​

When is it time?   Tommy Boy

Our caregivers have done some truly incredible work saving the lives of pets who even the vets thought wouldn't survive. You'd be amazed what hourly care can do to help a pet through some medical crises. Several pets come to mind but Waters kitty was our most miraculous recovery. The vet gave her 3 days, she went on to live over 10 years! 

So this brings us more recent to feral boy Tommy kitty who is suffering kidney failure. Being feral and to have the ability to monitor him more closely ( are we peeing, pooing, how much are you actually eating???) and provide treatment we've had him caged for the last few weeks. For a feral boy he has made sudden, incredible progress in allowing us to interact with him So much so he wants head butts. 

His recent tests results suggest this sweet old boy is on borrowed time. So we had to put much thought into what his care plan would be. Yesterday he helped us when he decided he wanted out of the cage. Now that he's currently stable we decided this was best for him, so we made a deal with him. He would still get his treatments and care at times in-cage. BUT, he would be allowed the majority of time out-of-cage. 

There is really no right or wrong when dealing with a terminally ill pet. The people who know the pet best should be the decision makers. Keeping in mind the quality of life for that individual pet. Humans are very opionated - always thinking themselves to be right. Never let anyone guilt you about the choice you make about your pet, after all you know the pet best.

For Tommy what's best for him is to be allowed to do cat-like things: explore, nap in his favorite places, watch the birds out the window, enjoy a favorite meal (not because he's hungry, but because he truly enjoys it). Of course, because he is still feral by nature monitoring him will be a little more challenging. Often feral cats (and many domesticated) will find a dark, hide-away to curl up in when they are not feeling well. So for him going outside in the play area will be off limits (we'd rather not spend hours of our time kitty searching). Tommy could have days, weeks or even months who's to say - there is no golden rule. All that counts is that each day he is enjoying life.