Please send us some good thoughts

Winchester · Sep 20, 2016

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts.

I slept on the couch last night. I think Boo wanted to go to bed, but I was afraid I'd fall asleep and then he'd try to get down and fall off. So I stayed on the couch and he slept on a pillow on the living room floor. I don't think he's in a lot of pain, but he can't walk. I gave the kids their breakfast this morning, then got down on the floor with Boo and held his plate up to him so that he could eat. And I used a little Fiesta relish bowl (it's small and flat) and held that up to him so he could get a good drink of water. Before I left for work, I gave him a bit more water and he did drink....he's always been a good water drinker.

There was poop right outside the litter box in the kitchen and I'm thinking it's his. I don't know that he can get into a box. I brought an uncovered litterbox out into the kitchen; it's one that he can walk into versus having to step over the edge to get into. But I don't know if he can even do that.

God help me, I'm sorry to say this, but I was kind of hoping that he would just pass in his sleep last night. I'm going to go to hell for thinking that.

Going home at lunch to see if everything is OK.

Rick just texted me; he's waiting at the airport now. He said that he's going to shed a lot of tears over BooBoo, but he knows that it needs to be done. The doctor wants Rick to call him when he gets home and has had a chance to look at BooBoo. I think he's afraid that Rick's heart won't let him let Boo go.

Oh, and this morning, I found some drops of blood on the kitchen floor. Evidently, Ms. Pepe's UTI came back again. I'll have to call the vet for another appointment for her. She is BooBoo's litter sister, so she is 20, as well.

denice · Sep 20, 2016

Don't feel guilty about hoping that he passes in his sleep. I think all of us wish that nature would take it's course instead of having to do what needs to be done. It would be good for Rick to be able to say his goodbyes though.

bbdoll22 · Sep 20, 2016

oh Pam. You, Rick, BooBoo and Ms. Pepe are in my thoughts and prayers. Maybe BooBoo is only holding on until Rick gets home?

Kat0121 · Sep 20, 2016

BBDOLL22 said:
oh Pam. You, Rick, BooBoo and Ms. Pepe are in my thoughts and prayers. Maybe BooBoo is only holding on until Rick gets home?

I was thinking the same. :sigh:

There will be tears shed all over for sweet BooBoo. He's been one of my kitty crushes since I read the thread about your search for a new treat "bubble gum" machine for him after his old one broke.

20 years is a wonderful life but it's never long enough. I hope Ms Pepe is OK. I'm sure she knows that her brother isn't doing well. That can't be helping with the UTI. I send her lots of love too. :heart3:

Columbine · Sep 20, 2016

Denice said:
Don't feel guilty about hoping that he passes in his sleep. I think all of us wish that nature would take it's course instead of having to do what needs to be done. It would be good for Rick to be able to say his goodbyes though.

I keep hoping the same for Pix, much as I'll hate to lose him. It's a perfectly natural reaction :hugs:

More

for you all - Miss Pepe too :vibes:

AbbysMom · Sep 20, 2016

Lots of

for you and Rick. :hugs:

foxxycat · Sep 20, 2016

Just catching up on the threads- Sending you hugs and love Pam. I am sorry you guys have to make this decision. Don't feel guilty about wishing for a peaceful death. We all wish that our elderly babies could pass in their sleep peacefully. It would not change your love for your babies. If anything we just don't want to see them suffer and get scared at the vets. Such a very hard decision to make.

I have no words of wisdom. I think that a kitty making it to age 20 is awesome! But at the same time we hate having to make that decision. Thank you for giving Boo such a wonderful home and taking such good care of him. Feeding and watering him. Sending you

Kat0121 · Sep 20, 2016

foxxycat said:
Just catching up on the threads- Sending you hugs and love Pam. I am sorry you guys have to make this decision. Don't feel guilty about wishing for a peaceful death. We all wish that our elderly babies could pass in their sleep peacefully. It would not change your love for your babies. If anything we just don't want to see them suffer and get scared at the vets. Such a very hard decision to make.

