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#51
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A footnote about the fluids
On Dec 27, 2:46*pm, "Joy" wrote:
"cshenk" wrote in message ... "Christina Websell" wrote "Pat" wrote cshenk wrote: I don't understand it all, least of all the rapid breathing. Also, Don't second guess yourself. It will just drive you crazy. It sounds like classic renal shutdown. At that stage, not even the vets can fix it. You did your best, kidney failure is difficult. Sometimes you can keep them going for quite a long time and sometimes you can't despite trying hard. It's difficult to say goodbye. *I've not found the point to say enough is enough easy. *It's an ethical thing, and you know when. Yup. *I adopt older (often truely elderly) rescues. *I know this one well. It's hard no matter what to lose a loved pet and very hard to let go but you can tell when it's time. Might some of mine have been forced to live longer to make *me* feel better? Yes. *The cost to *them* was always more than I was willing to pay just to get an extra month or 2, with them in discomfort and no quality of life left. Exactly. *Making the decision to let them go is the most difficult, and most loving, decision a pet owner can make. Joy Making the decision to have Rusty PTS was most difficult. Once I made it, I felt oddly peaceful. I do miss him a lot, but am glad he didn't have to live through another brutal winter, even as an indoor only cat. |
#52
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A footnote about the fluids
"Pat" wrote in message ... cshenk wrote: Don't second guess yourself. It will just drive you crazy. It sounds like classic renal shutdown. At that stage, not even the vets can fix it. Reminds me of something my mother once told me: "Don't think too much, you'll drive yourself crazy." I mostly ignored that admonition. It didn't make sense to me. Anyway at this point I do not believe that his kidneys failed. In his final moments his bladder let go, and soaked through his own bed (thick) plus two towels folded into 4 thicknesses under his bed, and still went through to the quilt. After sleeping for a few hours, and then burying the body, it was time to deal with the soiled bedding and towels. In light of what I have now read about congestive heart failure, I realize that if his kidneys had completely shut down, his urine would have been more like plain waiter, with a very mild odor, if any. So I smelled everything before washing, just to be sure. The urine smell was strong. Maybe not as strong as the urine of a kitty with perfect kidneys, but too strong to be from one whose kidneys were bad enough to cause death at that stage. It was actually stronger than one would expect given the volume of excess fluid his body was trying to handle. If you've ever drunk beer at all, and particularly if you're like me, not a regular beer drinker (I go years in between beers, and when I have one, I usually cannot finish the whole bottle or can or mug) and/ or avoid sugar (beer is generally made with plenty of sugar) and thus your body isn't accustomed to these things, you would notice within an hour of drinking it that your own urine was voluminous and almost clear, even if your kidneys are generally in good shape. Indeed, any excess of fluid in whatever form puts a strain on the kidneys and causes a dilute urine, if only temporarily. I've had the same thing happen with coffee and tea. Also, when I feel afraid or nervous, I pass more urine, and it is often colorless. I think the human body is a grand machine that way. Fear activates the adrenals. The adrenals sit atop the kidneys. One of the first things that happens in a truly terrifying situation is involuntary urination. The body's natural response is to prepare one to "fight or flee", by becoming lighter through discharge of water, which adds weight. If the situation is very dire, one can also have an involuntary bowel movement (animals who survives being hit by a car often poop themselves at the time of impact). The ideas above are leading up to a thesis of his actual cause of death. I am now inclined to believe the vet's office was negligent if not worse. I have no direct evidence, yet, but I am working on getting it, and I will get it, if it exists. I need to hear a few answers from the vet first. Then I will post what I think. In the meantime I am grieving my heart out as well as angry about what I think probably happened to hurt my baby boy enough to kill him. There is no doubt I will be switching vets from here on out. ------------ It's usual to get angry with the vet who could not save your beloved. I do. From what you posted, Abelard's kidneys packed up and no vet can cure that. It was his time to go after a nice life with you. Tweed |
#53
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A footnote about the fluids
Christina Websell wrote:
It's usual to get angry with the vet who could not save your beloved. * I do. From what you posted, Abelard's kidneys packed up and no vet can cure that. It was his time to go after a nice life with you. I spoke with the vet today. She concurred with my idea that he had been given too much fluid and died of CHF. |
#54
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A footnote about the fluids
On Mon, 27 Dec 2010 16:10:42 -0800 (PST), Pat
wrote: Christina Websell wrote: It's usual to get angry with the vet who could not save your beloved. * I do. From what you posted, Abelard's kidneys packed up and no vet can cure that. It was his time to go after a nice life with you. I spoke with the vet today. She concurred with my idea that he had been given too much fluid and died of CHF. I'm so sorry to hear this. But, nothing will bring Abelard back, unfortunately. And, given his somewhat fragile health, something like this was bound to happen, sooner or later. The same sort of thing happened to my Kenzie: she shouldn't have died from a liver biopsy, but she did If she had been younger, and healthier, it almost certainly would not have happened. But, if she had been younger and healthier, she wouldn't have needed a liver biopsy, of course. Everyone, no matter HOW HARD they try, makes mistakes. Often, these mistakes are only realized or discovered, using the perfect 20/20 hindsight we all have Likely, due to his dehydration, Abelard's blood chemistry lab results were way off. This may have lead to a less than perfect decision about how much fluid to give him. Or perhaps the vet simply made a mistake. I used to make mistakes at work. Not often, but it seemed like no matter how hard I tried, I still made some pretty significant mistakes, sometimes. It used to drive me crazy, when I would try to sort them out later. Don't drive yourself crazy, trying to think of 'what if', 'or what should have been' for Abelard. Nothing can be done about it, now, unfortunately. I'm sure the vet feels almost as bad as you do. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^..^ "Life without cats would be only marginally worth living." -TC, in loving memory of the unmercifully, relentlessly, sweet calico kitty, Kenzie. Every day was a treasure with Kenzie; I tried to treat them that way. There would only be so many, and now, there will never, ever, be any more How you behave towards cats here below determines your status in Heaven. - Robert Heinlein Try to let it go. |
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