Would like some advice about my senior cat who is going through a health scare.
Hello,
Hopefully this is a good place to post this. My cat Stanley is 9 on paper but the vet seems to think he’s well into his teens. I adopted him three years ago and he has been a medically complex cat. First he was diagnosed with CKD, then heart disease, and finally hyperthyroidism. He’s on medication for the hyperthyroidism and a renal diet for the CKD but the vets are hesitant to treat either the heart or kidneys with meds because it could exacerbate the other. About a month ago he wouldn’t stop vomiting so I took him to the vet where on xray they noticed degenerative disc disease in his back as well. He was doing well but recently I’ve noticed he has been really wobbly on his back legs. They keep falling out from under him and he doesn’t take more than a few steps at a time before sitting down. This morning it was really bad where he wasn’t using his back legs at all and he was vocalizing in a way that made me think he was in pain. I took him to the vet but didn’t get a straight answer. They did bloodwork and noticed all of his levels are up for CKD and heart disease. They sent the xray off to the radiologist and I won’t hear back for a few days. In the meantime they want me to schedule an ultrasound. He’s home now but still having trouble walking. It kills me to see him like this. I asked the vet about quality of life and she said as long as he is still performing basic functions (eating, drinking, litter box) we aren’t at that stage yet but I just can’t help but think about him being in pain walking and how that can’t be a decent quality of life. Has anyone gone through this before? He’s my first cat and my soul cat. We’ve only had three years together but I love him more than life itself. I’m just not sure how to measure quality of life for him