Lola Noche - 22 years old Well, I am embarrassed to go back and read that I wrote two measly entries in 2016. And here it is July of 2021. I swear, I don't know where the time goes. The older one gets, the faster it flies. Ugh! A large part of the reason I haven't written in a few years has to do with a major bout of depression. Although I will be posting quite a bit more about that in later posts, this morning, I want to focus on something far more important at the moment -- my 22-year-old cat Lola Noche. And yes, you read that correctly -- 22!! I never in a million years thought my sweet, baby Lola would live to be 22. I will tell you, though, I never had children, and Lola has been with me since she was about 10 weeks old, so she is my child (at least the closest thing I'll ever have to one).
Lola and I spent many years doing lots of things together. She moved with me from Atlanta, GA, to Sunnyvale and Santa Barbara, CA. We then moved to Tempe and Phoenix, AZ. We have also lived in MA, PA, and FL. I used to walk her on a leash! She used to travel around coastal California with me. She never minded the car, and she liked walking around looking at the cliffs and the flowers and all the glorious California trees. She and I have had a lot of fun together.
Currently, she is still living on this Earth, but we received bad news on Friday of last week. She is in stage 4 kidney disease, and at this point, we are just keeping her as comfortable as possible. I've known she has kidney disease since 2013. No vet told me this or even noticed it on her labs. It was my Boston pet sitter who told me she believed Lola had kidney disease. She figured this out because Lola was drinking a lot of water and urinating frequently. She had watched enough cats to know the signs. Honestly, when the vet confirmed it back in 2014, I cried often and a lot because I thought her days were numbered then. But she's managed to have a very good life for another 7 years!! It's truly incredible. I have spent a fortune on her, and she's been taking meds for quite some time now, and getting subcutaneous fluids for at least the past year and a half, but it's all been worth it to have these last few years with her. However, she is now dropping poop in random places throughout the house, and she was urinating right outside the cat box for a while. Then I started finding pools of urine in random places. Now she is peeing right where she is lying, which is always on the couch these days. So I have put down lots of towels, and just today I bought some washable, reusable puppy pads to put down. I'm doing an awful lot of laundry. The puppy pads will help because they absorb more than one soiling at a time, and I can wash them.
I realize some of you may be thinking it's time to let her go and euthanize her. Believe me, I'm feeling torn about what to do. I do not want her to suffer, but I don't want to euthanize her if there is still a quality of life left. My vet had me pick up an antibiotic, a phosphate binder, and an iron supplement. She has a higher count of white and red blood cells in her urine, but no infection (YET) so we are hoping to stave one off. Phosphorous is a problem in kitties with kidney disease, and she is also anemic. We are going to see how she is in about two weeks, when the vet will do more lab work to see if these meds and supplements have helped. But if they have not, I will have a major decision to make. Not only is she peeing where she sleeps, but she is very wobbly when walking. She also just sits and stares at walls on a regular basis. She may have dementia.
All I know is that I will continue to give her the best care and all the love and attention I can until she is gone, whether that is from a natural death or euthanasia. As much as I dislike picking up poop in random parts of the house and cleaning up urine on a regular basis, I will not get mad at her or be upset with her. She can't help it, and I just want to keep her comfortable as long as is possible. I love my little Lola Noche. She will be in my heart forever.
Has anyone else dealt with cats and kidney disease? What's the longest your cats have lived?
Lola and I spent many years doing lots of things together. She moved with me from Atlanta, GA, to Sunnyvale and Santa Barbara, CA. We then moved to Tempe and Phoenix, AZ. We have also lived in MA, PA, and FL. I used to walk her on a leash! She used to travel around coastal California with me. She never minded the car, and she liked walking around looking at the cliffs and the flowers and all the glorious California trees. She and I have had a lot of fun together.
Currently, she is still living on this Earth, but we received bad news on Friday of last week. She is in stage 4 kidney disease, and at this point, we are just keeping her as comfortable as possible. I've known she has kidney disease since 2013. No vet told me this or even noticed it on her labs. It was my Boston pet sitter who told me she believed Lola had kidney disease. She figured this out because Lola was drinking a lot of water and urinating frequently. She had watched enough cats to know the signs. Honestly, when the vet confirmed it back in 2014, I cried often and a lot because I thought her days were numbered then. But she's managed to have a very good life for another 7 years!! It's truly incredible. I have spent a fortune on her, and she's been taking meds for quite some time now, and getting subcutaneous fluids for at least the past year and a half, but it's all been worth it to have these last few years with her. However, she is now dropping poop in random places throughout the house, and she was urinating right outside the cat box for a while. Then I started finding pools of urine in random places. Now she is peeing right where she is lying, which is always on the couch these days. So I have put down lots of towels, and just today I bought some washable, reusable puppy pads to put down. I'm doing an awful lot of laundry. The puppy pads will help because they absorb more than one soiling at a time, and I can wash them.
I realize some of you may be thinking it's time to let her go and euthanize her. Believe me, I'm feeling torn about what to do. I do not want her to suffer, but I don't want to euthanize her if there is still a quality of life left. My vet had me pick up an antibiotic, a phosphate binder, and an iron supplement. She has a higher count of white and red blood cells in her urine, but no infection (YET) so we are hoping to stave one off. Phosphorous is a problem in kitties with kidney disease, and she is also anemic. We are going to see how she is in about two weeks, when the vet will do more lab work to see if these meds and supplements have helped. But if they have not, I will have a major decision to make. Not only is she peeing where she sleeps, but she is very wobbly when walking. She also just sits and stares at walls on a regular basis. She may have dementia.
All I know is that I will continue to give her the best care and all the love and attention I can until she is gone, whether that is from a natural death or euthanasia. As much as I dislike picking up poop in random parts of the house and cleaning up urine on a regular basis, I will not get mad at her or be upset with her. She can't help it, and I just want to keep her comfortable as long as is possible. I love my little Lola Noche. She will be in my heart forever.
Has anyone else dealt with cats and kidney disease? What's the longest your cats have lived?
RSS Feed
