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Golden, so sorry. Hoping she will turn up.
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Well, it looks like I have lost Pumpkin. She and Rocky went out yesterday evening as usual - they have been out all night for a while now doing their kitty thing and coming in in the morning to sleep most of the day. The latest they have come home is about 10 am. Pumpkin is ravenous when she comes in. About 10 pm last night I saw them both crouched on the front step, I think not liking the weather as it seemed a thunderstorm was imminent so I opened the door, but neither got up to come in so I left them out, Rocky came in around 9 a.m. as usual, but there has been no sign of Pumpkin all day. I walked around the neighbourhood calling her this afternoon but that was fruitless.

About a week ago notices about a missing cat were out up in our street so I am concerned about a predator in the area..

I know cats can wander and get lost but I don't have a good feeling about this and am very sad. I miss her. Prayers please.
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Thank-you all for your well wishes for Daniel. It's so easy to let these little creatures get into your heart and so, so difficult when they get ill and you have to watch them start to decline.

We are doing what we can for him (and what we can afford). It's hard.

Please keep us in your prayers.
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Gershun - poor Daniel. Hope the antibiotics are working and he is feeling better. Prayers for both of you. Senior cats can be quite fragile.

Had both kitties on my lap the the day That was a first! It was a bit crowded. Rocky now expects me to drop everything when she wants lap time. Pumpkin has been tentative, but sees Rocky and wants the same. Jealous siblings! Pumpkin was here first and she is alpha cat!
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Gershun, best to you and Daniel.
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Gershun, I certainly hope your cat improves and conquers these health challenges.    It's so, so difficult to see animal become ill.
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Gershun,
Prayers for Daniel's health, and for your dear heart. 💞☔️💞
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Oh Gershun I am so sorry,, prayers for you both.
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Will absolutely pray for Daniel. Hugs, Getshun!
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Well folks unfortunately I have more distressing cat news. My cat Daniel is ill with a number of things right now. About three weeks ago we noticed him coughing. We took him to the vet last Monday and they did blood work and x-rays. The x-ray shows what looks like a mass on his lower right lung lobe. We haven't received a definite diagnoses because until we get a CT scan or fine needle aspiration done we don't know for sure what we are dealing with. Our vet said it could also be pneumonia so we have him on a course of antibiotics to rule this out then we will proceed from here.

In addition to all this they found a large stone in his bladder which she says may require surgery but she doesn't want to even think of surgery while he has this lung thing going on. Daniel is a senior cat.

So, Daniel is feeling pretty rotten. He's been on these antibiotics for four days so far and he is still coughing. I'm very worried.

Please add Daniel to your prayers.
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Ali, I am so sorry to read about OMC. He sure had a long life, and you took such good care of him for the last few years. Thinking of you and Divo. Hugs.
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Ali, so sorry for your loss. I was pulling for him and you.

You did right by him and carry that with you when you feel sad.

God Bless Divo!
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Ali,

Divo loved you very much. You loved him enough to let him go. He lived a beautiful life with you. You will miss him terribly.

I am so sorry for your loss. He was a unique kitty that was blessed to have such a loving mom. Our fur babies are part of our families.
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Ali, so sorry to hear about Divo. What a lovely old boy. Wonderful to think of him in his prime, chasing dogs. You gave him so much soothing and kindness in his final days, and I hope that gives you some comfort now.
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((((((Hugs)))))))) Ali. So sorry for your loss, but you did so right by him from beginning to end.
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So very sorry for your loss Ali. 😿

Divo is memorialized in the stories of him here on our forum.

He is a darn good old cat!

Bye Divo.
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((((((ali))))) - right decision made, although it will be sad to lose Divo. What a character - chasing dogs. He sure is a spunky cat! I understand about the remains. It's the memories that count most of all.
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Ali,

Your cat sounds so special. I once had a fur baby like yours. I giggled as I read about your cat chasing dogs. My cat did that. She developed a reputation for being an ‘attack cat.’

She was sweet as could be, but let a dog step foot into the courtyard of my apartment and I felt sorry that dog! LOL 😆

I had her for 16 years, She moved into six residences with me and believe me when I say that she owned every one of them! You know what they say, “A cat doesn’t live with us. We live with them!” I loved that cat!
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I washed off Divo's backside with the handheld in the shower last night and noticed he was having trouble standing. I dried him off and put him in bed and I don't think he moved all night... because he couldn't. Around 8am, I realized he could no longer walk. He's been wobbly for weeks but now he can't go more than a few steps at most without crashing down.

Talked with previous mom about the situation. After sending all vet reports and some videos to previous owner's vet, they thought that putting to sleep is the right choice for care. Old mom came and got him for an appointment tonight with them and I sent him off with lots of love. His remains mean more to her and I feel like this was all done the right way, with respect for her wishes as best I could.

He is and was a heck of a cat, with more character and spunk than most. His old mom tells me stories of him chasing dogs down the street when he was younger and I get it, that's totally who he is. 💛
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Oh, Ali, this sounds SO much like Merlin's trajectory (except no diarrhea). Merlin was pretty chipper right up until the end, so I'm hopeful you'll get a couple of good weeks with him.

Our vet tried immunosupressant chemotherapy to see if it would shrink Merlin's tumor (and no, it wasn't expensive) but it didn't have the desired effect. Keep up the belly rubs! ((((Hugs)))))).
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So sorry, ali. but glad you finally know. Poor Divo. I am glad he still is in good spirits. Hopefully previous owner will see it is now a matter of comfort. ((((hugs)))) to your and pats to Divo.

