# My kitty is sick (kidney failure) and I need advice

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-kitty-is-sick-kidney-failure-and-i-need-advice/826337>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 18, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-kitty-is-sick-kidney-failure-and-i-need-advice/826337 "2018-12-18T19:42:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 13

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**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-kitty-is-sick-kidney-failure-and-i-need-advice/826337/13 "2018-12-19T02:06:45Z")

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I posted this some years back:

> [@18 yr old cat having seizures - when do we let go?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/18-yr-old-cat-having-seizures-when-do-we-let-go/693596/3):
>
> Another vote for “take her to the vet”.
> 
> I had a cat that began having seizures. It didn’t take long to figure out that Lucky had a brain tumor (he soon began “going around to the left”, since one half of his brain wasn’t functioning properly; this is a dead give-away that there is a brain problem). I cared for him for a few months until one day he was gone. The body was still there, but the cat inside was gone, I mean. It was one of the saddest, most pathetic things I’ve ever been witness to and I had him put down ASAP. I loved that cat and I’m glad I was able to make his last weeks comfortable and loving, but I wish I had spared both of us that last bit.
> 
> So please, for both your sakes, take your cat to the vet.

And [one of my first posts on this board is also about a cat, my beloved Mao.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=321376)

Another cat, Heidi, I had put down shortly after I bought my house. She had health problems that I knew about when I adopted her and she went downhill quickly. She was suffering and unhappy and nothing was going to fix her, so I had to make The Decision a third time, hoping that her last 4 years with me were as good for her as they were for me. I don’t plan on not having cats, so it likely won’t be the last time I go thru this, either.

It’s never easy. It’s never fun to contemplate. But I have to remind myself that it’s part of the responsibilities I accepted when I agreed to shelter, feed, care for and love these critters because they can’t do it themselves. I never want any of my friends to suffer, no matter how many legs they have and unfortunately, it does fall to me make the call: I’m the human.

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