There has been a few times when a client has come in with their sick pet, their very sick pet, and they have elected to just let them be at home, without having an exam or a visit to their veterinarian as they figured there was nothing left to do, and it breaks my heart.
Not only has the owner been suffering while watching their family member decline, stop eating, unable to move, unable to hold their bladder etc. but their pet has undoubtedly been suffering as well. Now there are a lot of factors that go into whether or not an owner comes in to the clinic, sadly economics can be one of them but I think for a large portion of owners they legitimately believe that there is nothing left to do.
Unfortunately, many of these cases (for me at least) have been animals in renal failure. The unfortunate piece is that there are things to do to help these pets be more comfortable.
Palliative care is a growing area of veterinary medicine, with some veterinarians even practicing strictly palliative medicine. While it is true as our pets age, some problems cannot be ‘cured’ but that does not mean they cannot be ‘managed’. We still owe it to our pets to keep them free from pain and distress.
Strategies include:
- proper diets to help optimize nutrition and calories in sick animals(often sick pets either don’t want to eat or don’t eat much)
- pain management: this can be addressed through many different ways, the main way is through medications and supplements, some also utilize therapeutic lasers and acupuncture, some may even utilize special swimming pools
- support supplements to help kidneys or the liver, anti nausea medications to help promote appetite, heart medications, blood pressure medications (to help reduce stress on kidneys), supplements to help alter absorption of minerals that can be hard on kidneys
I understand that all of those options can be overwhelming, but the point is, there are many many things we can do for our pets. Your veterinarian is there to help guide you through the process. They can let you know what to expect for your pet, what things we can do for your pet. I’ve included a link to more information about hospice and palliative care below.
PET Pulse 