Ironia Funfest

Username:	Password:
Forgot your password?	Remember Me

This morning's episode of Emergency Vets
Leo's home, and good bad or indifferent for his care, he seemed glad about it. He walked around the house a bit meowing/sighing very loudly.

In order to get him to eat anything at all I had to pull out the big guns: deli turkey and tuna. I'm as sure as I can be that his stomach hurts and that's why he's not eating. He's drinking all right, to my relief, but both times he started eating he stopped after a few bites and went and crouched under the living room table. They sent him home with three meds--Pepcid, amoxicillin and an appetite stimulant. I just got most of his Pepcid dose into him, mixed with tuna juice; he was very upset about his amoxicillin dose last night, and since I have to give that a bit later I didn't want to put him through two oral med dosings. My hope is that the Pepcid makes him feel better enough that he'll eat something when I give him the antibiotic, since he's supposed to have that with food.

Of course, it's also possible that his stomach issues have to do either with his intestines or even the aspiration process, but those are both no-win situations so I'm not going to worry about it.

He's gone up and down the stairs all right but hasn't tried to jump onto anything. I slept most of last night on the floor with him. (Ow.)

His brother greeted his return with a look that clearly said "I thought you were dead. (And I just moved half of my stuff into your room.)" Lego has hissed at him every time he's come near him; Leo doesn't seem especially worried. Lego may be figuring out that the availability of tuna has increased substantially since Leo's return, though; I think he's beginning to accept it.

Current Mood: pensive

Leopold
He picked me out the instant we met, Christmas of 1992 at my brother's house, that tiny tuxedo-clad ball of fur. One look and he knew he had a servant for life. He found his name that day, too, strutting around like Bugs Bunny in the guise of Leopold Stokowski.

As well, he had the shape and regal attitude of a lion. (His brother, who came along for the ride and shares his tuxedo coloring, has the shape and playfulness of a tiger.) He didn't demand attention so much as compel it. He was always elegant--walking, seated, curled up. He was a lap cat, but as long as you skritched his throat occasionally he was content just to have your company.

He aged a little more quickly than his brother, I guess. They both had the kidney disease common in older cats, but Leo lost weight from an overactive thyroid. On meds, he gained weight again, but in the last few weeks he was losing it again. Tests in these last days revealed his spent left kidney as well as what his regular vet from kittenhood confirmed was almost certainly lymphoma in his intestines.

He made his own decision here, too, I think. He ate little last week, and stopped eating entirely at Angell. He could always throughout his life be counted on to sniff out his two favorite foods: deli turkey and tuna. (I stopped eating turkey sandwiches at home unless I planned to give away half!) But today he turned away from even those. I cajoled and coaxed; just in case, I even sucked up my fear and gave him sub-q fluids for the first time. But I think he hurt, and he'd had enough of sticks and meds and car rides. So the last thing I could do for him was to make the call. We went to Winter Hill, where he saw Dr. O'Donnell for the last time.

He was a magnificent cat.

Current Mood: heartbroken