What do you do when absolutely nothing is going right?

Q: Hi Dr, I've seen your q&a and vids, right now I feel helpless it all started with a mandibualr symphysis and when they cleaned her teeth and did blood exam early CKD...well it's been a month and a half she's still have the cerclage but yesterday she stopped walking, her back legs just not responding at all?

You set out to fix one problem—maybe it’s a dental—and now there’s a cerclage wire wrapped in the mouth. You take bloodwork to get ahead of things, and CKD enters the chat. And just as you're catching your breath, something else pops up. Ataxia. A new question mark with no clear answer.

I want you to hear this:

You are not doing it wrong.
This is just really hard.

This will make you feel helpless.

You may feel helpless, because every path you take leads straight into another brick wall—no doors, no windows, just more weight.

So sometimes, the only direction left is inward.

When we look inward, Ask yourself:

What does my cat need from me, right now?
Not in theory. Not next week. Right now.

Maybe it’s a chin rub.
Maybe it’s a warm blanket.
Maybe it’s you, just being there.
Maybe it’s their favourite food, even though it’s not the perfect renal formula.
Maybe it’s hope.

Because here’s the truth we often forget:

You are doing something. Just by showing up. Just by caring. Your steady, unrelenting care—is treatment, too. Peace lives in the next kind, doable step. Start there.

Ataxia can be helped (https://vimeo.com/104575332?share=copy). CKD can be managed. Wires eventually come out. But piled all at once? It’s a lot. And it’s difficult to it alone.

So take it one breath, one step at a time.

You’re not alone.

— Dr. Kris