An Update About George

MOM

As you know, George is nearing his 17th birthday this summer and since he was diagnosed with renal disease many years ago we're surprised he made it this long.

He's been steadily losing weight and now weighs about 5 1/2 lb.  He's been eating a special diet and getting sub-cutaneous fluids for months to help with  dehydration and we learned how to give the fluids at home.  He doesn't like these treatments.  Last week he stopped eating so my husband and I took him to the vet.  After a blood test and exam the diagnosis is he's progressed to stage 3 kidney disease.  There is nothing that can be done to prevent him from going to the final stage and we don't know how much longer he'll be with us.

The vet explained about the options open to us including blood transfusions and dialysis, but even if we had thousands of dollars to spend on these treatments, we decided that at almost 17, we're not going to subject him to them since it's only postponing the inevitable. 

We've decided to keep him as comfortable as possible as long as his quality of life is good.  He's getting anti-nausea medicine as well as an appetite stimulant and the vet increased the sub-cu fluids to daily. 

Other than not eating, he's acting like his usual self, not hiding away.  He still wants to be with the family, near us.  Even as I write this, he's next to me.