- Sep 14, 2000
- 6,596
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Go away if you don't like cats, but yesterday was the saddest day of my life. My wife and I will probably mourn for days or weeks.
His health just went off a cliff about a month ago, he started not eating and just layed in his favorite spot all day. Didn't walk around much and his eye was puffy and runny. We had seen it in the past, thinking he had kicked himself scratching.
After stupidly thinking he'd recover from all this, like cats tend to do, he didn't after two weeks so we took him to the vet. They saw he had that bum eye and immediately determined he had upper respiratory disease. They gave him a booster shot and it seemed to help the eye. His lethargy didn't improve.
Last week we took him in again, and he had lost a couple pounds due to not eating. He was slightly better than the first time though, so we thought we'd give him a little more time. By Tuesday, he wasn't getting better so I took him in again and they poked and prodded and found his back knee was giving him pain so they x-rayed it. While doing the x-rays, they caught a glimpse of his stomach as well and found his lungs had collapsed and there was a lot of fluid in his chest. They drew out the fluid and it definitely made his breathing better, for his last day.
Yestreday, he was woozy all day from the anesthesia and the appetite stimulant pill we gave him. We tried to get some food into him, but he refused, and we were able to barely get some in via syringe. He was totally not himself, and hadn't been for the last couple weeks. Pet owners ALWAYS can tell when something is off, even if the vet thinks otherwise.
So we took him in one last time yesterday and were given the results of the fluid they drew. It was organic/cellular, indicating either a virus or cancer. A viral infection would've shown up in his blood tests which came back fantastically healthy, other than the number for pancreatitis being above the limit. So we figured it might be than too. But when we heard cancer, and she said he had maybe 3-6 months instead of 3-6 years, we couldn't let him live this summer in the state he was in. A cat doesn't deserve that, and owners shouldn't be selfish enough to expect it.
So with enormous regret, we put him down and petted him right to the end. I think he purred the last little bit even. :'(
Is there an easier way to deal with greif? Someone please tell me.
RIP Seki - Nov 99 - May 11
His health just went off a cliff about a month ago, he started not eating and just layed in his favorite spot all day. Didn't walk around much and his eye was puffy and runny. We had seen it in the past, thinking he had kicked himself scratching.
After stupidly thinking he'd recover from all this, like cats tend to do, he didn't after two weeks so we took him to the vet. They saw he had that bum eye and immediately determined he had upper respiratory disease. They gave him a booster shot and it seemed to help the eye. His lethargy didn't improve.
Last week we took him in again, and he had lost a couple pounds due to not eating. He was slightly better than the first time though, so we thought we'd give him a little more time. By Tuesday, he wasn't getting better so I took him in again and they poked and prodded and found his back knee was giving him pain so they x-rayed it. While doing the x-rays, they caught a glimpse of his stomach as well and found his lungs had collapsed and there was a lot of fluid in his chest. They drew out the fluid and it definitely made his breathing better, for his last day.
Yestreday, he was woozy all day from the anesthesia and the appetite stimulant pill we gave him. We tried to get some food into him, but he refused, and we were able to barely get some in via syringe. He was totally not himself, and hadn't been for the last couple weeks. Pet owners ALWAYS can tell when something is off, even if the vet thinks otherwise.
So we took him in one last time yesterday and were given the results of the fluid they drew. It was organic/cellular, indicating either a virus or cancer. A viral infection would've shown up in his blood tests which came back fantastically healthy, other than the number for pancreatitis being above the limit. So we figured it might be than too. But when we heard cancer, and she said he had maybe 3-6 months instead of 3-6 years, we couldn't let him live this summer in the state he was in. A cat doesn't deserve that, and owners shouldn't be selfish enough to expect it.
So with enormous regret, we put him down and petted him right to the end. I think he purred the last little bit even. :'(
Is there an easier way to deal with greif? Someone please tell me.
RIP Seki - Nov 99 - May 11