Cats, cats, cats

M0mmyof3

For about two weeks after Charcoal passed and then getting Princess, I swore he kept coming around to make sure we were okay. Several times a day and even at night, I would hear his bell. A few times I even swore I saw his shadow darting around the house.

I still put all of his ornaments on the tree and display his stocking at Christmas time.

Now I have to start getting ornaments for Grace and a stocking of her own.

Rah2464

Wren44

They definitely seem to linger for a while after they go. Perhaps you're right about them making sure you're ok.

Miracle story from the shelter. An adult orange tabby, Marmalade, was adopted and put in a cardboard box for the journey home. Evidently the adopters stopped at Petco for supplies and wanted to show off their new cat. The cat leaped out of the box and made it thru the front door that opens automatically. One of the dog walkers saw the cat hiding under a bush. She took her dog back to the shelter and came back for the cat. Petco had the owner's phone and let them know. Petco said they'd been looking for over an hour without success. We need to emphasize to keep the box closed till they're home. It's happened before and didn't end well.

M0mmyof3

That's why I always kept my cats in the crate until we got inside our house.

CeliaC

Hello, cat ladies. I swear I get "kitty ghoster" visits from my two dear departed cats, Ben and Ivy. Love the catching butterflies sentiment.

Amica

My best friend Willow, my 16-year-old cat, died overnight. She was the best cat I ever had the privilege of sharing some time on earth with. She was a one-person cat, a feral rescue. She was never far from wherever I was, and slept next to me from the day I got her. Most cats disappear when they go off to die, but she lay on her bed, on the pillow next to where I sleep and lay there oriented towards me, loyal and loving to the end. I will miss her so much.

Wren44

Amica, I'm so sorry to hear about Willow. She sounds like a real heart kitty. Please accept my condolences. There will be lots of good times for you to remember.

Amica

thank you wren.

Rah2464

Oh Amica, sending you hugs on the loss of your Willow. I know how hard this is.

Snickersmom

Amica - so very sorry to hear about Willow. They so quickly become a part of us and it's so hard too let them go. Thinking of you.

Ann

kathindc

Amica, so sorry to hear about Willow. My sincerest condolences.

Amica

thank you all. She was very sick, and I knew the end was coming, but it is still so hard. It is going to be a difficult adjustment to not have her here, my constant companion. I appreciate your condolences.

CeliaC

Amica,

So sorry to hear of your dear cat crossing the rainbow bridge. Even though they are very sick, it is never easy to let them go.

Amica

thanks CeliaC --- Willow was from Kentucky, a tiny feral cat that never weighed more than a little over 5 lbs. The last while she was down to less than three pounds, she was skin and bones. But even the night before last night she was lying on my bed, on her pillow, getting up to "check" on me, purring, happy, seemingly content. My constant refrain to her, all her life, was "why are you such a happy little cat?", she was always purring. Last night she just deteriorated very quickly. She was my anchor for dealing with my diagnosis, I am going to have to find a new anchor, or draw on inner strength (which I don't seem to have much of), or something....

corky60

Amica, I am so sorry for your loss.  A new feline companion will not be Willow, but she can nurture your soul.  Give yourself time to grieve and then maybe you'll want to consider adopting another cat.

We lost our Siamese Jasmine yesterday.  Much like your Willow, she deteriorated quickly.  I was sure that she was suffering with her kidneys in complete failure so we had her euthanized.  A lot of guilt with that choice.  We will bury her ashes in our garden where she liked to explore and soak up the sun.

Wren44

Corky60, Sorry for your loss. I think euthanization is a gift as it means the poor kitty will not have unbearable pain at the end. We lost one to kidney failure and I think he was ready to call it quits when we chose euthanasia. I know what you mean about the guilt. At the shelter support group we say it's always either too early or too late.

Amica

corky60

I am so sorry for your loss of Jasmine. Siamese are special cats I think. I do have another cat, but she is a more aloof type, not the constant companion that Willow was. Don't feel guilty about euthanizing, it's better she did not suffer. I worry that I let things go for too long. But I was always watching for signs that she was in pain, and the vet didn't seem to think she was. Still I worry that Willow was uncomfortable at the end, but I think she quickly lapsed into unconsciousness, so I hope she did not suffer unduly.

Rah2464

Corky60, sorry about the loss of your Jasmine. I so love a talking kitty cat and Siamese are the best! And you definitely did the right thing by putting her comfort above your needs. Euthanizing a pet is such an unselfish act. We all know how our four footed friends hide from us how difficult things really are for them.

Snickersmom

Corky60 - so very sorry for your loss. It's never an easy decision but sometimes cats don't let us know when they are suffering.

