Zachary is dying

[Pajarita]

Poor Zachary came to me 3 years ago. He was given to me as a lesser sulfur but, with a fresh food diet, he molted completely into a citron in two years. He has spent 17 years + in a cage where I later housed a blind cockatiel so you can all figure how small the cage was - he also had a bad diet (free-fed seeds which later turned into pellets with human food on the side but not all the time, either). When he first came, blood tests came out within normal ranges although both his liver and kidney values were almost borderline so he got liver cleansing supplements and lots of fresh food which he really enjoyed. Last week, I noticed one day that he wasn't his usual eager self for his food and that he wasn't calling his sweet "Hi, Zachary" to me so I started paying closer attention to him. In two days, his poop quantity had decreased and his urates had turned yellow (he showed no respiratory distress or diarrhea) so I made an appt for him at the vet for Saturday. Blood was taken and he was put on Baytril as well as metacam as a precaution. But the results came earlier this week and his kidneys are gone... He has rapidly deteriorated in this last few days and he is now in my dining room where I can watch him all day long, he has a heating pad at the bottom of his cage and I am handfeeding him twice a day as well as keeping him hydrated by squirting water into his beak but, of course, this is not going to make him better, it's just for keeping him comfortable this last few days. I will be taking him again this Saturday to the vet and he will be put down before his organs start shutting down so he will not suffer unduly.

Poor little Zachary! He was not really people friendly but he was a sweet, sweet bird, never even trying to bite. People do such numbers on these poor animals...

[liz]

Pajarita, I am so so sorry.
I know that there is nothing I can say to make you feel better. You have been good to him and shown him that he is loved. It doesn't make up for the years before but you brought him back from the dark side.
You are right to give him mercy so as not to suffer a lingering death.
My thoughts are with you and Zachary.

[Wolf]

Always a difficult decision to have to make and there is nothing that I can say or do to make it easier for you, but this is the best way to go as it will reduce his suffering. I am so saddened by this string of events that I am truly at a loss for words to say other than to hope that knowing that this is the best choice given the circumstances will help to ease your heart and mind some.

[Pajarita]

Well, it was done this morning at 8:30 am because he had a bad seizure last evening. I also took my teacup 17-18 year old chorkie to be put down but the vet said he doesn't see any welfare issues going on with her so he took blood, prescribed phenobarbital and a calorie/vitamin/mineral supplement for her and postponed the decision until the results come back (her liver and kidneys have been malfunctioning for a while and she has been on baby food, water and supplements syringed into her mouth three times a day for a while but she had a mild seizure last week, another one on Wednesday then two yesterday and one this morning on our way to the vet).

It's been a terrible month for me. Three weeks ago, I lost my beloved shih-Tzu, Michiche, to congestive heart failure and died in my arms, in the car parked on the shoulder of the highway with the hazard lights on, on the way to the emergency clinic. She had always had a bad heart and that was the reason why the puppy mill where she was a breeder gave her up to the rescue group I worked with in Penn. I fostered her and later adopted her. Her heart had gotten worse as she got older and she was on 4 different medications for it. One day, I was sitting at the computer when I saw her panting for no good reason so I checked her out and saw that her gums and tongue were turning a bit blue so I ran upstairs to get dressed, put her on the bed to put my boots on and she stopped breathing. I gave her CPR and she came back, wrapped her in a blankie and ran out the door but we never made it to the clinic, she stopped breathing on the way there and I couldn't bring her back. Then, last week, one of my healthy cats died -BooBoo, a feral kitten I had found and raised and the one 'good' cat that had no medical or emotional issues. Only 14 years old and in perfect weight, eating, drinking, peeing, pooping normally, grooming himself and acting normal and, one morning, he is curled up inside a container dead. Then Tita starts with the seizures and Zachary goes downhill in a week. Bad, bad month! But that's what happens when you have so many old animals... It's just a matter of time and we will be losing more soon because Mikey (dog) is hanging in there but, at 17 and over a 100 lbs is ancient, Bunny (dog), at 16, it's a miracle that she hasn't gone into liver failure after taking phenobarbital for her epilepsy for so many years, Coqui (cat), at 15, born with neurological problems and chronic pancreatitis for years, LiluMisu (cat), 21, and with both kidney and liver malfunction and slow thyroid... then we have Rocky (dog)16 years old, Neo (cat) at 17, Frankie (cat and Booboo's brother) at 15... See what I mean?

[liz]

You have had a bad time. You need a big hug and then a pat on the back for being so good to them.

Bruce is 18, deaf, blind and he can't smell but with his heart medication he acts like a puppy. We can't move furniture. Rachel moved the bed in her room and Bruce could not get out of the room.
Fancy Cat is 18 with all her senses but is crippled with arthritis. The last 3 years I did not expect them to get through winter. With them both having such problems I have been told that they should be put down but as long as they can find joy in this life I will care for them and love them.
If they get to the point where there is no joy then I will give them mercy.

[Pajarita]

Yes, that's exactly the way I feel. If the problem is that they require extensive care and/or medicines, I don't mind doing it as long as they still retain quality of life. My concern is always that they don't suffer and I was worried about Tita's seizures but, apparently, the phenobarbital is working because she hasn't had a single one since we came back from the vet... of course, it might be too soon to tell and she might start again but, until now, she has her momma taking care of her. Now, let's see what the blood work says...