I have to do this in 2 parts so it's not so long. There are 2 separate stories so I split them up for easier reading. It gets a little personal, but I am ready to share it so here it goes...
A little over a month ago I noticed my cat, Sophie, limping a bit. We found that it was her front paw/shoulder. We already had an appointment for her to get her teeth cleaned so the vet offered to check her out at the same time. Sophie ended up getting 4 teeth extracted (!), which is what happens when you neglect your pet's teeth for several years, but the vet didn't find anything at all wrong with her shoulder/paw/elbow. A week later, she was still limping pretty badly so I called the vet again and she offered to check her out again, this time resulting in a steroid shot since she still couldn't see/feel anything wrong. Over the weekend, she was getting progressively worse-sleeping more than usual and barely eating or drinking so another call to the vet. This time, she said I'd have to drop her off and they would do an xray and try to see what was happening. Later that day, she was still not doing well--they had to give her an IV because she was dehydrated and she was generally not well. The next day, the news was worse. They took her out to examine her and she collapsed so they had to put her on oxygen. The xray showed that her lungs were either full of fluid or something was wrong with them, possibly pneumonia or even a shattered diaphragm. It was hard for her to tell, but Sophie was in a dire situation. I guess when cats get to that point it's pretty bad. So she told me there was nothing else she could do, but recommended me to a critical care hospital for animals where they could do further diagnostics and see if they could help her. I was a wreck. I rescued her at 4 months old and have had her for 9 years--I was torn up. Long story short, I had a difficult decision to make and imagining her getting poked and prodded and put through more tests made me cry. I called Shawn since he was out of town and, although he was trying hard to find a silver lining, we both knew what had to be done given she was 10 years old and in a perilous situation. I gave the vet the word and on 9-8-10 at 445 p.m., my little kitty was put to sleep.
I am getting teary just recalling this. It was so difficult and even more difficult because I had to deal with this all alone--Shawn was in NYC for work. I was also hitting me hard because I was 5 weeks pregnant and very hormonal. I pretty much cried all afternoon/evening on Wednesday--I fell asleep with tissues in my hand. Thursday was better but still got teary when I would see the empty kitchen chair she liked to sleep on, or the couch cushion she was always curling up on. I was surprised at how much I felt the loss of her, how much it affected me. I felt like I had lost a family member, which, those of you with pets will attest, she was a family member. I know it was for the best, but I really miss her...
...and this was just the beginning of the worst week ever.
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