![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I think my cat is dying
Nov. 8th, 2008 01:35 pmI forgot to give Gandalf his thyroid medication when I got up, so I went to give it to him after I came back from exercising. He wasn't in his usual place on the upper left corner of the bed. Instead, he was half buried in a sheet on the floor, with his head and shoulders inside and the rest of his body sticking out.
He didn't have the usual muscle tone, and his breathing was a bit raspy, though that could have been because his face was buried in the sheet. He didn't seem to be able to walk properly. I picked him up and cuddled with him on the bed for a while, but then he wanted to get down. He definitely can't walk properly, but it appears to be overall weakness rather than a stroke. He can shuffle forward. He's had cataracts, but now he doesn't seem to be able to see at all.
I took him to the litter box, but that didn't seem to be what he wanted, and then I took him to the kitchen and tried to tempt him with cat treats, which he totally ignored.
For a while he wandered around the kitchen, until he bumped against a paper bag. Now he's trying to shove his way into the bag, which isn't working very well because a) the bag is standing up and b) the bag is full of stuff. But he seems very intent on it.
I suspect what he's really looking for is a secluded place to die. I'd rather he stayed with me, of course, but I don't want to make him any more uncomfortable than he already is. And since it's the weekend, if I decide he's come to the end of the road and I want to have him euthanized, I can't take him to Dr. McMenomy, but there's still the U of M.
He's 18 years old, and he'd been doing well after he started with the hyperthyroid medication (for an elderly cat, that is), but I think this is it.
I'll miss him terribly.
He didn't have the usual muscle tone, and his breathing was a bit raspy, though that could have been because his face was buried in the sheet. He didn't seem to be able to walk properly. I picked him up and cuddled with him on the bed for a while, but then he wanted to get down. He definitely can't walk properly, but it appears to be overall weakness rather than a stroke. He can shuffle forward. He's had cataracts, but now he doesn't seem to be able to see at all.
I took him to the litter box, but that didn't seem to be what he wanted, and then I took him to the kitchen and tried to tempt him with cat treats, which he totally ignored.
For a while he wandered around the kitchen, until he bumped against a paper bag. Now he's trying to shove his way into the bag, which isn't working very well because a) the bag is standing up and b) the bag is full of stuff. But he seems very intent on it.
I suspect what he's really looking for is a secluded place to die. I'd rather he stayed with me, of course, but I don't want to make him any more uncomfortable than he already is. And since it's the weekend, if I decide he's come to the end of the road and I want to have him euthanized, I can't take him to Dr. McMenomy, but there's still the U of M.
He's 18 years old, and he'd been doing well after he started with the hyperthyroid medication (for an elderly cat, that is), but I think this is it.
I'll miss him terribly.
