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Post by Kimby on Mar 11, 2017 15:01:44 GMT
We chose Mo from about 10 cats at the animal shelter. Unfortunately someone else wanted him and had put a hold on him. Meanwhile Mia chose US, reaching her front legs through the cage bars to bat at the feathers on a wand toy we'd brought to see which cats we could engage. We gave her a closer look and had just decided to adopt her when the shelter worker came back to say that the person had just called to release the hold on Mo. So we took them both and never looked back.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 14, 2017 23:54:00 GMT
We had new blood tests taken on both kitties Monday and got the results this morning. Mo passed his tests, despite the lymphoma in his gut. Mia is still moving in the right direction from our efforts to keep her hydrated and fed, but not far enough and not fast enough.
And though she's still talkative and bright-eyed, she's off her feed, which can be devastating for cats as they develop "fatty liver syndrome." We aren't going to force feed her, so I guess we'll be watching a gradual decline till it's time to go for that last-trip-to-the-vet.
Sigh...
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Post by Kimby on Mar 16, 2017 20:29:48 GMT
Bye-bye Mia. Vet helped her oh so gently out of this world yesterday afternoon. We and Mo are bereft, but trying to cheer each other up. I wonder how much longer Mo will be with us, with that cancer growing in his gut.
Sometimes life sucks.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 21:11:08 GMT
Not a surprise but always a very sad moment. My condolences.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 16, 2017 21:33:15 GMT
Thanks, K2.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 17, 2017 1:44:08 GMT
Oh Kimby, I am so sorry. I know how sad this is and is the only reason that I have not gotten another dog. It just breaks my heart to remember the sadness so I am truly sorry for your loss.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 17, 2017 4:08:14 GMT
Thanks, mich. I know we'll have another cat. The pros outweigh the cons for us. But it will be hard to find another one like Mia.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2017 5:47:31 GMT
It might be early for a bit a levity, but I was hoping that you would not call the next cat Soon-Yi.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 17, 2017 13:53:10 GMT
Great idea, K2. We are not witty with our cat names, but THAT would be a great name for a Siamese.
Our next kitty is likely to be Mr. Kimby's mother's cat, if she can't return to a living situation where pets are allowed. This sweet kitty has a name already, Pearl.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2017 14:49:29 GMT
Thanks, mich. I know we'll have another cat. The pros outweigh the cons for us. But it will be hard to find another one like Mia. I thought the same after Sadie's leaving in early January, a.) it would be a long time before I would entertain getting another cat, b.) no cat could possibly "take Sadie's place" etc. Well, by the end of the month I one day told my husband, "I want to go to the animal shelter today and adopt a kitten." As with MO, this kitten chose us. We no sooner walked into the room that held 6 or 7 kittens and this one kitten stood on his hind legs, with his arms extended and embraced my wrist, claws retracted and licked my hand. That was it. He, "Pompeii", is the love of our lives, and while he could could never replace Sadie, he won over our hearts. P.S. Mia and Sadie are likely the best of friends up there in "Kitty Heaven".
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Post by Kimby on Mar 17, 2017 14:59:42 GMT
Awww.
Don't think I'd want a kitten kitten. Mo and Mia were about 6 months old when we got them, fully house-trained and their characters were formed enough we knew what we were getting into.
But you never know what will happen when you walk into an animal shelter...
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Post by mich64 on Mar 17, 2017 15:14:07 GMT
Kimby, Casi and Lagatta, I admire that you will continue to love and care for more kittens/cats.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2017 15:39:46 GMT
"Pompeii" was already 3-4 months old when we adopted him. He was already house trained and all that but still young enough for us to be able to enjoy kitten like behavior which I have to admit is quite the challenge in many respects as he has so much energy and a real "live wire".
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Post by Kimby on Apr 15, 2017 17:32:20 GMT
Mo's gradual decline continues to the point where he weighs practically nothing (down from almost 14# in his prime). He's very lovey (clingy) and is on our laps or on the bed with us all the time. But he does seem to have lost interest in eating and sometimes looks "uncomfortable".
After the holiday weekend, I think we'll be visiting the vet and returning to a catless house for the first time in 17 years.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2017 17:36:49 GMT
Very sad, but all of us have to outlive our pets unless we have parrots or tortoises...
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Post by lagatta on Apr 15, 2017 22:32:27 GMT
Or when we get very old.
mich, I know how much you treasured your wonderful dog, but perhaps one day the urge to have another will be too great, or you will simply come across a splendid dog who is homeless. I was perplexed when a neighbour brought me Livia (at the time, tiny black female cat without a name) as I was still crying every night and sometimes in the daytime about my Renzo. I was only supposed to house her while we looked for the original owners (ha, ha).
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Post by Kimby on Apr 22, 2017 21:24:20 GMT
Mo made it through the weekend but was not looking good so we made an appointment (date with death) for our vet's last workday this week, which was Wednesday.
However, on Tuesday he perked up and started eating again, so we cancelled and rebooked for Friday at 4pm with a different vet.
This has been really hard for us, especially knowing that we would almost certainly have to "put him down" before we head to Florida for 3 weeks, because it wouldn't be fair to leave him all alone (since Mia died a month ago) in his condition with just a half-hour visit from the kitty-sitter each day.
And not fair to the kitty-sitter either, who might have to decide if he was sick enough to alert us to the need for the "final trip to the vet" and then take him there.
