Patch Our Cat Her Story

by Susan
(Wisconsin)

"Patch" has left her footprints on my heart. Patch was left on our doorstep one damp, rainy day in April, along with one of her litter mates, Stripe. They were maybe a week old and we hand raised them, diligently. Patch was a very rambunctious little cat, even early on. She vied for attention every chance she had. She wasn't very playful, but very loving and affectionate.

Last year she started having problems with her kidneys and I bought the "Kidney Support Gold" from Pet Wellbeing. That really worked and after a few months, I stopped giving it to her.
Then she started having problems again, so back on the drops. I kept a daily schedule, maintenance level since then.
Last week, Patch took a turn for the worse and was not taking food often and hiding under the bed. She was still very loving and snuggled me in bed and watched my every move in the bathroom (loved her 'head bumps'). A few days later, I found her mostly under the bed, and she stopped even taking water. I continued to give her water, using a turkey baster, knowing full well that it was the end of her time with us. Saddest 5 days I ever lived...Patch passed in my arms, snuggled against my chest in bed. She was 14 years old.
I was devastated and could barely go about my daily life. Then I started researching kidney failure in cats and apparently, there is much talk going on about the inferior food that we are feeding them. I am in the process of determining what food is best, and already had made the switch from only kibble with a small treat of wet, to generous portion of wet and kibble just out to graze. But, the wet food I chose was probably not the best. Why is there no reliable information on this? It is not easy to search the web and compare brands and I wish there was a site that listed them all, pros and cons with customer reviews.

---