Posted by Lisa on August 20, 2000 at 11:17:55:
Hello everyone. Well, it is confirmed that my Ig Stevie does have kidney/liver failure. So basically at this point, he is shutting down and it is a very long grueling process for me to witness. I can't even force-feed him water anymore (he won't swallow), not anything. He is looking very dehydrated, his eyes are sinking in. Everytime I think "this is it" and finally feel some relief that he is at peace, he pops back up and comes back to life and moves around again. I called the vet who is on-call today and she said that basically with these guys when they are shutting down their breathing slows (he takes a breath like every 2 minutes by opening mouth up wide) and they sort of go into hibernation. This could go on for days, she said. I don't feel comfortable euthenizing him, it hurts me too bad, but I don't want to see hime like this. I suppose it will get worse over the next few days. Has anyone been through this and can offer advice or think I should euthenize because it is going to get worse each day? I had an ig once that had gone into seizures for days before she died and I don't know if this is what comes next with this. I can't bear to watch that again....
Lisa