will probably recommend 1/4 of a Pepcid
tablet. Make sure you do NOT use pepcid complete! Melsy also seemed
to get some relief after eating yogurt (he insisted on yoplait
strawberry cheesecake) as the L Acidophelus bacteria may have helped
his digestion. Your cat's mileage may vary, but since the yogurt is
pre-cultured it is generally ok to give to cats despite being a dairy
product which are generally a no-no.
Above all else, love your cats with all your heart while they are
around. In your mind, try to think of all the things you would want to
do with your cat if they weren't around any more - then go do all of
them. Tell them everything you ever wanted to tell them. Make them
feel like the kings and queens that they are so that when the sad day
comes that you have to part ways in this life, you know you spent all
your time and energy the best way you could have with them. I spent
entire days at home with Melsy and don't feel like I wasted one single
second. I learned to appreciate every moment, every purr, every lick,
everything. And I appreciate how difficult it must have been for him
between the disease itself and the therapy. But I know for every tough
moment there was up until the end, we had hundreds if not thousands of
joyful moments together throughout his life. And I know it was all
worth it.

I would be happy to answer any questions I can at
craigskelly(at)yahoo.com

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend Melsy, but you were a wonderful Paw
friend.

On Thu 20 Jan 2005 06:04:52p, craig wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
roups.com):

[...]

I would be happy to answer any questions I can at
craigskelly(at)yahoo.com


Thank you for the very detailed post. I've archived it in case I need
it. With 4 young cats, it will hopefully be a very long time (if
ever) that I do. I'm so sorry you lost Melsy, but he was very loved
during his life.

--
Cheryl

craig wrote:
On December 30th, 2004 I had to make the toughest decision of my life.
Melsy, a neutered male cat who came to me eight years ago as a gift
(stray) at a time when I needed a friend the most, had been diagnosed
with CRF or kidney disease one year ago and I decided this last 'crash'
or kidney failure episode, would be his last. It was a gut-wrenching
decision but I could not see my friend suffer any more. While things
are still fresh in my mind, I wanted to make sure I passed along what I
had learned during this process. Please take what you read here at
face value, and work closely with the most qualified vet you can find
in determining what is best for you and your friend.
First and most important to me is to stress how important it is for you
to get your cats over 5 years old tested every year. Early diagnosis
will let you adjust easier things like food and water availability.
Melsy was put on Science Diet K/D formula at an early stage and the
decreased protein intake likely helped his kidneys by having to work
less to process his food. I was fortunate in that Melsy took to his
new food almost immediately and I kept a constant supply of both moist
and dry K/D available to him at all times. I know he really
appreciated this. A 'CatMate' feeder, which opens on a timer, was
helpful to keep fresh food available when I was not there to open a new
can. I simply added an ice cube on top of the moist food to keep it
fresh while the lid was closed.
The next most important thing was Melsy's subcutaneous or 'sub-Q' fluid
therapy. This is one of the most important aspects to keeping cats
happy and healthy while managing CRF/kidney disease. It is of critical
importance that you work closely with a vet who is very familiar with
this therapy, and if your vet does not approve of this technique
(unlikely but possible) you may want to find one that will consider it.
At the time of this writing, it is accepted that this is the best way
to extend the length and quality of life of cats suffering from CRF.
But please make sure you and your vet work to discover the minimal
amount of fluids that need to be administered as extra fluid does make
the kidneys have to process more liquids. This is the trade off, but
in the end I believe it kept Melsy much more comfortable throughout his
long fight.
Should you decide subcutaneous fluid therapy is in your cat's best
interest, You will no doubt be apprehensive about using a needle on
your cat. That is completely natural. Melsy and I didn't get used to
it until several weeks after we first started. Here is how our typical
routine went:

