Possible Kitty Troubles ...
So my kitty is getting kind of skinny. I can feel his spine more than I used to, so he's definitely lost weight. He's not eating as much and can hardly sniff out his treats. I've been spoiling him with canned food-which he really likes, but doesn't seem to down it as much as he used to. It could be nothing-he's still loud, races us down the stairs, bites us when he's in a bad mood, and lays out in ridiculous positions in the sun-or it could be something major. He has FIV (kitty AIDs) so it could be that it's finally affecting him. It could be something as simple as an infection that could be easily treated, but it could also be something much worse.
The truth of the matter is that my cat is almost 16 years old and frankly speaking, he's still a very happy cat. Right now, my mom and I are just going to try and fatten him up. If that doesn't work-we can take him to the vet. Not that we can actually afford another $300 cat bill comprised of about 3 tests (!!). But you know, you take them whether you can afford it or not. If it's something small, hopefully we can treat him. If it's something serious, something that goes beyond his tests and some simple medication-no matter what happens, as long as he's still happy and functioning, we're not going to put him down. He's lived a long and happy life and until he can no longer do that, I refuse to put him down.
I know he's not going to live forever, but I think I've always felt like he could survive anything. And really, he has. That cat has more lives than any human OR animal really should. It's a freaking miracle that he's still alive, really. So even if the end of his life is near, we're going to go on just as the first 16 years of his life has.
I think when he's gone, I'll always remember to never, EVER get anything other than a wild, crazy, insane, siamese cat. I think he made me really like cats. I'm such a dog person and I didn't know until recently that I like cats alot too. When I got him, I didn't even want him in the same room as me. My previous cat died so suddenly, so when my dad brought home this way too young, sickly, undernourished cat who was at death's door-I didn't want to get attached. But my dog saved him in the most astonishing of ways-and it wasn't until my dog died that I realized that if it wasn't for him, I would never have wanted another cat again. But my kitty, though he was spectacularly mean, bossy, and painful to be around-I think I really liked him. We sort of had this understanding that I could be just as mean, bossy, and painful, so we understood that it would not be wise to mess with each other too much. Anyway, to make a long story short, he's much nicer now and I depend on his deafening meows just as much as I depended on my dog's obedient presence and I can't imagine coming home to a house without him. And when I'm forced to, I'll know what it means to have had a cat that you can't ever forget. I think I'll always tell people stories about the crazy cat I had when I was a kid that was raised by my favorite dog ...
The truth of the matter is that my cat is almost 16 years old and frankly speaking, he's still a very happy cat. Right now, my mom and I are just going to try and fatten him up. If that doesn't work-we can take him to the vet. Not that we can actually afford another $300 cat bill comprised of about 3 tests (!!). But you know, you take them whether you can afford it or not. If it's something small, hopefully we can treat him. If it's something serious, something that goes beyond his tests and some simple medication-no matter what happens, as long as he's still happy and functioning, we're not going to put him down. He's lived a long and happy life and until he can no longer do that, I refuse to put him down.
I know he's not going to live forever, but I think I've always felt like he could survive anything. And really, he has. That cat has more lives than any human OR animal really should. It's a freaking miracle that he's still alive, really. So even if the end of his life is near, we're going to go on just as the first 16 years of his life has.
I think when he's gone, I'll always remember to never, EVER get anything other than a wild, crazy, insane, siamese cat. I think he made me really like cats. I'm such a dog person and I didn't know until recently that I like cats alot too. When I got him, I didn't even want him in the same room as me. My previous cat died so suddenly, so when my dad brought home this way too young, sickly, undernourished cat who was at death's door-I didn't want to get attached. But my dog saved him in the most astonishing of ways-and it wasn't until my dog died that I realized that if it wasn't for him, I would never have wanted another cat again. But my kitty, though he was spectacularly mean, bossy, and painful to be around-I think I really liked him. We sort of had this understanding that I could be just as mean, bossy, and painful, so we understood that it would not be wise to mess with each other too much. Anyway, to make a long story short, he's much nicer now and I depend on his deafening meows just as much as I depended on my dog's obedient presence and I can't imagine coming home to a house without him. And when I'm forced to, I'll know what it means to have had a cat that you can't ever forget. I think I'll always tell people stories about the crazy cat I had when I was a kid that was raised by my favorite dog ...