Hello, I know that our animal updates have been coming nice and slow but this is one that I feel compelled to make.
First the good stuff: If anyone remembers the last update, I talked about maybe having to take Denise's ex-roommate's dog, C.C., back. Well that (thankfully) didn't happen. I'm not sure of what the arrangements were but she got to stay out west and as far as I know is happy and healthy.
Now, the bad stuff. This is still fresh and makes me sad, but I want to get it down while it is still fresh. The short of it is we finally had to put Denise's cat Elvira to sleep. She was 15 years old, diabetic and her kidneys were starting to shut down. We (I say we but I should say Denise) were giving her insulin for the blood sugar, I.V. fluids to help get rid of the stuff her kidney's couldn't anymore and Mylanta which the vet said would help with that as well.
Remarkably she was responding amazingly well. We knew that this would only last for a short time but as long as she continued to feel decent we were willing to do whatever it took. Then we went on vacation.
We felt terrible that we had to leave her at this time but this was a vacation in Hawaii that had been planned months ago. We just couldn't change our plans. So, we boarded Elvira with the vet and worried the whole time about how she would do.
When we got back this past Saturday we learned from Denise's mom that she had called the vet to check on her and that everything was actually going very well. So Monday Denise picked Elvira up and brought her home. She was weaker in the back legs but otherwise seemed to be doing well, all things considered. This was a tremendous load off our minds.
Then it happened. Tuesday (yesterday) we came home to find Elvira having a seizure. This has happened before so we immediately got out the Karo and tried to get some sugar into her system. Only this time she didn't respond. The seizure quit but she just wouldn't come around. I thought we had lost her then. After about 1/2 hour of trying to get her to respond, we decided to take her to the vet. Fortunately this was the night that the vet was open late.
At the vet she was examined and we were told that her blood sugar was 22 and it should be much, much higher than that. They gave her I.V. glucose and that only raised her blood sugar to 32. We were told that this probably was it. The vet gave her 10 - 15 more minutes to see if she would respond.
While we were waiting in the lobby there was another customer there to pick up her pet. The vet was talking to her when the tech rushed in from the back and said "She's having another seizure." Well, the doctor rushed back, leaving this poor woman with a look of shock and terror on her face in the lobby. We tried to assure her that it was our cat that was having the seizure and that her pet was fine. If you are out there and somehow read this, I'm sorry that you had to have that shock.
When the vet spoke to us again it was pretty much a conclusion that, while we could keep her alive with continuous I.V.'s and other treatments, that it would be heroic measures and even then who knows how long she would last. At that point there was only one choice to make. If we could have continued treatment and she could have come home and lived a decent life we would have done it in a heartbeat. But to be alive only because you have tubes in you with no mobility and greatly diminished nerve function was no way to live and it would have been selfish of us to try and hang on to her any longer than we did.
So, after saying our goodbyes at about 8:15 on October 14th, 2003, Elvira was put to sleep. I'll admit it, I cried. I had never had a pet that I kept until the end. I had only know Elvira about 5 years but it was enough. Denise was there when she was born and I think she was able to be there when she died. She was purring at then end, I think she knew that what we were doing was the best for her and I think that she was happy that she didn't have to fight any more.
As a last note, if you live and or around Gainesville, Fl and you want a tremendously wonderful vet, you should go to Butler Plaza Animal Hospital. They have been wonderful beyond words with all our pets and especially Elvira. I would not take my animals anywhere else.