CeliaC

Corky60 - Deepest sympathies on the loss of you companion cat, Jasmine. What a lovely name for a Siamese. Letting them go is hard, but she is no longer suffering.

feelingfeline

Amica and Corky sincere condolences to both of you and I hope both Willow and Jasmine are also catching butterflies in heaven.

lovepugs77

Amica and Corky, I'm sorry for your losses. It is so hard to lose them - they really do become a part of your heart.

I think I am about to lose my heart kitty, my 16.5 year old Diana. She just hasn't been herself for the last couple of weeks, and is sleeping all the time. She still eats a little, and follows me to bed, but I know something is wrong. We haven't been to the vet because I feel like at her age there isn't going to be much they can do, at least that I would be willing to put her through.

corky60

Lovepugs, it is such an individual decision but the vet may be able to run a blood test to see if Diana is hyperthyroid.  He may also be able to make her more comfortable.  I wish you all the best.

DebAL

hello all. I've been away from the boards for a bit. Amica, I am sorry for the loss of willow. When you mentioned she was oriented towards you I'm sure she was thanking you for her wonderful life. Corky. I'm sorry for your loss of jasmine. It is so hard to make that decision but a very unselfish one. Lovepugs, I hope Diana feels better.

lovepugs77

Thanks, Corky. I'm struggling with whether to go to the vet. A few years ago we had a dog that died of kidney failure. We spent about two weeks shuttling him back and forth to the vet for subcutaneous fluids, blood tests, etc., spent thousands of dollars, and still had to have him euthanized. I honestly felt like we waited too long to do it, but he was really my fiance's dog, so he had to make the decision. Anyway, watching him suffer and deteriorate repeatedly was just absolute torture for me. Every time he would get sub-q fluids, he'd improve a little bit, and then deteriorate again. We were all miserable. I can't go through that with Diana - when I get upset over things like this, I get physically ill. This is selfish, but I just can't take it. A part of me also just knows that at some point you have to accept that they just can't live forever, and that she's had a great life.

I just realized that this makes my vet sound awful, so in his defense, he never led us on. All of this started on December 23, and most of it was with the local emergency vet because our regular vet was out of town. Once our regular vet was back from his holidays, he examined the dog, did blood work and x-rays (he also had a mass on his liver - the emergency vet wanted to operate to remove it, but we said no) and gave him some fluids once to see how he would respond. Then we repeated the blood work a couple of days later, and he was honest with us that we needed to just take him home and love him for a couple of days, then let go.

Amica

lovepugs77

It is of course your decision. But honestly I believe that at least one visit to the vet for Diana would be worthwhile. You just never know that it might not be something that is relatively simple and easy to fix, like a hairball. That can make them stop eating. My cat Willow started to go downhill a couple of years ago. A simple thyroid test, and then daily thyroid medication, gave her a couple of more years of quality living, she was a very happy alert cat for most of that time. Same with kidney disease,, which a lot of older cats get. An easy daily medication can extend their life for quite a long time, and it can be quality time. I believe it's also better to know instead of just guessing or assuming nothing can be done. If the vet checks her out and then gives you options, then you can make an informed decision. I wish you the best, I know it's hard.

thanks all for your continued condolences on the loss of my Willow, my once-in-a-lifetime feline best friend.

Salamandra

I'm so sorry about Willow and Jasmine.

I found my kitty almost six years ago now. After I got diagnosed, I bought cat health insurance for her! It was kind of a weird response maybe? But with all the emotional upheaval of this year (lost a parent too, after years of deterioration with dementia) I thought how hard it would be to lose her too, for something that might be treatable if the diagnostics were relatively affordable.

They are such remarkable creatures.

Rah2464

Lovepugs, hoping your kitty Diana feels better. Poor girl.

lovepugs77

Update: I took Diana to the vet this morning. They did some blood work and her kidney, liver, and thyroid levels are all good. Her glucose was slightly elevated, but that could have been because she was stressed - they had a hard time getting blood, and just being at the vet's office is stressful enough. Her white blood cell counts were slightly elevated and she was dehydrated, so they gave her some fluids,an antibiotic shot, an anti-nausea shot and sent us home with a very expensive can of "recovery" food to hopefully get her to eat. If she's still not eating on Friday, we'll go back and probably get x-rays. Cancer is the one big worry I had that they did not rule out today. Hopefully it's just a yucky infection and she'll start feeling better soon. She seemed a little perkier when we got home.

Thanks for listening and encouraging me to take her in to the vet. I was terrified it was kidney failure. Going through that with the dog was just absolutely horrible.

corky60

Lovepugs, cats often perk up after receiving fluids.  I understand about not wanted to have to continuously give fluids.  I never did that with any of my cats because it usually just prolongs the inevitable.  My vet offered to do that with Jasmine if we weren't ready to let her go, but she was ready.  I'm so glad things went well today.  Keep us posted and best wishes.