We think he stopped eating his dry cat food sometime in the last few weeks. We would give him bits of chicken or tuna and he would scarf that down and love it. However, sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning a switch went off in him. Monday morning he only had a bite or two of chicken then turned away from it. I tried several times throughout the day, but he wasn’t interested.
What really got me...was early Monday afternoon. He’d take a few steps then would lie down. A while later he’d take a few steps then would lie back down. So, he definitely wasn’t comfortable at that point. We made the decision to take him the next morning. Tuesday morning came along and he wouldn’t even drink water. So, I pretty much knew what was going to happen.
The vet ran some tests, and determined Paws was dehydrated, anemic and worst of all was in kidney failure. I knew he was in kidney failure. That morning I actually said “I bet he’s in renal failure”. Sure enough. So that was that. No waffling in our decision. It had to be done. And it was done quick.
Yes, we were asked if we wanted to stay while it was done, and yes we ended up staying. It was tough, but in the end I’m glad I stayed. I don’t know if I would do it again. I went back and forth a lot, and not just in the last few days. About 9 month ago, my brother in-law and his wife had to put their dog down. Then a few months later, my sister and her family had to put one of their dogs down.
I knew the time for Paws was coming, so I’d been thinking about it for a long time. Flip flopping in my decision all the time. I don’t know if I would do it again. We have two more cats, and I have no clue what I’ll do then. Knowing me, I probably will. But I really don’t know. The death of a pet is never easy, and that is a personal choice every time. No right or wrong answer.
Anyway, he was a good cat, and he will be missed. Most of the posts for this blog were written with him in my lap, and it’s strange not to have him here now.
Paws: February (or March) 1996 – November 1, 2011
Ok then. Onto happier news. Before this whole bad week started, I met one of my goals, and I also met one of my un-made goals that I was going to make for November. First, on Sunday, October 30, I managed to do 1/2 mile on the elliptical with no breaks. That same day, I decided to go for a full mile. I took breaks after every .2 mile and then did the last .1 mile. Felt good to finally be able to go for about 15 minutes straight.
I took a few days off this week obviously. I wasn’t in a good frame of mind to get much of anything done. But on Thursday, I got back to it. I did 1/2 mile Thursday and another 1/2 mile today, just to get my legs moving a bit. I plan to do one mile tomorrow (will write about that another time) for a special cause.
I’ve got some pictures from the virtual walk site saved, so I’ll add those now. This entry is a bit long, so don’t want to write a whole novel here.
Mile 310.2 Mile 311
Mile 311.6 Mile 312
Mile 313 Mile 313.6
Mile 314
(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)
Keep moving, and give your pet a squeeze.
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