Kitty hospice

I have a 16 year old American Short Hair (read mutt).  Caroline has had some medical issues along the way.  She has had a heart murmer since she was a kitten, and was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer about 7 years ago - does a cat treated with radioactive iodine have 18 half lives? - but she has been mostly healthy until about a year ago.  Then she was diagnosed with kidney disease.  We switched her to KD cat food, and her enzymes have been stable, though she has continued to lose weight.

I went to the vet this week and just got the lab results back.  Her creatinine has gone way up.  The vet is doing his best to prepare us for what is coming, but I am feeling weepy.  She has had a good life.  We have decided that we are not going to use any extreme measures (with potential side effects and pain) to prolong her life, but are giving her medication to control vomitting, and as long as she tolerates it, that will help to make her feel better.  Think of it as kitty hospice. The vet says that as long as she continues to eat, use her litterbox, and move around, we don't need to intervene.  When she stops eating it means that everything is shutting down and it will be time to help her to die peacefully. 

I can't imagine her not being with us.  I can't imagine not having a cat and my husband keeps saying she is the "one and only."  He does not want another kitty.  She has been a member of our family for a very long time.  Hopefully this stage will last a long time, but I need to prepare since there is no way to know whether it will be fast or slow.

I love my sweet Caroline

PS  This is not meant to belittle or make fun of hospice programs.  My father and both my uncles benefitted from well run hospice programs and they provide invaluable service to families handling end of life situations.