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Assess the side-effects and risks of treatment.
Modern anesthetics are very safe, but weekly
anesthesia for dialysis sessions is stressful for
an older cat's body. Can your cat survive
comfortably, albeit for a shorter period, without
a potentially distressing course treatment? How
will he react to a severely restricted lifestyle?
Some diseases are infectious though he may stay
relatively healthy for a while but can you keep
him from infecting other cats?
Remember - he thinks in terms of current
quality of life, not of life expectancy. His
concept of the future is limited to the short
term. He doesn't make long-term plans. Age is a
winding down, it is a natural process not a
disease. You can treat many of the distressing
symptoms related to age, but no-one can cheat
death forever. Without death, there would be no
room for the newborn.
Home
Nursing & Giving Medication
Will other commitments prevent me from
giving medication or from getting my cat to
the vet regularly?
Who will give treatment when I am away from
home for any reason (e.g. work)?
How often must he go for check-ups?
Does my vet do house calls or out-of-hours
appointments?
Must I take my cat for check-ups at the
clinic because it needs specialist
facilities/equipment?
Can I afford long-term treatment for the
cat?
Do I have pet insurance and does it cover
this sort of treatment?
Life-prolonging treatment may mean daily
medication and nursing but not all owners can cope
with this and an extremely uncooperative cat may
be impossible to medicate at home. Can you both
manage daily trips to the vet clinic for
treatment? A determined cat may resist all
attempts to nurse it until it is too weak to
resist, by which time treatment may be
ineffective. You may have to settle for a shorter
life expectancy without medication.
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