Herd your cats here

[Biblioeclectica]

Condolences to Scatmanblues. Sounds like he was a wonderful cat.

My 17 year old cat has been declining for a while (she's skin and bones), but now I don't expect her to make it through the week - probable congestive heart failure. She was stable this morning but that could change at any point. It was hard to go to work this morning. My parents are checking on her periodically and if things take a turn for the worse I'll head home.

[mamselle]

My sympathies in advance.

M.

[the_geneticist]

We got a kitten!  I wasn't planning to adopt another cat, but I was volunteering at the animal shelter and fell in love with a tuxedo kitten with super long whiskers.
Her name is Izzy.  I'll post pictures once I find my photobucket account.

[geoteo]

That's a great way to start the New Year!

[statsgeek]

We're waiting for the hospice vet for Little Boy.  Adopted him and Little Girl (RIP 10/2017) in 2000. 

[geoteo]

So sorry, Statsgeek.  My thoughts are with you.

[San Joaquin]

Sorry to hear this, statsgeek.

[statsgeek]

So for the first time in almost 20 years of marriage, StatSpouse and I are cat-less.  We came home last night and got up this morning to no kitty to greet us, no food bowls, no litter boxes...

Even though Little Boy never gave us a clear indication, I'm comforted by peace that we did the right thing at the right time, and in the right way.  Since Little Boy could be scared and aggressive with strangers and especially with the vet, and at the recommendation of our regular doctor, we doped him up before the hospice doctor even arrived.  I don't think he ever knew there was a stranger in the house.  He slept on StatSpouse's lap, nose buried in his favorite blanket, through the consultation, decision-making, and sedative and then just drifted away.  He won't have to experience the steady decline and possible emergency that was his prognosis if we had delayed. 

I'm also comforted by many things I'm taking to be signs of support from above.  There was a break in the rain and even a beam of sunlight on us as we buried him yesterday afternoon, and I found out later there was also a rainbow (the bridge?) in the neighborhood.  "His" herd of deer that he loved to watch through the window stopped by the yard, not ten minutes after we went inside.  One even went right up to his grave.  And, of course, I'm comforted by sharing this grief with StatSpouse and by the family, friends, and professionals (we have the best vet ever) who have supported us along this journey. 

We'll adopt again. I can't imagine having a house with no kitty for too long. 

[Volhiker78]

Very sorry for your loss.

[mamselle]

Awww....you were all so lucky to have had each other.

Gentle thoughts and respect for your grief.

M.

[bibliothecula]

You did it right, statsgeek. All my sympathy.

[Puget]

You did it right, statsgeek. All my sympathy.

+1 It's such a hard call but you put Little Boy first and made sure he didn't suffer.

I went through that last spring, and suddenly having no cat in the house is really hard (I called it phantom cat syndrome). I was really tempted to get another one right away, but it just didn't make sense between lots of travel and looking for a house, then moving into it, then some more travel, so it was early October before I become re-cated. I now have a ridiculously cute (if I do say so myself), snuggly and energetic pair of sibs, who are now about 7 months old.

I'm sure the right cats will also find there way into your life when its time.

[larryc]

Playful is getting old. A really beautiful long-haried orange and cream cat, she was given to our kindergartner by our questionable neighbors in the rental house next door. He came home one day and held up a kitten. "Look what I have! The neighbors gave it to me. I named it Playful because it is playful."

That boy is 20 and in college now. For most of her life, Playful was the most furious hunter I know. An indoor/outdoor cat, I loaded her collar up with bells until she could not hunt successfully. At night it sounded like Santa was landing his sleigh on our roof. She attacked everything that came into our yard--other cats, rabbits, dogs (that Jack Russel still has nightmares), and on one memorable occasion a pair of ducks that had been hoping to nest in our hedge. Tough luck, ducks. Yet she is a total lap cat in the house, oppressively affectionate.

The vet says she is healthy as old cats go. She goes outside out of habit and comes right back in. When we went away for five days recently she went on a hunger strike and we almost lost her, but after a few days and some fluid injections she regained her appetite. Who knows how much longer we have with her.

[mamselle]

She sounds like a wonderful companion, full of herself, who knows what she wants.

M.

[the_geneticist]

Playful sounds like an amazing cat.  You can buy an appetite stimulant for kitties, Entice/Entyce(sp?), not sure if it's prescription only.