Big Decision

If you were to ask me how I've been doing lately, my response would probably be, "I've seen better days." I'm currently unemployed, one of my friends from high school passed away, and my cat, Ally, is sick. The latter is the subject of today's blog post.

I took Ally in to the Vet yesterday after she seemed to be feeling ill. For the past several days, she has not been eating well. After her blood was drawn, I was told that she has kidney disease. They needed to get a urine sample to figure out how bad her kidneys were. Last night, the Vet called and told me that some of her levels were highly elevated. Her recommendation was to keep Ally there for two days on IV fluids as she was dehydrated, and that a Vet would call me tomorrow with more information about Ally.

This morning went by and no call. I finally went to the Vet to visit Ally later this afternoon. After spending about half an hour in a room petting Ally, the Vet came in to talk to me. She is the woman who has been treating our pets for years. She told me more about Ally's condition, and that she basically has severe kidney disease. She told me that one option would be to take her home and administer a subcutaneous IV once or more a day. The problem with this option is the cost of the IV's as well as the phosphorous medication she needs. I was also told that we would not be able to leave her alone for a weekend. She is now a "high maintenance" cat. The other option is the worse case scenario of putting her down. As I have been told, kidney disease is incurable. Her kidneys will eventually fail.

I never thought, even a week ago, that I would be considering whether or not to put Ally down. She seemed so healthy, and there was no indication that something was wrong with her. So much has changed in such a short amount of time, and that's one of the hardest things. Ally is the first pet that I have technically owned. I have never personally had to put a pet down before. This is undoubtedly the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life. God be with me!