The weird meow always told me "Don't look". Inevitably if I did, I could see something in her mouth. Then I knew she had been down in the canyon. Returning to her feral ways.
At about this time, it was apparent that she was losing weight. Wanting to see if it was a temporary thing,something she had eaten, I kept a watchful eye. The weight did not and has not returned.
Next weird thing was an unquenchable thirst. We're talking six bowls of bathroom sink water a day.......or more. Not a bowl but a sinkful.
The picture above is from July, not a recent photo. She is now about 1/3 that size in weight now plus losing her hair.
I gave in last Saturday, accepted the inevitable and took her to Dr. Vasquez who was Flash, my dog's vet.
He is genial, thorough and kind. He kept Velcro for a couple of hours and said she was full of bacteria. An inordinate amount. So we came home with antibiotics. I knew she had to be REALLY sick because with no effort to scratch or bite me, she took the pills every day for eight days.
Today we returned to the vet. The lumps of hair falling out of her, plus the fact that she is still not eating have caused many sleepless nights for me. Velcro only wants water when she comes in in the morning and no matter what I try to feed her, she is not interested. Not even tuna, baked chicken breast or steak. I tried it all.
Dr. Vasquez is keeping her to run blood tests and then to tell me what he finds............Which kind of diabetes or something worse. This will be Velcro's first night to not be sleeping at home in eleven years.
I'm prepared for the worst! But, it took me a month to get to this point, mentally. I don't want her to suffer any more.
I'll keep you posted on Thursday when I will next talk with Dr. Vasquez............
17 comments:
Wow...hope it is treatable, whatever it may be...11 years as your shadow is a long time!
I'm so sorry! It's so hard to watch our furry family member suffer. I hope it's something she can rebound quickly from.
Talon from 1Dad1Kid.com
Thanks Charles and Talon.
Talon, I so enjoyed reading several of your posts! Thanks for taking time to comment....
Sending positive vibes for Velcro.
I am writing this with tears running down my cheeks and wish things will get better, but also fear that they won't.
Cats are the kinds of animals who do not show that they feel bad until they are very, very sick.
Two years ago one of my cats ( 20 at the time ) showed the same symptoms as your Velcro and I did everything to alleviate her suffering so she would be around a bit longer. She also did not want anything but water.
When I finally took her to a specialist other than my usual trusted vet, she had developed ( within maybe six month after her yearly check-up that gave her a clean bill of health, apart from a bit of old cat stuff, like bad digestion ) old age diabetes, pancreatitis because of it and was accompanied by kidney failure.
This vet told me sternly that I was a very selfish woman, because Purl had been suffering at least two unnecessary weeks. I still feel ashamed and get red in the face when I think of it.
Her sister Netta died three weeks later in her sleep ( she was a liter mate and also 20 ), I believe of a broken heart.
I will keep both of you in my heart, wishing that things will turn out in a way that makes bigger suffering for both of you unnecessary.
Oh I'm sorry. My first thought is kidney failure, having been through it with my dear cat. Try if you can baby food. Chicken. For some reason mine would eat this (soft - maybe easier to digest than regular chicken or meat?) when she'd eat nothing else. She'd eat just a little bit of the jar, certainly not all. For some reason she didn't like it after it had been refrigerated even though I brought it back to room temp in the microwave. So did I open a new jar each time for just a few bites? Of course I did.
I send good thoughts to you and Velcro. This is hard I know.
Oh dear. Poor Velcro. It might be a kidney thing... I hope your vet has a solution, and you'll get you kitty back soon.
This is so heart breaking to read. We lost our Martini at age eleven. You get so used to having them around. Yes it is very important to do what is right for Velcro. It is not really the length of time they spend with us but the quality of love they have received.
Velcro has been a very lucky cat.
I'm sorry, sorry to read this. I'm sending good thoughts for Velcro and you.
¡Ay! ¡Barbara! I'm so sorry to read about Velcro's ill-health. I'm praying for her, and hope she pulls through. As you'll recall, I lost one cat almost exactly two years ago, and I still miss him. Especially if you live alone, they become your family and it's very hard to see them sick.
Let's all hope she somehow pulls through and goes on to live another ten years.
Saludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we miss all of our late cats.
I'm so sorry Barbara. Hope it turns out to be something the vet can treat and turn around. Get well Velcro!
Barbara, I am so sorry to read of Velcro's ill health. I know how hard this must be for you. I hope she pulls through this. I don't want to give you false hope, but it does happen. A friend of mine thought for sure that she was going to lose her cat (the vet said it was kidney failure), but then her cat seemed to use one of her "nine lives", and made a recovery.
I will be hoping for the best for Velcro.
Barbara, I am so sorry to hear about Velcro. We lost our fifteen year old Maltese a few years ago from kidney failure and it sounds like Velcro has the same symptoms. However, I do agree with the previous poster - Velcro may just pull through this, don't give up hope. We love our fur babies so much and it is so difficult to see them ailing :(
Lynn Ballinger
Paradise Valley, AZ
Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts, helpful suggestions and caring.
I will let you know how Velcro is doing when I see the Doctor and her on Thursday.
It sure is QUIET around the house.........
so, so, sorry to hear this. I love your posts about & photos of Velcro. At eleven she still has many good years ahead of her, if this is treatable........and I so hope it is.
"It is now the season of no more pets, period. It is just too darn hard when they leave."
Yup - so very hard. I love animals and remain petless for the duration. Your cat was lucky to have you.
"It is now the season of no more pets, period. It is just too darn hard when they leave."
Yup - so very hard. I love animals and remain petless for the duration. Your cat was lucky to have you.
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