My cat is dying, what should I do?

Question

My cat is about 11 years old, his original owner passed away three months ago and myself and fiance have been taking care of him.

He won't eat, it's been 4 days, he keeps getting twitches, his left eye went completely blind, he has thrown up white foamy stuff and sleeps all day long.

I called 7 different local vets and animal rescue, begging for a monthly payment plan because I do not have the money to take him to a vet up front, all of them said no...

It kills me to just sit here and watch him dying but I have no other choice, I cannot afford the vet whatsoever.

Any tips on how to deal with this and make him go comfortably? he won't let us pick him up or pet him anymore.

Thanks for the responses. I suggested putting him to sleep, but my fiance says he can't. Since it was his mother he lost three months ago, he feels the cat is all he has left.

He is drinking plenty of water, just not eating. He can't possibly have rabies, he's never been outside.

I think i'm going to persue my fiance to have him put to sleep, as hard as it's going to be I can't watch him dying.

Just a little update for those interested. I called the ASPCA and they said I have to try to go through some credit company to try to make payments. I'm going to call them tommorrow.

Also, tonight I noticed his body is very cold, his left eye changed color completely (was green, now grey) and he has brown stuff coming out of his mouth. He also licks his lips alot.

He doesn't cry but he doesn't let us touch him, which is unlke him because he was always very loveable.

I'm praying so hard right now but i'm at a loss of what to do.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. Today Boogie was put to sleep, we took him to the vet and he had kidney disease. They informed us if we did not put him in ICU (over a thousand dollars to do so) for 4-5 days he would die. And even in ICU, there's a rare chance he would survive.

Answer 1

he needs to be put to sleep. your local vet/shelter could do it quickly and painlessly. I have never heard of it costing more than 50$ (in most cases less) so you should be able to get it done affordably. He needs to be put out of his pain. Poor kitty. I'm sorry.

Answer 2

He could be suffering from seizures.Symptoms twitching and white foam coming out of the mouth. Do not give up hope this problem can be treated by drugs.Have you tried the R.S.P.C.A.? It is also possible he has stomach cancer. Have you tried Glucose in his water it will give him energy.Also try him on cat milk formula,it is easy for him to digest in his system where he can't tolerate solids. Praying will not help this cat ,the brown liquid is blood this I fear is a stomach or brain + the eye / bone / cancer.You must take him without delay to the vet. It is now 8-15 pm English time I think you are being cruel and you are acting in a hopeless ,self pitying way and praying .It is not about you and your boy fiend it is about the well- being of your cat, if you really cared you would act, regardless of your situation ,instead of letting him suffer. He may even have been poisoned.Take him to the vet now.

Answer 3

I feel bad for you both! Its a hard thing to watch when an animal is dying. I have a similar story about my dad and his dog. He witnessed his dog get hit by a car and died. And soon after he also died. The pets often go hand in hand with the owners. I would take him to be put asleep if you can. I had a kitten who got injured, he broke his back and I didn't have the money either for the vet. Like you said they don't want to accept payment plans because of so many people not paying. So I had no other choice but to take him to the humane society and tell them I found the kitten injured. And they put him to sleep. It was very hard to do! But I had no other choice. And at least he stopped suffering. Good luck and God bless.

Answer 4

I feel so sad for you two. My cat that I had 14-1/2 yrs. died 2 years ago. Within the span of two weeks, we found out she had cancer and we had the ability to try and save her and paid over $2,500 to do so but even in the end they needed even more money to do another surgery and on the operating table called me to make a decision right there and then which I think is terribly cruel given the fact that they also do not take payments and expect you to come up with these ungodly amounts. I took her home with me and the next morning she was lying next to me moaning and I just decided I couldn't do that to her and had her put to sleep. It broke our hearts and I find it a cruel thing that vets who are suppose to care so much for animals dont do a better job of helping the people that take care of these precious animals so they can afford to keep them well. Take care and God Bless.

Answer 5

The thing I notice here is that no one is seeing that you ARE wanting to maybe put him down, but that your fiance' is the one who doesn't want to. I know it is hard sometimes, but you need to have a serious talk with him about letting the cat go.

The main thing, as I stated in another answer once about whether or not to put an animal down, is that it is suffering. Do you want it to suffer? We can't just keep an animal around to make ourselves feel better. If you were completely helpless and unable to take care of yourself anymore and someone had the ability to let you die, how would you feel if they just kept you around because it made them feel better?

