Joe

[catlover11]

On January 1, 2009 Joe made a new friend in my Beyli, who I lost and he was also just over 15 years old, but I was only lucky enough to have him for nine years. It would have been our 10th New Years Eve together. He also had chronic renal failure so I completely understand your pain and I hope that when Joe was with you, you were able to get the necessary assistance from your vet in order to make his life as comfortable as possible as I did. There is an even stronger bond that is formed between us and our furry babies when going through this disease (and other roller coaster diseases as well I imagine) so the emptiness when they leave when they are gone is felt deeply. Not a day goes by when you don't think about them and perhaps shed a tear in tribute to the love you shared. I also had my best friend cremated so that he will be with me until we meet again.

If anyone else is going through this disease with their beloved cat I highly recommend consulting www.felinecrf.org - and there is also a very helpful forum. So much help is offered from the members who have or are going through this - dare I say, more valuable information that you can even get from some of the veterinarians out there. A diagnosis of chronic renal failure is NOT a death sentence if diagnosed early enough - it can be managed with the proper foods (not necessarily prescription diets from the vets as cats don't usually like them - Wellness, Evo, Merrick, Eagle Pack, and others kept Beyli alive) - as well as medications and fluids. Beyli lived a happy, active 4 years after diagnosis and I did not lose him to CRF at the end.