Each morning at roughly the same time of day we did Melsy's fluid
therapy. Cats love routines, and I think it helped a lot that Melsy
knew when it was coming. I would fill a plastic tupperware container
about halfway with hot water from the tap and submerge the bag of
fluids into the hot water with the nozzle end up. Warming the fluids
first is very important because cats' body temperature is much higher
than room temperature and you will chill your cat unneccessarily and
uncomfortably if you do not warm your fluids. I would usually take a
shower in the meantime and by the time I got out the fluids were nice
and warm (but not too hot). Then I would hook the fluid bag on a nail
up as high as possible. Let gravity work for you. Run some of the
fluid through the administration set into the sink until it is flowing
warm, then attach the needle (use Terumo needles because they are very
sharp, I recommend starting with the 18 or 20 gauge) and run just a
little more fluid through the set. Now with the fluids warmed and the
needle ready, I am ready to get the cat. For me, this is was a one
person operation. I found that by far we were most comfortable when I
crouched down and put him in between my knees. This way I was able to
control the cat without using my hands by applying pressure between my
knees when I sensed he was becoming fidgety. After time, Melsy
realized he could not struggle out of this position and he stopped
trying. And I had both hands free
to work with. Pop the cap off the needle and make a tent in the cats
fur by pinching with your thumb and forefinger and raising the skin
upward. With your other hand, keeping the needle parallel to the cat's
spine, simultaneously insert the needle while pulling gently on the
cat's skin in the opposite direction. If you do this quickly but
firmly, the needle (again use Terumo Needles because they are extra
sharp) will slide in easily. Remember to alternate incision locations
to avoid bruising/scarring any one particular location. The trick is
to insert the needle far enough in to the 'pocket' that you can begin
filling them with fluids but not so far that the needle pokes out the
other side. If you need to, simply pull the needle back a little bit.
The turn the dial on the administration set to begin the flow.
Hopefully there will be no leaks and you will see the drip going fast.
If not, you may need to readjust the needle position. Let me make
something perfectly clear he there IS a learning curve to this and
the first month or even longer can and will be hard on you and your
cat. It is of critical importance that you not frustrate yourself or
the cat will sense this and will panic also. If things get too rough,
let the cat go and try again later. We had a terrible time when we
first started the process, but eventually we got into a routine and it
became just another part of the day to us. I promise this will happen
to you too, so hang tough and learn from your mistakes and trials and I
guarantee things will get better in time.
Once you have administered the correct amount of fluid, remove the
needle from the cat and 'pinch' closed the incision point for several
seconds. This is important because the cat will leak if you don't do
this. Now comes one of the most important parts of the whole process -
the reward. If you give your cat a reward after each and every fluid
session, they will come to associate the fluid session with the reward
and things will be MUCH easier. I found that the best reward I could
give Melsy was tuna juice drained from a can of low sodium tuna fish.
I served him enough to cover the bottom of a small saucer, and I kept
the remaining juice in a shot glass in the refrigerator. Melsy really
appreciated this, and it signified to him that he had done a good job.
I was very proud of the way my cat adjusted to this procedure, and his
tuna juice reward - as well as lots of love and
praise - made it a lot easier on both of us.
The other part of Melsy's therapy that gave us both trouble in the
beginning but became routine eventually was pilling. I found my best
weapon in this fight was using a piller - a long, plastic pen-like tool
with a soft rubber tip on one end and a plunger on the other. Many
vets will give you one of these for free if you simply ask. Again with
the cat between my knees, I would raise his nose directly upwards and
with a free finger I could easily open his lower jaw. Using the other
hand I could push the soft end of the piller tool (loaded with the pill
of course) such that I could place the pill *behind* his tongue. Then
hold his mouth shut and rub his throat and he would swallow. If need
be, rub their nose gently as this often triggers the cat to
instinctively swallow. Melsy was pretty good at fake-swallowing but
with practice I knew if he got it down or not. This was tough for both

