My Buddy.
So my cat, Big Buddy, is sick. He is the black and white cat that was one of the kittens born to my sister’s cat, Zippo and my cat, Papa Bear - both of whom have passed away now. I named him Krycek but these days he only answers to Big Buddy. Or if you sing that old TV commercial song for The My Buddy Doll. (who remembers The My Buddy Doll?)
Currently they don't know what is wrong and it is either a diet problem or something very serious. They were going to run more tests (they already did blood-work) but then the doctor was like, "Look, at this point, the kind of illness we would find would be things that are only treatable with very harsh treatments and very expensive treatments."
Sadly, he is 13 and I wouldn't want to put him through anything traumatic, not to mention the cost, which I hate that it is a factor, but it is. I can’t imagine spending thousands of dollars (and by that, I mean borrowing from my dad) for a treatment that will be miserable for him and might not even work anyways. I expressed this to the doctor and she said, "That's what I thought. Which leads us to time not being a factor then. If it turns out to be something serious, the most we will do is make him comfortable until he gets too sick. So before you spend a ton of money on tests that may not even reveal anything, let's try the diet route. Maybe some senior cat food and an appetite stimulant. See if we can get his eating sorted out that way. Then if he isn't better in 3 weeks or so, we can start testing him so you at least have an answer."
I hate putting him through any unnecessary testing, as he is such a nervous boy, but waiting is kind of nerve-wracking. He seems better just since they sent home the special food. He is still having bathroom problems and he is still very clingy and tired acting. But he ate the new food and he went out on the porch today…so much better than the cat who wouldn't even get up for dinner on Tuesday night.
It's just upsetting to even think about losing him. I haven't even brought myself to bury Papa Bear yet. Big Buddy and Roo have to give me a year or two, right?
Here is a picture of Big Buddy attempting to rip the nose off his Bert-Baby.
He successfully ripped the nose off his Ernie-Baby in a matter of days but he has been working on Bert's nose for years now.
I do have one really good thing to report - The Nephew is coming for a visit this weekend! Always a good thing. And I did some stress therapy today - eating Girl Scout cookies and reading fan fic. I think it helped a little.
Currently they don't know what is wrong and it is either a diet problem or something very serious. They were going to run more tests (they already did blood-work) but then the doctor was like, "Look, at this point, the kind of illness we would find would be things that are only treatable with very harsh treatments and very expensive treatments."
Sadly, he is 13 and I wouldn't want to put him through anything traumatic, not to mention the cost, which I hate that it is a factor, but it is. I can’t imagine spending thousands of dollars (and by that, I mean borrowing from my dad) for a treatment that will be miserable for him and might not even work anyways. I expressed this to the doctor and she said, "That's what I thought. Which leads us to time not being a factor then. If it turns out to be something serious, the most we will do is make him comfortable until he gets too sick. So before you spend a ton of money on tests that may not even reveal anything, let's try the diet route. Maybe some senior cat food and an appetite stimulant. See if we can get his eating sorted out that way. Then if he isn't better in 3 weeks or so, we can start testing him so you at least have an answer."
I hate putting him through any unnecessary testing, as he is such a nervous boy, but waiting is kind of nerve-wracking. He seems better just since they sent home the special food. He is still having bathroom problems and he is still very clingy and tired acting. But he ate the new food and he went out on the porch today…so much better than the cat who wouldn't even get up for dinner on Tuesday night.
It's just upsetting to even think about losing him. I haven't even brought myself to bury Papa Bear yet. Big Buddy and Roo have to give me a year or two, right?
Here is a picture of Big Buddy attempting to rip the nose off his Bert-Baby.
He successfully ripped the nose off his Ernie-Baby in a matter of days but he has been working on Bert's nose for years now.
I do have one really good thing to report - The Nephew is coming for a visit this weekend! Always a good thing. And I did some stress therapy today - eating Girl Scout cookies and reading fan fic. I think it helped a little.