Feline Friday - Possible tough choices

Several weeks ago I wrote about my adventures taking Baggy to the vet (see post called The Waiting Room). We have spoken to our vet. His kidney levels remain a little high (really no change from the blood work 6 months before).

The level of treatment we are willing to do for a 17 year old cat is less than if he was younger. We have lived that life of crazy meds and treatments and it is a very tough life.

a sleeping snoring cat!

This is what we have agreed to try.
-The special low protein kidney diet
-blood work in a month
-urine test in a month
-blood pressure test

I worry that doing the more invasive diagnostic tests may actually do more harm than good (would he even make it through an anesthetic? At this point in his life, Baggy isn't suffering. He is actually happier than he has ever been. He can be a little stiff with his arthritis but has no other symptoms. In fact at this time he has no kidney symptoms. This is actually surprising. At this stage in the game (he has already lived past average), we will be willing to do little things like diet to help and of course we would give him a few basic pills (especially for pain), but we are not going to get into the crazy live we lived with Loki.

Aside:  My vet said that even the staff who wasn't at the clinic 2 years ago through the Loki era (my words not his) know about him (usually when I am dealing with a vet I don't know one of the first things they say is "was your dog Loki?"), that is how unique, and perhaps crazy, his treatment was. The Loki legacy lives on!

I am sort of starting to feel like an expert in messy pet health matters. Not a hobby I love, but one that is not so hard when your pet has become a senior! It does make it different, and I know there will be hard days ahead, but I know we will get through them. For now we will enjoy our Baggy and shower him with as much love and affection as he will tolerate (he is a you can love me on my terms kinda guy!)