Oh Kitty Cat

My poor little Pounce.

Pounce is 14 years old -- I've had him since he was about eight weeks old. There was a lady in New Jersey who rescued abandoned cats and gave them a home until owners could be found. I think she worked in conjunction with something like Friends of Pets. I remember her house clearly -- all the furniture was covered in plastic and there was no odor of animal at all. I remember her too, asking if I wanted the cat's friend he'd made while there and I declined. I thought one cat would be enough and it would be, until I moved to Alaska, but that's another story.

Pounce has travelled cross country twice, helped me through an emotional crisis when a longtime boyfriend-finace broke up with me and has survived the loss of his feline friend, Sorriso who died earlier this year. Through it all he has been rock solid and predictable. It's only been with the introduction of the husband that his behavior has changed.

He's not been too well these last few weeks. He started hiding in cabinets and then staying in his carrier when he couldn't get to the cabinets and then I noticed he wasn't using the litter box. Last weekend, he started meowing as if he was in terrible pain. I called the vet and made an appointment. Since Monday was a holiday, the vet who called me back told me to come in about 8:30 Tuesday or so. So I brought Pounce in but the stupid receptionist told me that without an appointment I wouldn't get to see the doctor but I could wait until 10am. I told her that the doctor told me to come in at this time and she told me he should not have said that to me. Fine, whatever. I'm an emotional wreck by now -- anything is going to set me over the edge if I push, or am pushed too hard. Schedule me an appointment then. Wednesday 8am. Great.

I take Pounce to the vet on Wednesday. The first thing the doctor says to me is that he's blind in both eyes. That was problem number one. Problem number two is that his bladder is full and he won't go to the bathroom. That's what the meowing was--- it was hurting to relieve himself. I have to leave him there for examination with the hopes that he'll be okay but at this point, no one knows.

Flash forward to three pm, the appointed call hour. They want to keep him overnight. He relieved himself but they didn't catch a sample. They also found he was constipated (poor kitty!) so they helped that problem too. He's eating and drinking but we're not out of the woods yet. I have to call back in the morning. The house felt empty that night.

Thursday morning I call, and he's in pain again. They want to X-ray his tail and see if something's going on. He's also running a fever. The bloodwork done the day before is good: no major problems in the liver or kidneys. The x-ray reveals a bump in his tail. It's either an abcess or a tumor. I brought him home Thursday night and he's on medication. He goes back to the doctor next week for a check-up.

The only thing important to me is now is to make sure that if these are his final days, I spend as much time as I possibly can with him, as he has done for me though the years.