We also investigated boarding him at a vet hospital, but didn't think that would be fair to him either.
So we enjoyed two more days with Mo, and quality days they were, with lots of purring and lap-sitting and snuggling under the covers.
And then on Friday, he seemed to be failing again, which made it a bit less horrible to take him to the vet to be sent off to kitty dreamland. Perhaps Mia was waiting for him along the way...
We are catless for the first time in 17 years and only the second time in 37 years. :-(
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Post by lagatta on Apr 23, 2017 1:20:41 GMT
That is so very sad. But it always is. I had made the fatal appointment for Renzo, who was dying of renal failure, but he died at home before the last trip. I still cry about him, I miss him so much...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2017 4:12:03 GMT
Kitty condolences, Kimby.
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Post by bjd on Apr 23, 2017 5:24:23 GMT
Sorry to hear that, Kimby. Perhaps being catless in Florida for 3 weeks will make it easier on you when you get home again.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 23, 2017 9:25:31 GMT
I am really very sorry Kimby. It's so hard when our beloved animal friends pass away. X
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Post by Kimby on Apr 23, 2017 10:59:44 GMT
We will probably NOT be catless, as we will be fostering my mother-in-law's kitty, Pearl, who has been living alone since her person broke her hip in early March. We plan to bring her to our house on Sanibel, and take her to the vet and possibly kitty dentist, since she may have a mouthful of dental issues. Mother-in-law will be moving to assisted living when she gets out of rehab, but she can take her kitty there.
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Post by mich64 on Apr 23, 2017 16:24:18 GMT
Sorry to read about Mo Kimby, deepest condolences to you and Mr.K. I too hope that Mo and Mia are together again as I hope that our Juneau, Jacob and Jebidiah are as well.
I found dog sitting was indeed helpful Lagatta and it is true, you never know what the future may bring. Our second dog, Jacob, was dropped by for us to meet to see if we might be interested in taking him (he was 5), they left him and after the first night I knew he was not going anywhere.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2017 17:08:41 GMT
So sorry Kimby and Mr. K.
I like to think that at this point in time that all our dearly departed critters from here have converged "up there" and have their own APIAS in the sky. Comforting in it's own special way to me as we have had three leave us since the inception of this thread. Ah, the stories they could share...
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Post by Kimby on May 6, 2017 2:50:45 GMT
Pearl, who we estimate is about 9 years old, has a mouthful of bad teeth. Today the vet anesthetized her to do a dental cleaning, X-rays and exam. Turns out she is already missing 8 teeth(!), and 4 more needed pulling today. We never would have guessed she was so bad because she doesn't have bad breath, eats like a horse and doesn't act like she's in pain. But I hope she feels better now. All 3 of us are hating the medicine-administrating part of the recovery period!
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 4:14:09 GMT
So, she eats canned catfood instead of the crunchy stuff?
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Post by Kimby on May 6, 2017 12:25:43 GMT
She eats both canned and kibble with enthusiasm. While her gums heal, dry food is off limits.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 1, 2017 12:35:18 GMT
Livia now has the tall scratching post that belonged to Olive (pronounced in French), also a black cat. Olive belonged to a good friend who is also in our co-op (though we knew each other before that - there are two people I knew beforehand in the coop). She had cancer, and just stopped eating so her human took her in to have her euthanized. It was time. I haven't measured it, but it is well over a metre and comes to my thorax (between waist and boobs), but that isn't saying much as I'm far from tall. She loves it. I'm sure she recognizes the scent of both Olive and Renzo, as she was living in the lane behind our triplexes. She likes to climb up it and take little swats at me (with her claws in; she is just playing).
My friend wants to be catless this summer as he is planning a trip to Germany; he has been to France, Belgium and the Netherlands in Europe but not yet to nearby Germany, and he wants above all to go to Berlin, which unfortunately I've never visited (yet). I've only been to western Germany, close to France and to the Netherlands (two different trips). He has to visit the empty tomb of Rosa Luxemburg, who was a great cat lover...
But we are sure he'll give in to a cat by the autumn. Probably an adult, as some of his younger friends are a bit punkoid and not very stable in their housing arrangements, so alas pets tend to get dumped.
Renzo was around four months old when I adopted him; he looked younger because he was underfed (in the streets) but caught up on his growth and while he was never remotely fat, he was long and rangy (part Siamese). Livia will always be very small, and I have to be vigilant as such cats (and people) can turn into little balls.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 3, 2017 2:58:29 GMT
Our new old kitty, adopted from Mr. Kimby's mom before she died (and three years ago adopted from ANOTHER old lady who died, and who knows WHAT before that) is getting along well with our kitty sitter as we are in Wisconsin to empty out ANOTHER condo belonging to my in-laws. We are too busy to miss Pearl much, but I'll bet she wonders why we left her so soon after bringing her on an airplane to live with us. :-(
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Post by whatagain on Jun 3, 2017 12:33:11 GMT
Cookie has not been seen in the last month. He is 5. All his brethrens are dead... some families are doomed. The mother died 2 years after having the kids. Pantoufle was lost by our nephew. Patapouf left us for a neighbour but went under a car recently. So went plume last year pirate died very young - accident. Cookie was my favourite cat (along with Pacha). Down to 8 cats it seems. Oldest is 13 or close. Old but paranoid and half crazy. She flees when I approach her most of the time.
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