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I guess it's my turn 
I just wish this wasn't happening....
FatCat, my beloved tortie that I've had since I was 8 years old, my family and I feel, is in failing overall health.
We noticed a couple of months ago, FatCat was becoming not so fat anymore....at first it seemed a good thing, perhaps our diet we'd put her on was working and she'd be at a healthier weight. After all, it's just as bad for a pet to be overweight as it is a human.
Then she got to be fur and bones. But she was eating. We saw her. And she wasn't throwing up afterwards or having trouble going to the litterbox or having the runs. Up until recently, she'd been putting some weight back on.
Then along with that came the....cat dimensia. Every once in a while, while holding her, I'd swear she'd stop purring and just stare at me like, "Who are you?" and almost draw away from me until it all came back to her. Sometimes in the middle of her usual routine of following me all around mom and dad's house in search of crumbs and scraps and attention, she'd just stop and give me that nervous "You're a stranger, you make kitty scared!" look.
That hasn't been such an issue lately, but her balance has started getting just awful. She will be sitting, watching mom play on the computer or dad talk on the phone, and she'll start wobbling over....several times, she has tried to jump onto the couch or the chair and almost fallen off.
Mom and Dad chose not to tell me until this morning, but over the weekend, after eating, she both threw up and had the runs at the same time. That really gave us a red flag because that's the same thing that happend to my grandparents' cat right before she really went downhill.
Last Friday, I worried sick because I saw her eating while I was loading up my laundry in the basement and getting ready to go, usually (unless she's having a senior moment) she follows me everywhere I go (even the bathroom). I went upstairs to say goodbye to the other pets, noticed she still hadn't came upstairs, so I figured she was still eating and I'd go start the car and move it and come back inside and she'd be there. She still wasn't. I called and I called and called for her. I give her some wiggle room because she's older and can't just hop on a dime....but she never came. Then a whole world of fright and terror went through my mind and I decided that if it was going to happen, I didn't want to see it, so I left and called my dad to let him know, and to call me if he comes home and the worst has happened. He never called, so I assumed all was fine, except that they waited until today to tell me about the puke/poop episode.
My parents are leaving the decision up to my brother and I, because she is both of our pets and closer to us than them. They advised that it's a selfish and stupid thing to do to prolong her life if she continues to go downhill (like with the puking/pooping at the same time and the wobbling getting worse and the episodes where she forgets who we are), because that is what my grandparents did to their cat, and while she did live a bit longer, she was miserable and her last months were in vein.
My brother and I want to take her to the vet as soon as possible, to see if it could be pinpointed what is wrong with her, before we go ahead and make a rash decision. I'm holding on to the possibility that she may just be getting older or she may just be sick, even if that seems like a longshot. But I want a professional's opinion before I decide to end it for her.
I'm just a wreck. My parents and brother are better about hiding it than I am, but when I heard about what happened last weekend, I grabbed the cat and started bawling. And I cried almost the entire drive home this morning and it took me several minutes to get my composure and finish my day before winding down for bed right now.
Please, any good thoughts and prayers you may have would be appreciated. I've had this cat since I was 8 years old. I'm 23.....she is 14 years old, will be 15 in July. I haven't lost a pet since I was a really little girl, the cat before FatCat was the last pet of mine to die (save for goldfish and snakes that I only had for weeks or months).
I love this cat so dearly and this has really been eating me up.
I just wish this wasn't happening....FatCat, my beloved tortie that I've had since I was 8 years old, my family and I feel, is in failing overall health.
We noticed a couple of months ago, FatCat was becoming not so fat anymore....at first it seemed a good thing, perhaps our diet we'd put her on was working and she'd be at a healthier weight. After all, it's just as bad for a pet to be overweight as it is a human.
Then she got to be fur and bones. But she was eating. We saw her. And she wasn't throwing up afterwards or having trouble going to the litterbox or having the runs. Up until recently, she'd been putting some weight back on.
Then along with that came the....cat dimensia. Every once in a while, while holding her, I'd swear she'd stop purring and just stare at me like, "Who are you?" and almost draw away from me until it all came back to her. Sometimes in the middle of her usual routine of following me all around mom and dad's house in search of crumbs and scraps and attention, she'd just stop and give me that nervous "You're a stranger, you make kitty scared!" look.
That hasn't been such an issue lately, but her balance has started getting just awful. She will be sitting, watching mom play on the computer or dad talk on the phone, and she'll start wobbling over....several times, she has tried to jump onto the couch or the chair and almost fallen off.
Mom and Dad chose not to tell me until this morning, but over the weekend, after eating, she both threw up and had the runs at the same time. That really gave us a red flag because that's the same thing that happend to my grandparents' cat right before she really went downhill.
Last Friday, I worried sick because I saw her eating while I was loading up my laundry in the basement and getting ready to go, usually (unless she's having a senior moment) she follows me everywhere I go (even the bathroom). I went upstairs to say goodbye to the other pets, noticed she still hadn't came upstairs, so I figured she was still eating and I'd go start the car and move it and come back inside and she'd be there. She still wasn't. I called and I called and called for her. I give her some wiggle room because she's older and can't just hop on a dime....but she never came. Then a whole world of fright and terror went through my mind and I decided that if it was going to happen, I didn't want to see it, so I left and called my dad to let him know, and to call me if he comes home and the worst has happened. He never called, so I assumed all was fine, except that they waited until today to tell me about the puke/poop episode.
My parents are leaving the decision up to my brother and I, because she is both of our pets and closer to us than them. They advised that it's a selfish and stupid thing to do to prolong her life if she continues to go downhill (like with the puking/pooping at the same time and the wobbling getting worse and the episodes where she forgets who we are), because that is what my grandparents did to their cat, and while she did live a bit longer, she was miserable and her last months were in vein.
My brother and I want to take her to the vet as soon as possible, to see if it could be pinpointed what is wrong with her, before we go ahead and make a rash decision. I'm holding on to the possibility that she may just be getting older or she may just be sick, even if that seems like a longshot. But I want a professional's opinion before I decide to end it for her.
I'm just a wreck. My parents and brother are better about hiding it than I am, but when I heard about what happened last weekend, I grabbed the cat and started bawling. And I cried almost the entire drive home this morning and it took me several minutes to get my composure and finish my day before winding down for bed right now.
Please, any good thoughts and prayers you may have would be appreciated. I've had this cat since I was 8 years old. I'm 23.....she is 14 years old, will be 15 in July. I haven't lost a pet since I was a really little girl, the cat before FatCat was the last pet of mine to die (save for goldfish and snakes that I only had for weeks or months).
I love this cat so dearly and this has really been eating me up.
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