of us at first, but like fluid therapy we got it down eventually with
practice and patience. If you have to combine medications or
administer split pills, I recommend using gelcaps. When moistened with
water, they become slick as ice and are generally pretty easy to get
down their throats. Make sure, however, that you check with your vet
before combining any medications.
Throughout the stages of CRF, pay particular attention to your cat's
eyesight and hearing. Hypertension is common, and in many cases (and
indeed Melsy's) it can cause blindness and deafness. Bring these
symptoms to your vet's attention immediately as you can often halt
and/or reverse the process with blood pressure medication. Although
Melsy was blind and deaf at the end, we were able to give him several
more months of eyesight when we found a
combination of drugs that kept his blood pressure down.
For upset stomachs, your vet will probably recommend 1/4 of a Pepcid
tablet. Make sure you do NOT use pepcid complete! Melsy also seemed
to get some relief after eating yogurt (he insisted on yoplait
strawberry cheesecake) as the L Acidophelus bacteria may have helped
his digestion. Your cat's mileage may vary, but since the yogurt is
pre-cultured it is generally ok to give to cats despite being a dairy
product which are generally a no-no.
Above all else, love your cats with all your heart while they are
around. In your mind, try to think of all the things you would want to
do with your cat if they weren't around any more - then go do all of
them. Tell them everything you ever wanted to tell them. Make them
feel like the kings and queens that they are so that when the sad day
comes that you have to part ways in this life, you know you spent all
your time and energy the best way you could have with them. I spent
entire days at home with Melsy and don't feel like I wasted one single
second. I learned to appreciate every moment, every purr, every lick,
everything. And I appreciate how difficult it must have been for him
between the disease itself and the therapy. But I know for every tough
moment there was up until the end, we had hundreds if not thousands of
joyful moments together throughout his life. And I know it was all
worth it.

I would be happy to answer any questions I can at
craigskelly(at)yahoo.com


My condolences on Melsy's passing. I can tell you loved him, and really
cared for him. I too saved your post in case I should ever need to refer
to it.

Rich

I'm so sorry to to hear about your cat. Mine is CRF too. We have decided not
to put her through any lengthy invasive procedures or treatments to prolong
the inevitable if things go bad. Just being at the vets is stressful for
her. Her quality of life is currently excellent and she's eating the renal
diet and taking her daily tablet.

Whilst she had one 'crisis' last November it turned out to be an infection
rather than a renal crisis and last weekend she had a another 'crisis' which
our vet has put down to something she ate which poisoned her. (We're still
working out what the heck that could have been as she's an indoor cat).

Your dedication is admirable and I'm sure your cat knew how much he was
loved by you.

I was devastated to be told my cat has CRF. She's a rescue cat whom we've
only had since April and she was diagnosed a few weeks after we got her.

A year previously we have lost our other beautiful cat to heart disease. He
was only 4.

Hearing the CRF diagnosis made me feel terrible and it has taken me a while
to come to terms with.

sarah

On 2005-01-20, craig penned:
On December 30th, 2004 I had to make the toughest decision of my life.
Melsy, a neutered male cat who came to me eight years ago as a gift
(stray) at a time when I needed a friend the most, had been diagnosed
with CRF or kidney disease one year ago and I decided this last 'crash'
or kidney failure episode, would be his last. It was a gut-wrenching
decision but I could not see my friend suffer any more. While things
are still fresh in my mind, I wanted to make sure I passed along what I
had learned during this process. Please take what you read here at
face value, and work closely with the most qualified vet you can find
in determining what is best for you and your friend.

Thank you for this post. My condolences on Melsy's passing.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

On 20 Jan 2005 15:04:52 -0800, "craig" wrote:

On December 30th, 2004 I had to make the toughest decision of my life.
Melsy, a neutered male cat who came to me eight years ago as a gift
(stray) at a time when I needed a friend the most, had been diagnosed
with CRF or kidney disease one year ago and I decided this last 'crash'
or kidney failure episode, would be his last. It was a gut-wrenching
decision but I could not see my friend suffer any more. While things
are still fresh in my mind, I wanted to make sure I passed along what I
had learned during this process. Please take what you read here at
face value, and work closely with the most qualified vet you can find
in determining what is best for you and your friend.
First and most important to me is to stress how important it is for you
to get your cats over 5 years old tested every year. Early diagnosis
will let you adjust easier things like food and water availability.
Melsy was put on Science Diet K/D formula at an early stage and the
decreased protein intake likely helped his kidneys by having to work
less to process his food. I was fortunate in that Melsy took to his
new food almost immediately and I kept a constant supply of both moist
and dry K/D available to him at all times. I know he really
appreciated this. A 'CatMate' feeder, which opens on a timer, was
helpful to keep fresh food available when I was not there to open a new
can. I simply added an ice cube on top of the moist food to keep it
fresh while the lid was closed.
The next most important thing was Melsy's subcutaneous or 'sub-Q' fluid
therapy. This is one of the most important aspects to keeping cats
happy and healthy while managing CRF/kidney disease. It is of critical
importance that you work closely with a vet who is very familiar with
this therapy, and if your vet does not approve of this technique
(unlikely but possible) you may want to find one that will consider it.
At the time of this writing, it is accepted that this is the best way
to extend the length and quality of life of cats suffering from CRF.
But please make sure you and your vet work to discover the minimal
amount of fluids that need to be administered as extra fluid does make
the kidneys have to process more liquids. This is the trade off, but
in the end I believe it kept Melsy much more comfortable throughout his
long fight.
Should you decide subcutaneous fluid therapy is in your cat's best
interest, You will no doubt be apprehensive about using a needle on
your cat. That is completely natural. Melsy and I didn't get used to
it until several weeks after we first started. Here is how our typical
routine went:

Each morning at roughly the same time of day we did Melsy's fluid
therapy. Cats love routines, and I think it helped a lot that Melsy
knew when it was coming. I would fill a plastic tupperware container
about halfway with hot water from the tap and submerge the bag of
fluids into the hot water with the nozzle end up. Warming the fluids
first is very important because cats' body temperature is much higher
than room temperature and you will chill your cat unneccessarily and
uncomfortably if you do not warm your fluids. I would usually take a
shower in the meantime and by the time I got out the fluids were nice
and warm (but not too hot). Then I would hook the fluid bag on a nail
up as high as possible. Let gravity work for you. Run some of the
fluid through the administration set into the sink until it is flowing
warm, then attach the needle (use Terumo needles because they are very
sharp, I recommend starting with the 18 or 20 gauge) and run just a
little more fluid through the set. Now with the fluids warmed and the
needle ready, I am ready to get the cat. For me, this is was a one
person operation. I found that by far we were most comfortable when I
crouched down and put him in between my knees. This way I was able to
control the cat without using my hands by applying pressure between my
knees when I sensed he was becoming fidgety. After time, Melsy
realized he could not struggle out of this position and he stopped
trying. And I had both hands free
to work with. Pop the cap off the needle and make a tent in the cats
fur by pinching with your thumb and forefinger and raising the skin
upward. With your other hand, keeping the needle parallel to the cat's
spine, simultaneously insert the needle while pulling gently on the
cat's skin in the opposite direction. If you do this quickly but
firmly, the needle (again use Terumo Needles because they are extra
sharp) will slide in easily. Remember to alternate incision locations
to avoid bruising/scarring any one particular location. The trick is
to insert the needle far enough in to the 'pocket' that you can begin
filling them with fluids but not so far that the needle pokes out the
other side. If you need to, simply pull the needle back a little bit.
The turn the dial on the administration set to begin the flow.
Hopefully there will be no leaks and you will see the drip going fast.
If not, you may need to readjust the needle position. Let me make
something perfectly clear he there IS a learning curve to this and
the first month or even longer can and will be hard on you and your
cat. It is of critical importance that you not frustrate yourself or
the cat will sense this and will panic also. If things get too rough,
let the cat go and try again later. We had a terrible time when we
first started the process, but eventually we got into a routine and it
became just another part of the day to us. I promise this will happen
to you too, so hang tough and learn from your mistakes and trials and I
guarantee things will get better in time.
Once you have administered the correct amount of fluid, remove the
needle from the cat and 'pinch' closed the incision point for several
seconds. This is important because the cat will leak if you don't do
this. Now comes one of the most important parts of the whole process -
the reward. If you give your cat a reward after each and every fluid
session, they will come to associate the fluid session with the reward
and things will be MUCH easier. I found that the best reward I could
give Melsy was tuna juice drained from a can of low sodium tuna fish.
I served him enough to cover the bottom of a small saucer, and I kept
the remaining juice in a shot glass in the refrigerator. Melsy really
appreciated this, and it signified to him that he had done a good job.
I was very proud of the way my cat adjusted to this procedure, and his
tuna juice reward - as well as lots of love and
praise - made it a lot easier on both of us.
The other part of Melsy's therapy that gave us both trouble in the
beginning but became routine eventually was pilling. I found my best
weapon in this fight was using a piller - a long, plastic pen-like tool
with a soft rubber tip on one end and a plunger on the other. Many
vets will give you one of these for free if you simply ask. Again with
the cat between my knees, I would raise his nose directly upwards and
with a free finger I could easily open his lower jaw. Using the other
hand I could push the soft end of the piller tool (loaded with the pill
of course) such that I could place the pill *behind* his tongue. Then
hold his mouth shut and rub his throat and he would swallow. If need
be, rub their nose gently as this often triggers the cat to
instinctively swallow. Melsy was pretty good at fake-swallowing but
with practice I knew if he got it down or not. This was tough for both

