Is there any way your vet does a home visit? If not, try to find one who
does. Ask the vet to give a sedative so that your boy is asleep before
he actually uses the eutnanaisia drug. That will make everything easier
for everyone, and most of all, for your boy.

Sorry to hear you have such a tough decision ahead.

Hugs

Helen M

I second Helen's suggestion for calling in an in-home veterinary visit for
euthanasia.  There is a point in a cat's life where all you are doing is
prolonging your pet's pain and it sure sounds like you've past that pivotal
moment.

<snip>

This doesn't answer your question, but have you looked over the Feline
Chronic Renal Failure site?

http://www.felinecrf.com/

My old boy, who is 15 as well, was diagnosed with CRF a year ago.
We've been giving him sub-q therapy twice a week and his numbers are
now in the normal range!  This doesn't happen very often, but I can
attest that it doesn't necessarily take thousands of dollars to treat a
cat with "kidney issues."  And, as you may learn if you continue to
research CRF around the net (there are some great yahoo groups) K/D is
not considered a good way to go for cats with this condition.  This
food has way too many carbs and is way too low protein to keep your cat
healthy, IMHO.  Better to switch to a high-quality food with meat as
the first listed ingrediant.  Many folks who kept their cats on food
like K/D noticed that their cat's muscles were literally wasting away.

The other thing to consider discussing with your vet is having your
cat's teeth cleaned, as there is a high correlation between bad teeth
and disease, both in animals *and* people.  Sasha's health improved
greatly once we had his teeth done.  I hope you consider treating your
kitty before putting him down.  All my best to you and your fuzzywuzzy.

dragon

My cat was diagnosed with blood tests with kidney disease 5 years ago,
and although, wobbly in the legs and not always going in his litter
tray, is still plodding on.  He has been on
Waltham renal support pouches cat food. Twice now, when he got bad, he
had one weeks worth of antibiotic injections and they seemed to put him
back to normal.  

Best Wishes
Chris

Look, I don't know what it costs to put him to sleep, but whatever you
are thinking for alternative; throw it outcha mind!

Yule goto jail!

Better leave that cat alone to live out his days in peace. good
heaven's if it was me, I'd be like

hey hey hey! don't push to the grave! I always say! hey hey hey

Call around and ask the vets in your area.

We moved across town, so I don't go to my old vet as much anymore, but
i did last week when I had to put Maynard to sleep, and this is why.

The vet will come out to the car and put my dog or cat to sleep, in the
privacy of my van, with my cat or dog relaxed on my lap. No office
stress for my cat or dog. And no crying in public for me.

I have my mom take me since I know I will be crying. She calls ahead to
let them know what we want. When we get there, she goes in, pays, and
fills out the papers, and returns to the car. When it is our turn, they
come out and do it. So, I have a private wait and last goodbye. No
metal tables, carriers, or other added stress.

I have done 2 cats and a dog this way. All went peacefully, in my lap.
Maynard was kind of sitting up and just slowly slumped down. He was
gone before the shot was done.

It could not have gone any better.

On the other hand, Jasper, the injured stray, died at home, and it was
NOT peaceful. It was in the middled of the nigt, so I could not get him
to a vet. He convulsed and vomited for half an hour before he died. He
was either in horrible distress, or so out of it that he would not have
known I was there. It was very traumatic, and it is still to date, the
worst day and memory of my life. That was 5 years ago July. The only
positive to that, is that I stopped doubt my decision about my first
cat and dog. And I had no doubts about Maynard. Having it done by a vet
is far better than taking your chances at home. It may happen well with
some pets, but dying at home peacefully is not guaranteed.

So, I would really recommend checking with local vets. Also check the
websites for vets that do low-cost spay/neuter. Many of them are
located in lower income areas, so all of their rates are lower. My old
vet is in a lower income area, so their rates are lower. It was $30 to
euthanize Maynard.

Also ask if you get to keep the body. Some places don't let you keep
them, so they include a disposal fee or cremation fee. We have always
taken them home to let the other cats and dogs see them and know it is
goodbye. Then we bury them.

First, my sincere condolences to both you and your cat.  These
decisions are never easy.  

I had one cat with kidney failure who did pass on in her sleep and it
was a good thing, I think.
 
I also had to put down my greatly beloved, if elderly, cat Victor
about a year ago.  He had a very painful cancer of his face.

When the time came,  I had a vet come to the home rather than force
him to face a trip to the office, which always scared him.  It wasn't
cheap but much better for him.

I knew it was time to stop holding on to him when he stopped eating
entirely.   Previous to that I had insisted the vet give him pain meds
we could give him at home.  Some people are determined to call you
cruel if you don't put your cat down at the first sign of disease.
But the pain meds worked well and he had a good quality of life for 2
extra months.

When it came time to euthanize him,  I first gave him a double dose of
his pain meds ahead of time, and held him the whole time the vet gave
him an anesthetic/sedative (so he would be unconscious and not scared
and so the needle wouldn't hurt).  Then we put him on a pillow on a
table and the vet gave him a shot directly into the heart and that was
it.

It's much more humane for the kitty to do this at home, but watching
that final shot is hard.  I kind of wish now that I hadn't watched the
last shot.  But Victor had a calm and peaceful death

You should know that you can hydrate your cat yourself at home, with
an IV bag.  It's very easy, and it's significantly cheaper than having
the vet do it.   We hydrated both Victor and our other old cat for a
long time.  Regular hydration at home can make the cat feel much
better for days and can prolong their lives.

Good luck.

___________________________________________________              

             Camilla Cracchiolo
              Registered Nurse
            Los Angeles, California

camilla4@mindspring.com     webpage temporarily down