2020 will be among the worst of years for the loss of cats.
In 2019 our only male, who we rescued from a farm in December, 2000, had developed arthritis in his hips. He also developed a benign lump in his hips that made one leg a lot weaker. He began to loose weight and muscle mass in his hindquarters. He loved to be escorted outside along the borders of our property to patrol his turf, which he was still able to to do in November, 2019, although much slower.
He had two mini strokes in late 2019. These occurred during a nap. Upon waking he would suddenly moan and his hindquarters showed signs of paralysis. He slowly gained use of his legs over the next hour or so during each episode that allowed him to walk with a limp. These mini strokes changed his personality as he no longer played with his favorite toy, but instead was afraid of it. He no longer wanted to sleep next to you on the floor, but by himself on a blanket.
In February he appeared to have suffered a more massive stroke while asleep. He was not able to wake up. His whiskers would wrinkle if you said his name; however, he would also do that occasionally without saying anything, as if he was in a REM state of sleep. After 21 hours he awoke, but his hindquarters were paralyzed, he was almost entirely blind and he could not longer eat.
As the vet was not available for two days I needed to try for the best palliative care as possible until then. His front was still very strong so I made a sling to hold up his hindquarters while he walked with his front legs. He was not able to see well thus I needed to guide him to his water dish. He was able to sit by his dish and drink water and tuna juice but could not eat. I guided him around the dinning room table to try to make him tired and then placed him a large linen lined box I kept on my lap on the couch. When he woke and moaned form not being able to see I could sometimes coax him back to sleep by petting him. I didn’t sleep for more than 30 hours straight.
Comforting him after the vet injected him with a compound to relax his muscles was difficult. Due to his size, which was 19 pounds at its height, he began making walking and kneading motions with his front legs as if on one of his favorite walks. The vet seemed surprised to the activity, but joined in petting him to try to relax him.
A female who we also rescued from the same farm in December, 2000, at three months old, had started to loose weight and muscle mass. At first we considered this to be part of the normal aging process; however, by early summer I had noticed that her four legs felt cold. She was eating less as much. There was also a very small gap in her mouth when she breathed. This all pointed to advanced heart disease, which would steadily get worse and cause fluid to build up on her lungs, eventually causing her to develop open mouth panting in an attempt to obtain enough air. We let her play out in grass and took some final pictures just prior to taking her to the vet.
Less than three weeks ago we noticed a swelling of the lower jaw of a nearly 15 year old female we rescued from another farm. she had been eating less. She also has diabetes that required a daily shot. We thought it might be a minor dental problem; however, it turned out to be terminal oral cancer. Putting her through the stress of multiple chemo therapy and radiation treatments in a city more than 100 miles away might result in 2-3 months of life at best. The vet gave her a shot that would control her pain, and allow her to eat, for 6-7 days during which time we could say goodbye.
On 11-27-20 we able to capture a feral kitten who became tame within 3 days. We are waiting to add him to the household with our female three year old and male and female two year olds, all of which were rescue cats. He does not makeup for the three loses but makes it less painful.
In 2019 our only male, who we rescued from a farm in December, 2000, had developed arthritis in his hips. He also developed a benign lump in his hips that made one leg a lot weaker. He began to loose weight and muscle mass in his hindquarters. He loved to be escorted outside along the borders of our property to patrol his turf, which he was still able to to do in November, 2019, although much slower.
He had two mini strokes in late 2019. These occurred during a nap. Upon waking he would suddenly moan and his hindquarters showed signs of paralysis. He slowly gained use of his legs over the next hour or so during each episode that allowed him to walk with a limp. These mini strokes changed his personality as he no longer played with his favorite toy, but instead was afraid of it. He no longer wanted to sleep next to you on the floor, but by himself on a blanket.
In February he appeared to have suffered a more massive stroke while asleep. He was not able to wake up. His whiskers would wrinkle if you said his name; however, he would also do that occasionally without saying anything, as if he was in a REM state of sleep. After 21 hours he awoke, but his hindquarters were paralyzed, he was almost entirely blind and he could not longer eat.
As the vet was not available for two days I needed to try for the best palliative care as possible until then. His front was still very strong so I made a sling to hold up his hindquarters while he walked with his front legs. He was not able to see well thus I needed to guide him to his water dish. He was able to sit by his dish and drink water and tuna juice but could not eat. I guided him around the dinning room table to try to make him tired and then placed him a large linen lined box I kept on my lap on the couch. When he woke and moaned form not being able to see I could sometimes coax him back to sleep by petting him. I didn’t sleep for more than 30 hours straight.
Comforting him after the vet injected him with a compound to relax his muscles was difficult. Due to his size, which was 19 pounds at its height, he began making walking and kneading motions with his front legs as if on one of his favorite walks. The vet seemed surprised to the activity, but joined in petting him to try to relax him.
A female who we also rescued from the same farm in December, 2000, at three months old, had started to loose weight and muscle mass. At first we considered this to be part of the normal aging process; however, by early summer I had noticed that her four legs felt cold. She was eating less as much. There was also a very small gap in her mouth when she breathed. This all pointed to advanced heart disease, which would steadily get worse and cause fluid to build up on her lungs, eventually causing her to develop open mouth panting in an attempt to obtain enough air. We let her play out in grass and took some final pictures just prior to taking her to the vet.
Less than three weeks ago we noticed a swelling of the lower jaw of a nearly 15 year old female we rescued from another farm. she had been eating less. She also has diabetes that required a daily shot. We thought it might be a minor dental problem; however, it turned out to be terminal oral cancer. Putting her through the stress of multiple chemo therapy and radiation treatments in a city more than 100 miles away might result in 2-3 months of life at best. The vet gave her a shot that would control her pain, and allow her to eat, for 6-7 days during which time we could say goodbye.
On 11-27-20 we able to capture a feral kitten who became tame within 3 days. We are waiting to add him to the household with our female three year old and male and female two year olds, all of which were rescue cats. He does not makeup for the three loses but makes it less painful.