Syba's Story [Do Not Give Up Unless They Have Given Up!]

[Teila]

Aaaw DuckMom2017 they are both adorable!

I love Kukido’s name!

Kudos to you for persevering and giving such a beautiful little girl a chance.

It was interesting to read “it would be best to put her down” and other options only being given when asked.

I sincerely hope that ‘giving up’ is not becoming the norm. Pets are a part of the family and we do not give up on family!

 

[bruceha2000]

Most likely the "put her down" option is offered because of the probable expense of the alternatives. I would venture that a majority of people either do not have the financial resources or choose not to spend them on a pet.

I have determined that the design of the ureter is quite faulty. If you can develop a stone in the kidney which can then get into the ureter, the "exit pipe" should NOT get smaller in diameter as it goes along but larger!

 

[Teila]

Hey bruceha, yeah I realise that not everyone can afford thousands of dollars to spend on their pet and I do worry that some people might think that I am being judgemental of them if they can not afford it .. I am definitely not.

I have had to make that heartbreaking decision in the past because I just did not have the funds to fork out for the expensive treatment required.

What I am trying to convey, maybe poorly, is that if you do have the resources available and believe that your pet has not given up, do not let someone who does not know your pet as well as you do talk you into giving up.

I do not think that it is up to the Vet to decide whether you can or can not afford the treatment and if any treatment is an option this should be mentioned without having to ask if there are any other options.

Tee hee, yeah, I could not agree more .. there are definitely some design flaws

 

[Fancychooklady]

Lovely story. So glad you stuck it out for little man. We have experienced similar lack of diagnosis with our horses. One vet turned up with his pouch containing ' the green dream'
Luckily our equine vet arrived just in time to save the day and the horse.

 

[DuckMom2017]

The next visit the vet said that most people wouldn't spend the time with her to get her back in shape, and it would have just been torture for the kitten to go back to a home that wouldn't take the time. She would have eventually died if we didn't do all that we did. So I get it- I mean the vet didn't know me from Adam, and she probably sees some people come in that wouldn't do all that we did.

 

[bruceha2000]

What I am trying to convey, maybe poorly, is that if you do have the resources available and believe that your pet has not given up, do not let someone who does not know your pet as well as you do talk you into giving up.

I think you did it quite well. My guess is the vets so often see "can't afford it / won't spend it" that they ASSUME it will be the case with most. But yes they SHOULD offer all alternatives. You never know when you might be talking to "Jed Clampett". And if you don't know that reference:
Beverly Hillbillies:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHSdX4jK80j7bzBQr4ePhOg

We have a nearly 16 Y/O cat that has had diabetes for the last 3 years. We got her from the shelter at 5 Y/O. The insulin pens cost nearly $80 each and last about 50 days at 3 units twice a day. Then there are the test strips and "prick" needles. Adds up but since we can afford it we aren't just writing her off. I'm sure there are many people who would have to choose otherwise.

But on the "happy" front, the poor guy that lives across the road has diabetes and uses 70 units a day of the same medicine. That means after 4 days there are only 20 units left in the pen and he doesn't want to stab himself 4 times with 4 nearly empty pens so he was tossing them. When he found out a few months back that Samantha has diabetes and is on the exact same med, he started throwing them away at my house I offered to pay him something for them but he rightly chose to continue to "throw them away" since taking money for the "disposal" would constitute insurance fraud (which I hadn't thought of).

 

[Andypandy]

What a great out come. I’m so glad every thing turned out well

 

[Teila]

So, Syba's follow up appointment was today.

Considering we took a black cat to see Dr Carl on Friday the 13th, the news is pretty good!

Syba's Creatinine was down to 340 from the 1,800's it was when he was at his worse. 400 is high and rates as Stage 4 [out of 4] on the kidney disease scale. However, his Urea was normal. Usually in kidney disease you see both raised. Dr Carl expects that Syba's case is different to the average CKD cat and in a good way. Also, Syba is a large cat. Creatinine is produced by muscle mass, so, being a bigger cat, he will produce more Creatinine than the average. Urea is also an indication of whether they are feeling unwell or not so Syba must be feeling pretty good and we can see that; he is happy, playing, tormenting Jessie and chasing his little sister around the house.

Anyways, Dr Carl was pleased with his progress and does not need to see him for somewhere between 3 and 6 months. We are starting to gradually introduce Syba to his new special kidney diet as of today.

Today's good news has raised the prognosis of months to now being years and Dr Carl feels possibly more than other cats at the same stage because of his size

 

[N F C]

Good news from Dr. Carl, that's great Teila! Go Syba

 

[bruceha2000]

What a beautiful (and lucky!) cat.