These are the things you need to tell your fiance'. We had a dog that got coonhound. This is paralysis of his back legs caused by being bitten by a racoon. Some dogs get over it in like two or three weeks, but some of them never get over it. Well, we took really good care of him and fed him by hand, waiting to see if he was going to come out of it. One day when we were feeding him, we could just see the sadness and bewilderment in his eyes. He was no longer the happy, playful and carefree doggie we had always known. It was time to let him go. We decided that if he didn't come out of it by Monday, we would have him put down. That is what we ended up doing.

The thing is with this cat is that he is kind of old and probably ready to go. Also, animals often lose the will to live when their owner has died. He is probably really sad about his owner dying and getting sick too.

Tell your fiance' that you just need to let him go. If he really needs a pet, then he can get a new one soon.

Now, about the financial part of it. I know it is really hard to come up with the money for vets these days. You need to contact the local animal shelter and ask them what to do. They should be able to help you out and almost every area has animal shelters, even small towns. Hopefully they will just be able to put him down for you. They can at least give you some guidance in the matter.

I am really sorry you have to go through this, but it is just a part of life. If you get more pets, you will probably have to go through it again at some point, because unless you are really old already, you will surely outlive almost all animals, as they just don't live as long as people. Just enjoy the good times and remember them fondly when it is their time to go.

Best of luck. Call the shelter right away, they will know what to do.

Answer 6

This cat is dying. If it hasn't eaten in 4 days, more than likely he's suffering from hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease. When cats don't eat, the fats build up in their livers. It will kill them. The foam that he vomited is a result of not eating. It's like when humans vomit, even though they haven't been eating. They're puking up stomach acids and what not. Rabies does NOT cause a cat to vomit foam. An animal infected with rabies will foam at the mouth due to excessive salivation.

A cat that is 11 years old still has plenty of time left. If you can get SOMETHING into him, it may not be too late.

How to get a cat to eat --> http://members.dslextreme.com/users/universe/AmberFoundation/Feeding/eatget_GettingCatToEat.html

*edit*
Just curious how the kitty is doing? Were you able to get some food into him?

Answer 7

Animals grieve, just like people... his drinking is a good sign, but you need to get him to eat as soon as possible. Try starting with the water drained off a can of tuna. When my cat was most upset, we fed him baby food. Try meats or a meat and rice combination. If this cat belonged to your fiance's mother, you might be able to get a familiar piece of furniture, pillow or at least some clothing with a familiar scent on it. Used as bedding, this could bring some comfort.
If all else fails, your best bet may be the animal shelter or humane society, I'm sure they would euthanize at no expense if it were deemed necessary.

Answer 8

I'm sorry about this. I support your decision so have the cat put to sleep - I can see what the problem is tho, with your fiancee losing his mother. I would gently tell him that the cat is suffering, and that it really is a kindness to let him go in this peaceful way rather than let him struggle to the end. I don't know his late mother of course, but I would think she would have wanted this too rather than let her cat suffer. I understand he doesn't want to let go of the last piece of his mother he has left, but unfortunately it looks like the time has come when he is going to lose him one way or another - but he can choose to let the cat go peacefully.

Did none of the vets give you numbers of people who CAN help you? Shame on them if so. There are always charities and shelters who can help.

Best wishes hope it all turns out for the best,

Chalice

Answer 9

I'm sorry to hear about it. My mom's cat recently died and he was going through the same thing. If I were you, I would wait a couple of days as my mom's cat got a little better and lasted about 2 months after he started acting weird, but after that I would get him to the vet soon. If you have to, start a petition and give it to one vet showing that you really need to get it checked. If not, surrender him and let the vet do the humane thing.

Answer 10

It must be hard, but you are thinking about watching him dying. The basic instinct is to live, however. You don't know how he might suffer if given an injection to end his life (not to upset you, but I personally don't believe in doing this).

Take him to an SPCA or shelter to care for him or maybe apply for a loan or credit card if you can so you can take him. These are just some suggestions. He may only need treatment and may not be dying. Please try to help him if you can. That is good that you care so much and are trying. I feel for you, your fiance and the cat.

Pray for him also.

Answer 11

He needs food. Try mushing up canned cat food in your blender with a little water. Get a baby food feeder, syringe, etc. from vet or drug store. Feed the equivalent of about 1-2 teaspoons about 4-5 times a day. It takes several minutes to get 1-2 teaspoons of mush into a cat---a little at a time. Where are you located? Check my web site to see if anyone there can help. www.freewebs.com/howtohelpanimals