Pamz - wow - good for you and dh. What a great plan.
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I am so sorry for Divo,, but I am glad he has your love and care at this time. It is never easy
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Poor old guy, I'm glad you now know what you are dealing with. Hopefully with a diagnosis previous owner will see the sense in "kitty hospice" - just like hospice for people I think, letting them live as well as possible but willing to let go when the time comes.
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Vet said Divo has intestinal tumor/cancer. That makes sense but it's strange how the diarrhea set in about 2.5 weeks ago so quickly. Vet sent him home with steroid medication but prognosis is very poor, of course. I told previous owner. I hope in a week she is ready to talk end of life choices... even if we don't proceed for a couple weeks, all depending on how D does with his eating and strength. Managing Divo's care in the room is much easier, so I'm ok with trying the meds for now and giving him every chance to improve. Honestly, he seems ok, despite it all. He looks like he is very ill, so emaciated😞, but he is interested in food and wants rubs and generally doesn't act like anything is wrong.

Small blessings: this vet visit and medication was a very reasonable cost. The ER vet was so expensive and didn't give the correct Dx. Local vet said the tumor is easy to feel through Divo's skinny body. It's good to have a Dx.
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Pamz, I'm so glad you're able to do the trap-neuter-release for these cats. My other cat was feral as a kitten, is very shy, sweet, and affectionate, and is a great house cat.

I'm taking Divo to the local vet tomorrow morning, they were able to get me in. He is very old, yes, but he is also in good spirits and eats well. I'm hoping the vet can recommend how to go forward. If the diarrhea can be stopped --e.g., if it's a bacterial infection that can be treated -- then Divo has a chance of getting better. The medication from ER vet didn't work at all. I think it was just like some cat Imodium.

I am concerned that he can't recover at his age but his old mom is not nearly ready to let go. Emotionally, my hands are tied until she is ready to cease treatments for him. I won't put him to sleep without her consent. It doesn't really matter what I think is best for Divo anymore, I need to give her a chance to take him to his previous vet in her city for testing and treatment. I've had waves of sadness and anxiety in the past couple weeks but I'm at peace right now, knowing I'm doing the very best I can for D's care.

I put him in his own room because I couldn't contain the mess anymore, but it was a good decision. The room is much warmer, I can monitor his food intake better (without his chunky sis eating everything when I'm not looking 😊), and it's just a better environment for a critically sick kitty.

His spirit is so much stronger than his frail body, that's for sure.
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As many of you know we have a feral colony here,, and they are mainly on our back deck and in our garage.. well fed spoiled ferals.. LOL And while I can touch them if I have food in my hand,, we can;t catch them at all. today I called a feral society and they are going to help us catch them and get them fixed, YAY!! We have to agree to take them back ( No problem,, I just don;t want More! ) and hope to have all the adults done by the end of June. It did help move things along when I told them I was willing to foot the cost ( It will be less for 20 cats then it was for my puppy at our regular vet ) It will be so nice to not have to worry about more kittens .. and I do not have any mouse or rodent problems,, and we live in the country.. The latest batch of 12 kittens will be done when they are 12 weeks, and my daughter may have found homes for some of them,, and there are 2 I would like to make into my own house cats as my old man is ,,, old. wish me luck,, and spay and neuter!!
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Ali, it sounds like Divo is comforted by your presence, so I’m thinking like the other posters, that he might be better staying with you rather than being moved at this stage. I think it’s ok those times when you’re not there at home - he’d probably prefer the peace and quiet than be in an environment with children, the dog and the reluctant husband. I’m thinking lots of soothing and comforting is what he needs now, in a calm setting.
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This is such a hard time. I remember when Matt was on his last legs, I was just waiting for the right moment. It came when I took him outside to pee and he peed on the driveway and collapsed in it. He was so weak. I took him inside and cleaned him up and called the vet.

I think you will know when the time is has come.. As you describe his old mum's home situation, I wonder if that is a good place for him. He is happy with you and your surroundings are familiar to him. That is important to him now. Take care of you too.
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So sorry Ali. I know it's none of my business but if you can handle it I would try to hang in there with Divo and keep him with you. Uprooting him now even with someone he knows might cause him extra stress. But of course you know best.

I've been saying prayers for him and you.
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Thank you for asking, Anche. He's actively declining but it's not to the critical stage just yet, I don't think. It will be very soon, though. I'm happy his old mom is coming Sunday and can share some input.

When I came home from work today, I wasn't sure he would get up from his bed. But he did, walking slow. He didn't seem bothered by getting up and I haven't put his food and water near his bed just yet but I will as soon as it seems like he doesn't want to get up. He gets up sometimes just when I come into the room, or sit down to pet him. It's hard to tell if he would rather rest, or what. At the point that he doesn't seem to want to get up, I think that's time to take him to the vet for a humane option. It's wait-and-see right now. He ate well. He's still running out, still has diarrhea, despite a week's worth of medicine. That's got to be so hard on him. He was already skinny and... it's just very sad.

I gave him pain meds just a bit ago after he ate. I'm anxious to have his old mom here and see what she wants to do. If she wants to take him to nurse him in her home like she's said a few times, I might do that. I didn't want that last week but now I think it could be good for someone to be home with him all day. I don't think he'd like the change of environment, though. She has two kids who aren't good with cats (I've seen this a couple times and again last Sunday), a dog, and a husband who doesn't want Divo there. Knowing what to do is so hard right now. I'm glad he doesn't seem to be in pain and still enjoying his food and rubs so much.

This is so hard. He's had a good, long kitty life. He'll be a scrappy-doo kitty until the end, it seems.

I thought my other kitty might want to comfort him or be stressed by his decline but she's in her own world, like usual, hah! They are both very independent.

Thanks for asking and for letting me ramble on. I'm just watching and waiting, taking it a day at a time, and it's so hard.

I'm hanging in there. With work and school, it helps to be busy and keeps my mind on other things for much of the day.
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