eldercat

I spoke to the vet yesterday, and at her strong suggestion, we've decided to start hydrating the cat, Juliet. This has been a hard decision. We've had it done a few times, and she doesn't much like it, though she does get used to new uncomfortable things after a while. She's twenty years old. So we've been trying to balance quality of life against the benefit of starting her on this type of program.

Juliet has had kidney disease for several years now, and her weight and other test numbers have been gradually declining. We've mostly managed it so far through a special diet. A friend who's a veterinarian says that the good news is that our human friends with the same disease tell us that there's no physical discomfort from the disease itself. Yet, as Juliet's vet points out, the hydration can reverse some of the damage (actually bring the numbers up) and help keep a small event from turning into a large setback.

This is a little harder than it would be with a human. I can't talk to Juliet to understand what she wants, how she'd like to live the rest of her life, whether she ever is in pain. She can't appoint me as her health proxy or make decisions about her own medical care. The best I can do is make educated guesses based on non-linguistic clues -- does she seem relatively happy? does she seem to have an enjoyable life right now?

So far, the answer to both questions is yes, and unless this treatment turns into a battleground, for now, it seems relatively uninvasive and low impact. However, I'll be trying to notice any cues she does give after we've done this a few times. If there is a huge battle, we'll need to reconsider.