Joe
The story:
Joe (my cat) came home one morning in August with a broken jaw. He was on the back step (puddle of blood there) and probably moved to the front when he heard my brother leave the house in the morning. The mailman rang the door bell and asked if that was our cat on the porch. My parents drove him around looking for a vet on duty who could perform surgery. He wound up at Metrotown animal hospital. They X-rayed him, and wired his palate together. He stayed there for over a week while the nurses force fed him until he was able (willing?) to eat on his own again.
Once home, we could tell he was either in a lot of pain or traumatized. He hid in his cat house (he would never go in there before) or under a bed. He wouldn't eat much or drink much. Finally, we figured out that he wanted food and water in his usual spot, not in the room we were keeping him so he could rest and drool all he wanted.
He'll probably be blind in his right eye. The blood and swelling has gone down, but it is hazed over. His jaw is crooked, and he is missing a section of teeth on the left. My parents think someone hit him, but it is hard to say. I don't want to think that someone would do that to a cat, but I don't think he would have fallen (he doesn't climb too much), and the injury is not entirely typical of being hit by a car.
The update:
Joe stopped eating again, and went back to the vet. I got a call when I was in Kelowna saying that Joe was at the vet, and they were going to put him down and was just waiting for me to get home and see him. He was in really rough shape. He hadn't eaten in a week, and the vet said that his kidneys were failing (Urea concentration is supposed to be 80-180, or something, and his was 700+!) He had all the symptoms, not eating because of nausea, drinking lots of water, weakness in the hindquarters, VERY bad breath (not just cat food breath). They had given him some fluids (IV or maybe subcutaneous). I saw him first thing Monday morning. He was really weak, but still walking around and sniffing the place out. So I said I wanted him home for one more day at least. The nurse gave me some special cat food and a syringe and said I could try force feeding him.
So I took him home, gave him a little food, and felt bad that I was making him suffer more. I didn't know what to do...would Joe give me a sign of when it was time to go? The vet said cats can be very sick and not show it, even right until the end. My mom scolded me because she thought he shouldn't have to suffer. I wrestled with thoughts of how don't believe in euthanasia for humans, so why should I do it for a pet? Then again, I've never witnessed anyone with a painful terminal illness. For a human, you are probably willing to give all the care you can afford, but with a pet, where would you draw the line? You have to be reasonable. Should I try the fluid therapy for $100/month? Would I just be prolonging the pain? I stayed at my parents house that week, force feeding him, and sometimes letting him sleep in my bed. He wanted to sit in my lap all the time. I thought I would set a rule, such as if he dropped below 8.5lb, or if he couldn't jump onto a chair anymore, or if he starting throwing up the food I was giving him. He was already down from 13lb to 9lb. Mind you, he was overweight to begin with.
And if he did stabilize, how long could I keep force feeding him? Would I do it for days, weeks, months? Then if I gave up, would I feel guilty?
I tried giving him all sorts of food, cat grass, even cat nip. He would wait in the kitchen when my parents were cooking. He would sniff the food. He would know it was food, but he wouldn't even lick it. The one thing he did eat was a liver flavoured cat vitamin, even though his jaw makes it really hard for him to eat. It was very strange, he wouldn't touch his favourite foods - chicken or fish, but he was persistent about eating this vitamin even though it probably took a lot of painful effort.
I called the vet and she said I could try Whiskas -- even though it isn't very high quality food, a lot of cats really like it. I bought some chicken and liver flavoured stuff and he ate it! So he's been eating a little. He's not gaining any weight, but he isn't losing any weight either. I'm still a little worried. I really don't know how long he can last like this. If cats have nine lives, he's probably up to his last ones.
So now he seems a lot more normal. Sleeping more than usual, but he wants to go outside, and gets tired of being petted, and doesn't always eat fish(!) I don't know how we are going to keep him inside, because he's still fast enough to dart through your legs when you go out, or jump through a window when you are not looking.