of us at first, but like fluid therapy we got it down eventually with
practice and patience. If you have to combine medications or
administer split pills, I recommend using gelcaps. When moistened with
water, they become slick as ice and are generally pretty easy to get
down their throats. Make sure, however, that you check with your vet
before combining any medications.
Throughout the stages of CRF, pay particular attention to your cat's
eyesight and hearing. Hypertension is common, and in many cases (and
indeed Melsy's) it can cause blindness and deafness. Bring these
symptoms to your vet's attention immediately as you can often halt
and/or reverse the process with blood pressure medication. Although
Melsy was blind and deaf at the end, we were able to give him several
more months of eyesight when we found a
combination of drugs that kept his blood pressure down.
For upset stomachs, your vet will probably recommend 1/4 of a Pepcid
tablet. Make sure you do NOT use pepcid complete! Melsy also seemed
to get some relief after eating yogurt (he insisted on yoplait
strawberry cheesecake) as the L Acidophelus bacteria may have helped
his digestion. Your cat's mileage may vary, but since the yogurt is
pre-cultured it is generally ok to give to cats despite being a dairy
product which are generally a no-no.
Above all else, love your cats with all your heart while they are
around. In your mind, try to think of all the things you would want to
do with your cat if they weren't around any more - then go do all of
them. Tell them everything you ever wanted to tell them. Make them
feel like the kings and queens that they are so that when the sad day
comes that you have to part ways in this life, you know you spent all
your time and energy the best way you could have with them. I spent
entire days at home with Melsy and don't feel like I wasted one single
second. I learned to appreciate every moment, every purr, every lick,
everything. And I appreciate how difficult it must have been for him
between the disease itself and the therapy. But I know for every tough
moment there was up until the end, we had hundreds if not thousands of
joyful moments together throughout his life. And I know it was all
worth it.

I would be happy to answer any questions I can at
craigskelly(at)yahoo.com

Thank you for your wonderful post. I am so sorry for your loss, but
you have probably helped many by giving some good information about
managing a cat with CRF. And the most important part is your last
paragraph. To treasure each day and not waste it is a gift for both
of you.

Melsy was very lucky to have you.

Ginger-lyn
human friend to eight cats, including Cosmo, diagnosed with CRF May
2000, and still with us

"craig" wrote in message
oups.com...
On December 30th, 2004 I had to make the toughest decision of my life.
Melsy, a neutered male cat who came to me eight years ago as a gift
(stray) at a time when I needed a friend the most, had been diagnosed
with CRF or kidney disease one year ago and I decided this last 'crash'
or kidney failure episode, would be his last.

I'm very sorry for your loss. You gave Melsy a wonderful life. I've been
through CRF, your write-up was exactly on the mark. I cried when I saw
what I was going to have to do to my cat, but she never minded it, and I
know it made her feel better.

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG