Yes, the cat is suffering. She’s obviously in pain-sounds exactly like my dog a couple of months ago right before we put her to sleep-and you could TELL she was hurting.
My cat Fluffy died at 16, after two strokes. One sign of a stroke was her constantly throwing up. In Fluffy’s case, her last day we KNEW she was going, because when my mother woke up that morning, Fluffy couldn’t move-she was paralyzed. She had had a stroke months ago that left her blind and deaf, but she was still able to get around, and act just like she used to.
She was still in the same mood-but we knew it was only a matter of hours. She died about 12 hours later, in a coma, very peacefully.
However, she was not puking up blood. Take kitty to the vet, and tell your gf she’s being selfish and cruel.
Oh, God save us all from people who think the cat will tell them when it’s time to put it down. There are a few who are ethical, responsible owners and simply wait till the cat’s having more bad days than good days. Most of them, though, seem completely blind to the poor creature’s pain, and let things drag on long after all quality of life is gone. I knew one woman whose cancer-riddled cat got to the point that he was shrieking in agony every time he moved the least bit, and she still wouldn’t put him down.
This kitty is almost certainly suffering from advanced kidney failure; the kidneys on any cat will go out if it lives long enough, and this one’s lived more than long enough. What this means is that the cat is slowly, painfully, being poisoned by his own wastes, and he’s becoming more and more dehydrated as his body uses all its fluid to try to flush out the toxins. He’s going to die, and he’s going to die quite soon. She can let him die a drawn-out, agonizing death from starvation, dehydration, and waste overload, or she can give him the last gift of love and respect we can give the animals we love.
Thanks folks for the feedback. She finally came to her senses and we took the cat to the vet. The vet is awaiting results of the blood work up to determine what’s actually wrong, but in a roundabout way indicates that there’s something seriously wrong with the cat. No shit! I think she’s beginning to come around to the notion that the cat is already suffering.
I guess a “woo-hoo!” would not actually be appropriate, but thank you, Phil, for getting girlfriend to do the right thing and take poor kitty to the vet!
Or, if it is, that the girlfriend will do the unselfish, compassionate thing and let it be euthanized right away, rather than wait for it to die slowly and in agony!
Gawd, but it pained me to read about the poor kitty! I had to put mine to sleep a few months ago (she had kidney failure, hyperthyroid and hypertension). I did it as soon as I could see she was no longer having any quality of life, which I’d been monitoring carefully for over a year, as well as taking her to the vet and giving her special food and subcutaneous fluids.
EasyPhil, thank you for properly utilizing the resources of this board to solve your problem. This is what we are here for and I am relieved to know that the right thing is being done for the poor creature.
CrazyCatLady, thanks for rendering a professional opinion in this thread. I’ve always found you to be generous with your time on these issues. You are to be commended for giving a voice to the voiceless.