kathy,
I can not tell me how helpful your post was to me. I really have been
struggling with whether to keep syringing him. He holds it down, but acts like
it is very unpleasant for him. I would like to stop doing it, but was not sure
if that will make him feel worse than he needs to, having no food. It is
possible that he is not eating because his body is shutting down, as you say.
But
it is also possible that it is just because his high bilirubin levels from
liver cancer (he is jaundiced) are making him nauseous but he has not started
to
shut down yet. How would I know? Or do you think it does not matter, because
if he does not eat then he will start to shut down anyway?
I am also on the fence about fluids. He had been letting me give him 50 cc's
at a time before getting up and leaving. Now he will not sit for them at all,
and gets really upset if I try to hold him (to the point of hyperventillating
once). He is drinking a lot because he has a lot of steroids in him, and his
skin bounces back fairly quickly so he is not that dehydrated. I was giving
him fluids because the oncologist said to get as much in him as possible to
help
him process the billirubin which is toxic and makes him nauseous. Do you
think I should stop with the fluids too? he had about 200 cc yesterday, but
today
I probably got less than 30 cc in him because he is fighting more and I was
not willing to hold him down. I sort of want to just let him sleep, drink, and
get his belly rubbed, and just give him his anti-nausea med and pepcid and
leave it at that. Do you think that is ok, or that because I do not want to
upset him I am decreasing his well-being while he is still here by him not
having
food and extra fluids? I take it from your last email you would support my not
forcing these things on him. Is that true even if his nausea is from the
billirubin and not from death preparations? Though he does not vomit, so maybe
it is more lack of appetite, as you say, rather than severe nausea.
As for the purring, it is definitly from wanting to be pet and cuddle. He
only purrs when I pet him and he sometimes then rolls on his back to get his
belly rubbed, and his purrs increase when I kiss him or hold him near. If I
stop
petting, he stops purring. Also, if he is upset, like if I have just tried to
feed him or give him fluids, he will not purr when I pet him. It takes until
he looks relaxes again for him to want to be pet, and then he purrs. All of
this makes it seem clear that his purrs are from pleasure or affection and not
distress, otherwise I would assume he would purr when not being pet and when he
is upset.
I do have a tranquilizer which I will give him if he starts howling or
getting visibly restless or distressed. I do not want him to go through that.
This is definitely killing me, though. I think that people who say "if you
don't euthanize you are doing it for yourself, in order to keep him longer"
have never sat through this process. It is as bad as mourning, and it does not
prevent having to mourn eventually. I feel like I am sick myself, from lack of
sleep, from anxiety, from not eating myself (I have no appetite), from grief.
I really do not feel like this is the easy way out. I can not explain what
keeps me from euthanizing him, other than feeling it is not my place to do that
if he is just weak and exhausted but still gets comfort from pets. And
because my partner is against it, I guess. I will euthanize if he is
distressed
and the tranquilizer does not stop it. I am not flat-out against euthanasia. I
just can not do it now, when he is ocassionally rolling onto his back for a
belly rub and looking content and purring.
Michelle
In a message dated 1/10/05 2:40:55 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< (I do hospice care for people.)
As the body prepares for death, the body shifts energy from the digestive
system to the other organs - heart, lungs & brain mainly. Many people will
ask
for water up to the last day or two, but will refuse food for the last week
or two. because their digestive system is shut down, they aren't hungry.
Making them eat is like making someone who's just gorged on Thanksgiving
dinner
eat a huge, extra rich dessert. Syringing a little to see if he'll take it
is okay, but try to resist making him take more than he'll willingly eat.
Let him guide you about his water and food intake. Keep it available and
keep
it appetizing - this is an excellent time to offer special foods he's always
adored but didn't get to have often - but in general, do him a favor and
don't force feed. It's also normal for them to become comatose (nearly to
completely unresponsive). They're still aware of you and what's happening
to them
and they can still hear, it's just that they don't have the strength to
respond anymore.
Keep in mind that it's not unusual for cats to purr when they're in pain.
The frequency of the vibration of purrs is healing and comforting for them.
It's also not unheard of for them to not want to go (Legolas didn't want to
go). When his body's ready to go, you'll know. Watch out for/expect severe
congestion and restlessness. You might even hear his breathing sound like
air
blown through a straw into milk or a thick liquid. It's normal. If he
starts a long mournful wail (death howls) he's very close (probably within a
couple hours). The howls may or may not happen, and they also may or may
not
indicate pain or anxiety. They can be very difficult to hear though. When
I
heard it the first time, it really freaked me out.
It takes a very strong person to stay with an animal through a natural death
- it could be peaceful and calm and everything will just stop, or they could
end up struggling and having a very difficult time before the end.
I hope that when Simon's time comes, his end is peaceful and he just slips
away in his sleep.
Kathy >>