I have no words of wisdom. I think that a kitty making it to age 20 is awesome! But at the same time we hate having to make that decision. Thank you for giving Boo such a wonderful home and taking such good care of him. Feeding and watering him. Sending you

I agree with all of this and my heart goes out to Rick too. His travel time must be agonizing trying to get back to his Boo. :sigh:

jcat · Sep 20, 2016

for you and Rick, and tons of :vibes:

for both Boo and Ms. Pepe!

blueyedgirl5946 · Sep 20, 2016

Just hugs, Pam, lots of hugs. I am truly sorry and understand this is a terrible time for you and Rick. If I could send you some peace and strength, I would to that.

kathyfromcanada · Sep 20, 2016

Sending positive thoughts your way Pam. No , your not going to hell , just because you hoped he would die in his sleep. You just don't want him to suffer, that's all. Nothing wrong with that. No judgement here. Daddy will be home soon BooBoo.

DreamerRose · Sep 20, 2016

I'm so sorry, too, Pam. I know how heart-wrenching it is to let them go. My thoughts and prayers will be with you.

parsleysage · Sep 20, 2016

Sending lots of love to you & Rick, and to sweet BooBoo, too.

angels mommy · Sep 20, 2016

Pam, I'm so sorry to hear you guys are going through this with Boo. Sending thoughts and prayers for you all. :hugs:

miagi's_mommy · Sep 20, 2016

I am so sorry. It's never easy to make this decision. Don't feel guilty for wishing he'd pass in his sleep we all wish that... thinking of you all.

Winchester · Sep 21, 2016

Well, last night Rick came home, saw Boo, and decided this was it. And we were prepared to take him down to the hospital this morning.

This morning, I got up and walked out to the kitchen. And there was Boo.....sitting there like he owned the place (and he does). I stopped dead and said, "What the hell are you doing?" And he promptly fell over. But he was hungry, so I held the plate up so that he could eat and he ate everything. Gave him a drink, then he walked over to the water dish and took another drink from the dish. Walked, dragged, whatever into the living room, jumped up on the chair, lost his balance but got it back, and then jumped to the window! Lost his balance in the window and fell over, but got back up and curled up in the window. He was sleeping when I left for work.

So now, of course, we don't know what the hell to do. That pain shot is supposed to be wearing off early this afternoon. Rick wants to wait and see how much pain Boo might be in once the shot wears off; I don't want Boo to start suffering again. And we had a heck of an argument this morning. He thinks I'm being selfish because I don't want BooBoo to suffer. I think he's being selfish because he wants to see what happens once the shot wears off, how much pain Boo might be in, how well is he going to be able to get around once the shot wears off, etc. I don't want him to suffer; he does not deserve that.

Boo is very alert and he still has his appetite. He ate everything on his plate and then I gave him a bit of dry kibble and he ate that, too. He has never lost his appetite.

The vet said that the pain shot would last about 72 hours and then he would be in pain again. He also said there is a pain regimen that we could do with Boo. I didn't ask much about it at the time. I told Rick to call down to the vet this morning, speak with the vet and start asking questions. See about pain stuff, see what we can do with him. Because it's pretty obvious that Rick will not put BooBoo to sleep until he absolutely has to. That's OK. I just don't want him to suffer at all; I'm really worried about his quality of life.

This isn't the first time this has happened. Last year, we came home from work and Boo couldn't even move, he was in that much pain. He just sat there and screamed. We did an emergency run to the vet, they gave him a pain shot, gave him a med/pills. At that time, the vet even suggested that we let him go. Within two days, he was fine. He limps every now and again, and he's pretty slow-moving. A lot of times, he just pretty much sleeps, but he always gets up for his meals and snacks. And for the most part, he's my alarm clock in the morning; he always makes sure to wake me up around 4:30 or so for breakfast.

