visitors, T, Sam
My sister and her daughter showed up a bit after 6pm, I had dinner delivered for them, and helped them set up their air mattresses in the basement, as T had declared his office "off limits" until he returned. T will have cleaned up his office by tonight, and they'll sleep on his sofa bed for the remainder of the week. They'll leave midday Friday.
Then I tried to go to bed around 10pm, but T had taken a late train, was supposed to arrive after 11pm, and I often have difficulty falling asleep when somebody is supposed to arrive after my bedtime. I leave on enough lights so they can find their way in, but then I keep wanting to check whether they've arrived or not. I can't easily fall asleep until I see that the lights have been turned off.
Then when T did arrive around midnight, his first reaction was to state that Sam had lost a lot of weight since his last time at the house, which caused me to feel anxious at his arrival rather than helping me to sleep.
So, this morning I slept in, skipped my morning stretch and walk, because I had a 9am meeting.
After that meeting, and after our visitors had left for the day (they'll be back tonight), T and I sat down to compare notes about Sam and plan our next move. Then I made a vet appointment for Friday afternoon, although T wished it were sooner, but I still do not believe this is an "emergency". T was shocked upon returning to see the changes in Sam, but she's not in distress. She is in decline, however.
T and I both think it is likely that Sam is facing her terminal decline, that she may only have a month left, although the vet had found nothing wrong in particular when I took her at the end of May. The vet wanted us to bring her back for additional follow-up tests after a few weeks, and I waited until T to return so we could do this together.
Sam is about 14 years old, so she is within the age range of a house cat's full life.
I'm hopeful the problem could be something easily corrected, such as a dental problem that is leading her to not eat enough, but the vet didn't notice anything on her first visit, and he knew she was losing weight, so ...
I must live with the uncertainty. In the back of my mind, I hadn't planned for the cats to still be alive when I retired. My planning was to figure out new pets after I figured out my retirement situation. So, I'm not shocked that Sam appears to be facing her terminal decline. But I do feel sad and anxious.
As I see Sam every day, her decline is less perceptible to me than it is to B and T. B was the first person to notice, but then I took her to the vet and the vet found nothing wrong in particular. But a few weeks later, I can tell Sam is in decline, and T can definitely tell after not being here for a month.
T and I agree we're not going to subject Sam to surgery or chemotherapy at her advanced age. Only palliative care, treating symptoms. But maybe there's a quick fix to help her to have quality of life for a while longer. I will entrust this to the vet.
Then I tried to go to bed around 10pm, but T had taken a late train, was supposed to arrive after 11pm, and I often have difficulty falling asleep when somebody is supposed to arrive after my bedtime. I leave on enough lights so they can find their way in, but then I keep wanting to check whether they've arrived or not. I can't easily fall asleep until I see that the lights have been turned off.
Then when T did arrive around midnight, his first reaction was to state that Sam had lost a lot of weight since his last time at the house, which caused me to feel anxious at his arrival rather than helping me to sleep.
So, this morning I slept in, skipped my morning stretch and walk, because I had a 9am meeting.
After that meeting, and after our visitors had left for the day (they'll be back tonight), T and I sat down to compare notes about Sam and plan our next move. Then I made a vet appointment for Friday afternoon, although T wished it were sooner, but I still do not believe this is an "emergency". T was shocked upon returning to see the changes in Sam, but she's not in distress. She is in decline, however.
T and I both think it is likely that Sam is facing her terminal decline, that she may only have a month left, although the vet had found nothing wrong in particular when I took her at the end of May. The vet wanted us to bring her back for additional follow-up tests after a few weeks, and I waited until T to return so we could do this together.
Sam is about 14 years old, so she is within the age range of a house cat's full life.
I'm hopeful the problem could be something easily corrected, such as a dental problem that is leading her to not eat enough, but the vet didn't notice anything on her first visit, and he knew she was losing weight, so ...
I must live with the uncertainty. In the back of my mind, I hadn't planned for the cats to still be alive when I retired. My planning was to figure out new pets after I figured out my retirement situation. So, I'm not shocked that Sam appears to be facing her terminal decline. But I do feel sad and anxious.
As I see Sam every day, her decline is less perceptible to me than it is to B and T. B was the first person to notice, but then I took her to the vet and the vet found nothing wrong in particular. But a few weeks later, I can tell Sam is in decline, and T can definitely tell after not being here for a month.
T and I agree we're not going to subject Sam to surgery or chemotherapy at her advanced age. Only palliative care, treating symptoms. But maybe there's a quick fix to help her to have quality of life for a while longer. I will entrust this to the vet.