Aging Kitties
So both my cats are now a little over 15 years old, and it's hard for me not to be aware (possibly hyper-aware) of their mortality. Saturday, I brought Audrey in to the vet because she seemed to be losing weight/getting more boney, and I was concerned she might have a hyperthyroid condition, since her last tests indicated she might be heading that direction. As I suspected, she has lost weight, but the blood-work came up negative for any thyroid issues. So on the one hand, Yay!, but on the other hand, why is she losing weight? It could just be her age, but one worries.
My other cat, Goblin, also seems to be losing weight, and in her case she also seems to be eating less, at least less of the wet food. As opposed to Audrey, who eats her share and whatever Goblin leaves. Plus I'd noticed the bump on the back of her nick right where it joins the head. So I brought her to the vet yesterday, and they verified that she's lost 1/2 a pound or so, and did bloodwork for that. The vet thought the bump was definitely a small mass of some kind, but figured it was probably benign since doesn't appear to have been growing since I noticed it. But I had them remove it anyway, and do a biopsy on it. Still waiting for all those results. In the meantime, Goblin (who now has a rather funny-looking shaved portion on the back of her neck) is understandably skittish of me, worried no doubt that I'm going to take her back to the bad place. Hopefully this will have diminished by the time I have to take her in to have her stitches removed.
So I wait. And I worry. And I try not to think too hard about how much time I have left with them. They are the first pets I ever had as an adult, and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it when their time comes. We had dogs growing up, but we were lucky enough to have them both die naturally. I've never had to put a pet to sleep, and I'm not sure I can do it if one of them develops a painful, fatal illness.
My other cat, Goblin, also seems to be losing weight, and in her case she also seems to be eating less, at least less of the wet food. As opposed to Audrey, who eats her share and whatever Goblin leaves. Plus I'd noticed the bump on the back of her nick right where it joins the head. So I brought her to the vet yesterday, and they verified that she's lost 1/2 a pound or so, and did bloodwork for that. The vet thought the bump was definitely a small mass of some kind, but figured it was probably benign since doesn't appear to have been growing since I noticed it. But I had them remove it anyway, and do a biopsy on it. Still waiting for all those results. In the meantime, Goblin (who now has a rather funny-looking shaved portion on the back of her neck) is understandably skittish of me, worried no doubt that I'm going to take her back to the bad place. Hopefully this will have diminished by the time I have to take her in to have her stitches removed.
So I wait. And I worry. And I try not to think too hard about how much time I have left with them. They are the first pets I ever had as an adult, and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it when their time comes. We had dogs growing up, but we were lucky enough to have them both die naturally. I've never had to put a pet to sleep, and I'm not sure I can do it if one of them develops a painful, fatal illness.