What do we do from here? The vet had said that his teeth were horrid at this point, but we were worried about putting him under anesthesia for a dental. Should we go ahead with the dental and hope he comes out of it OK? Vet said he has some neurological issues.....I don't know where to even begin with something like that. I simply don't know what to think right now. He's also in the beginning stages of kidney failure. And he has no muscle at all in his back end anymore. It's shot. I thought about some kind of therapy massage; I'd have to read up on it and see if I can do it for him.

Quite honestly? If I was up to me, I'd probably make the decision to euthanize him. He is 20 years old. He has a lot of health issues and, now with this leg problem. We really thought yesterday that he was ready. This morning? Not so much. When he jumped into the window, Rick just looked at me and said, "What the

? Now what?"

foxxycat · Sep 21, 2016

Maybe have the vet talk to Rick and lay out your options. He sounds like (Boo) is stubbornly hanging in. I agree with you about putting him down before things get worse. I have the same issue with Jon when it came to Floey. I knew all the issues she had but he said she is still eating so she is fine but he didn't understand it was the steroids keeping her alive. My heart aches for you. It makes it so much harder when other people are involved in making this decision. Maybe give it another 24 hours? Is there a way to build a ramp to the window? Floey slept quite a bit in her old age. I figured she wasn't in pain but then when she stopped eating I knew it was coming closer. Not to mention she was full of cancer. This was a lot different than your situation. She was already transitioning the last day. There were things she was doing that I knew it was soon the end. Sometimes we have to be the strong one when no one else has the strength.

The fact that Boo is still eating tells me maybe you guys can hold off. The falling over could be from being so frail. We know that elderly people also have similar issues. We can only try to make their lives easier until its time for them to pass on. I totally understand your anguish. Sending you hugs. I know what I would do. You know what you need to do=but when you have Rick not on board then it makes it muddled. Does Boo sleep with you?

Sending you hugs

Winchester · Sep 21, 2016

Thank you, Foxxycat. Boo used to sleep with us. In fact, he was the one who would curl up in the crook of Rick's knees and then hiss at Rick every time the man would move around in bed. And if Rick got out of bed, well, good luck trying to get back in without disturbing the cat. Not without a lot of growling and hissing coming from Boo. He started to have trouble jumping into the bed, so we got steps for the bed and he knew right away that those steps were for him. He used them to get up and down.

But then we got Jackie and we had to put the gate up in the hallway to stop the dog from getting into the litterboxes in the bathroom and computer room because she eats the cat poop. Well, that stopped Boo from coming back to bed. So then we tried to bring Boo to bed, but if he wanted to go back out into the living room during the night, he couldn't jump over the gate, so he'd sit there and yowl until we woke up and could take him out to the living room. We tried to keep the little cat door in the gate open, but the dog figured out how to get through the cat gate. So now, Boo and Pepe stay in the living room at night. On Monday night, I slept on the couch, in case Boo needed something; last night, Rick slept on the couch.

I miss having all the kids in bed with us. All six of them used to sleep with us. Mollipop and Muffin still do. Tabby will come back to the bed once the weather cools down again. But Boo and Pepe can't get past the gate. Amber is still young enough that she can jump over it. so chances are that when it cools down, she'll start sleeping with us again.

It's been nice not having Jackie in the house; Rick kenneled her while he was in Oregon because I refuse to deal with her anymore. The dog gates are all open and the cats come and go as they please again. Muffin is eating her meals in the kitchen again. Everything has been calm. The reason I slept on the couch on Monday night and Rick did last night is because we are afraid to put Boo back on the bed in case he tries to get down during the night. If I don't hear him, he may fall out of the bed. And that would really do a number. So it's best he stays in the living room for now.

verna davies · Sep 21, 2016

My 17 year old had bad arthritis and was in some pain when getting around. Also had teeth trouble. My vet put her on metacam. It helped a lot with the pain. I live in UK but would think there is something in US that does the same.
It's not a nice place to be for you at the moment and we never want to say goodbye but I'm sure you will make the right decision for Boo when the time comes.

Kat0121 · Sep 21, 2016

Winchester said:
Well, last night Rick came home, saw Boo, and decided this was it. And we were prepared to take him down to the hospital this morning.

