Pets

Can you help us with hospice care for our 18-yr old indoor calico cat, Pearl (named sort of after NPR)?

She gets the right kidney diet, her blood tests and urine tests show she is OK; thyroid only marginal; blood pressure kept down with pills; she has arthritis (we think from her movements); several signs of feline dementia. Hiding behavior, sporadic disintertest in food; no interest in being petted.

She maintains her fur well, but in grooming can't twist herself so well to reach her tummy. Her litter habits are unchanged. She drinks a lot from water dishes we have in several places.

Sudden bouts of dry 'coughing' not connected to hairballs;

Well-looked after by a CityCats vet ($1100) and a second opinion at Angel Memorial ($595). We know that cats are crazy about hiding their pain.

The 2nd opinion confirmed the first and suggested that Munchausen syndrome (by or without proxy) is for us to accept it that the cat is dying, probably over the next months.

We want to make her last days comfortable. Analgesics in cats seem difficult. We now give her gabapentin.

Any advice would be much welcomed.