The NINE LIVES of Chico Morales
A tale about the nine lives of Chico Morales leads to discussion of compassionate care of cats.
A tale of endurance
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By Jon Geller, DVM
I walked into the Morales' barn to visit one of my favorite
patients, Chico, a 15-year old orange short-haired male
cat. Chico had been losing weight for several months, and
drinking more water. His coat was dry and ragged, and he'd
become shockingly thin. This worried me; because changes in
body weight are the most significant indicator of
underlying disease in cats, and I estimated Chico to weigh
no more than six pounds. I scratched his head and lifted
him out of the wheelbarrow where he was crouched like a
roasting turkey, then took Chico inside to get an accurate
weight.
The Moraleses offered me some hot coffee, and I turned to
the torn, coffee-stained folder that contained Chico's
medical records before completing Chico's exam on the
kitchen table. Normally feisty and resistant, Chico didn't
resist my probing. His eyes seemed glazed over as he stared
ahead.
According to his owners, Chico had not eaten anything in
several days, not even the tuna fish and turkey offered in
place of his regular diet. I pushed my fingers behind his
prominent ribs, and could feel two very small, irregular
kidneys.
Chico was in kidney failure, an irreversible and
devastating disease. As toxins build up in the blood
stream, overwhelming nausea causes vomiting and loss of
appetite. Neurotoxins cause disorientation and induce a
comatose-like state. Valuable proteins in the bloodstream
are lost through the kidneys, causing a downward spiral of
weight loss and weakness. It is inhumane to allow any cat
to endure the end stage effects of renal failure.
I stared down at Chico's folder, planning my words
carefully before telling the Morales about his death
sentence. We had all been through a lot together. I perused
his record, amazed at what he had survived:
All kittens should be tested for feline leukemia virus and
FIV, and negative kittens should be vaccinated for feline
leukemia as well as the other three viral diseases.
JUNE, 1986
I first met Chico when he was a four-month-old kitten
living in the barn with his littermates. As I scruffed him
for an exam, I noticed his eyes matted with discharge, his
breathing noisy and congested. His coat was unkempt and
disheveled. Like many barn cats, he had never been
vaccinated.
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