This morning, I got up and walked out to the kitchen. And there was Boo.....sitting there like he owned the place (and he does). I stopped dead and said, "What the hell are you doing?" And he promptly fell over. But he was hungry, so I held the plate up so that he could eat and he ate everything. Gave him a drink, then he walked over to the water dish and took another drink from the dish. Walked, dragged, whatever into the living room, jumped up on the chair, lost his balance but got it back, and then jumped to the window! Lost his balance in the window and fell over, but got back up and curled up in the window. He was sleeping when I left for work.

So now, of course, we don't know what the hell to do. That pain shot is supposed to be wearing off early this afternoon. Rick wants to wait and see how much pain Boo might be in once the shot wears off; I don't want Boo to start suffering again. And we had a heck of an argument this morning. He thinks I'm being selfish because I don't want BooBoo to suffer. I think he's being selfish because he wants to see what happens once the shot wears off, how much pain Boo might be in, how well is he going to be able to get around once the shot wears off, etc. I don't want him to suffer; he does not deserve that.

Boo is very alert and he still has his appetite. He ate everything on his plate and then I gave him a bit of dry kibble and he ate that, too. He has never lost his appetite.

The vet said that the pain shot would last about 72 hours and then he would be in pain again. He also said there is a pain regimen that we could do with Boo. I didn't ask much about it at the time. I told Rick to call down to the vet this morning, speak with the vet and start asking questions. See about pain stuff, see what we can do with him. Because it's pretty obvious that Rick will not put BooBoo to sleep until he absolutely has to. That's OK. I just don't want him to suffer at all; I'm really worried about his quality of life.

This isn't the first time this has happened. Last year, we came home from work and Boo couldn't even move, he was in that much pain. He just sat there and screamed. We did an emergency run to the vet, they gave him a pain shot, gave him a med/pills. At that time, the vet even suggested that we let him go. Within two days, he was fine. He limps every now and again, and he's pretty slow-moving. A lot of times, he just pretty much sleeps, but he always gets up for his meals and snacks. And for the most part, he's my alarm clock in the morning; he always makes sure to wake me up around 4:30 or so for breakfast.

What do we do from here? The vet had said that his teeth were horrid at this point, but we were worried about putting him under anesthesia for a dental. Should we go ahead with the dental and hope he comes out of it OK? Vet said he has some neurological issues.....I don't know where to even begin with something like that. I simply don't know what to think right now. He's also in the beginning stages of kidney failure. And he has no muscle at all in his back end anymore. It's shot. I thought about some kind of therapy massage; I'd have to read up on it and see if I can do it for him.

Quite honestly? If I was up to me, I'd probably make the decision to euthanize him. He is 20 years old. He has a lot of health issues and, now with this leg problem. We really thought yesterday that he was ready. This morning? Not so much. When he jumped into the window, Rick just looked at me and said, "What the :censor: ? Now what?"

I think you need to let Rick make the decisions on this one. he can discuss the pain regimen and he can decide if it is in Boo's best interests or not. I think that if he has to make the call on it, it will help him deal with things if he has to make the decision to let his boy go. Rick knows how you feel about it.

Boo may have rallied because he was happy that Daddy came home (not that he doesn't love you- everyone knows he does :heart4

.

If it were up to me, I'd do the same as you but I think it would be beneficial for Rick to talk to the vet, weigh his options and make the call from there. That way he will know for sure that he really did try everything before taking the last step.

I'm sorry that all of you are going through this. Please let Rick know that we are ALL thinking about the both of you right now. We can all imagine how you must be feeling. Please also give sweet Boo and Ms Pepe (this can't be easy for her either) a big hug or 10 and some kisses. I always send love to all of the kids but those 2 need some extra right now. :hugs:

Any chance that your son will take The Beast? It sounds like the house is much more peaceful when she isn't there and the cats really need your attention now. All of them must know that something is up with Boo. :sigh:

Please send us some good thoughts

In the kitchen with my cookies

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