My 20 yr old cat, Lupita

[Dolores141]

Lupita is my 20 yr old cat.  I'm not sure why she is still with me but I am grateful for every day she greets me at the door when I come home.  She was first diagnosed with kidney problems when she was 13yrs old and she has had a few bouts of poor kidney function but she always bounced back.  She is going through another tough time and the vet says that her kidney function is poor. She has lost alot of weight and she throws up more than usual.  She weighs 5lbs. 3oz. She continues to eat and drink plenty of water everyday.  She has been on a special diet (Feline KD) since she was 13yrs old. I'm afraid she might not bounce back this time.  

5 years ago, I had an 18 yr old cat named Henri who died from complications from kidney failure.  The end was hard on both of us even though I knew she tried to get better because she didn't want to leave me but one day she looked into my eyes and she told me that even though she loved me, she had to leave.  By that time, she was anorexic and she weighed about 4 lbs, she had suffered alot and she had that ammonia smell for a few days.  If Lupita isn't going to get better, when will I know that it is time to help her cross over into heaven.  Is it when she loses more weight, when she doesn't use her litter box on her own anymore, when her body emits the ammonia smell or when I see that look in her eyes?

She hasn't thrown up in almost 3 days! The vet says that he can give her fluids when she needs them.  If she starts throwing up allot again, he says that he will check to see if she has pancreatitis and treat her for that but he says that treatment for pancreatius isn't always effective.  We will continue to do everything for Lupita so that she can continue to enjoy living.  I don't want to let her go but I will if I know that it is time.  When will I know that it is time?

[Savas]

I usually go by when a cat stops eating and bathing. Mind you, this is for untreatable situations, like old age. As long as a cat is bathing especially (as well as eating!) it's still *happy*. They make it pretty clear when they're ready to go.
     The only problem is sometimes they don't go peacefully. I hate to get into this, but if you want to wait as long as possible, you should look into your vet's emergency hours and talk to him about availability for an immediate emergency visit if she suffers a catastrophic event that will put her in distress or pain (from kidney shut down or the like).
     Be prepared for a very heart breaking trip to the vet then, but do keep in mind if you go this route, that the 1/2 hour to hour of suffering is a trade off for all the extra time you had together at the end with her happy!