I've tried really hard not to pressure mrs chewie into euthanizing this cat. but at some point do the humans that cohabitate count?

She has a serious problem with euthanizing animals before they're ready.

Have you talked to a vet? There may be a better food for the cat. Diarrhea that bad is not a sign of good health. You could try adding some cooked rice to her diet, if you put chicken broth or bouillon cubes in the water, she'll like it.

Do you have a photo of her? Preferably in tubgirl pose.

Mrs chewie is a licensed vet tech and works at a vet specialty hospital. so we've kinda been through teh wringer on options. She is going to talk to one of the vets tomorrow to see if there's anything we can do for Ancient Cat.

We did talk about it over dinner and bawled at the table. The waitress thought we were nuts.

Here is a pic of Ancient Cat. Her name's actually Itsy. She is the gray one. She doesn't weigh anywhere near as much now.

≡ Click to see image ≡

Poor Itsy & Moms.

I worked briefly at a vet, part time, and have an old cat I just took in on Saturday with a respiratory infection (he's probably fine).

The question lies in the "before they are ready" part, and from what I saw at my vet job, well, if you work there, you have to believe in and see the good in euthanasia. So my instinct would be to trust her judgement because she's around it all the time. I find it hard to belive a pro would let an animal suffer. It sounds like the cat is in a pretty bad place, and it won't be long, if that's any consolation. You did good raising the issue, it'll help the missus get prepared.

That's all totally fwiw, as I'm not living it - respectfully sorry if I over advised.

Been there. My late cat's IBD eventually turned into small cell cancer of the intestine, and she died of natural causes. But there were many smelly, messy months of cleanup before that. I thought about euthanasia, but I thought it would be morally wrong because the cat wasn't suffering, just making me suffer. I'm glad that Nature made the decision for me.

There was a steroidal medicine, maybe it was prednisone, I can't remember, that helped for a while.

There are no easy answers. I wish you all the best in this troubling time.

Thanks you guys. Yeah I hope nature takes care of this one also. *sigh*

Sucks anyway. I hate making that decision about a beloved pet. I had a friend who kept putting off the inevitable for her cat. The poor thing had no quality of life. At least your Ancient Cat is still active. I hope the vet can suggest something for the diarrhea to help. Good luck.