Overall, Tiger seemed to have been okay since the storm last month but I know with cats that even though they are purring and seem to look fully alert that that doesn’t mean anything. Just last week she started to cry (more like howling) constantly again and wasn’t eating much. I found myself throwing food away. She still had some strength in her and could jump on my bed often although she was unable to run and climb stairs the way she used to (During the past couple of years she could only walk very slowly up and down the cellar stairs). On Monday and Tuesday she was urinating often. She still had some fight in her and was upbeat and still wanted attention from us but she didn’t look herself. On Wednesday morning she was very uncomfortable and kept crying non-stop. She would urinate wherever she went and was going from one room to another trying to get comfortable but she couldn’t stay in one spot. She very briefly cried at a wall at one point. A few times she tried to go outside something she would never do before because she feared the outdoors. I walked her outside a couple of times to see what she would do and she walked all around the sundeck and once let out a cry. She walked on the deck stairs and looked under the deck as if she was looking for something or for a place to die. I put her back into the house and she immediately wanted to go back outside. At one point she cried at me on the other side of the door. This deeply broke my heart. As she was staring I noticed she had a terrible time trying to adjust her eyes to the sunlight. This day was very hard because I tried to care for her and gave her food that was pureed but she didn’t even attempt to lick it up. She wanted water but had a very hard time trying to lick at it. She struggled with her water and would put her paw on the water bowl and try to move it and then she would stop and let out a cry. She followed me all around crying that day. Her muscles would twitch, even her paw and upper leg. She even cried at my grandmother. She definitely was very sick and her symptoms were very sudden and increasing. I was still in denial because I didn’t want to believe that Tiger, our always strong, feisty, lovable cat, was sick and perhaps dying.

Since her crying continued non-stop and her symptoms were increasing my mother took Tiger to the vet at 11:00am. The vet gave her a few shots and took blood work to see how her kidneys were functioning. A few hours later the vet called and said that her kidneys were not functioning well and that her glucose level and other levels were extremely abnormal and she said that Tiger would not live but only suffer greatly during the next day or two and possibly would go into convulsions and into a coma. The decision was made to put her to sleep. I didn’t want to force the vet to put Tiger through treatments because I had a young cat, Elvis, in 1989 who was diagnosed with leukemia and although the vets strongly suggested that he be put to sleep we had one vet give us all kinds of medicines and we kept our pet alive for a couple of more months but all it did was make him suffer a lot longer and not get any better. I didn’t want Tiger to go through that same ordeal. However, I have some guilt and regrets because I wonder if Tiger was forced to go through treatments if she would be alive today. But I am told that her condition was too extreme. But it seems you always look back and wonder if something could have been done or if a slight change such as changing her food or even taking her to the vet a week earlier would have made things different. I’d appreciate some responses to this since I am not dealing with this loss very well. You see, we bought Tiger in March of 1990 when she was only a few months old. We bought her to be a friend to our other cat Priscilla who we had adopted just over a year before to be a friend to our other cat, Elvis, the one who died of leukemia. For some reason, Tiger never wanted to be held. She was very active and cute but was standoffish with people. Priscilla was the baby and wanted special attention. When Priscilla became ill in late October of 1995 with “galloping” leukemia (she had a slight case of leukemia because she took care of Elvis and cleaned him when he was sick), Tiger took care of Priscilla and tried to push her down our upstairs hallway during her last moments when she was unable to walk!!! After Priscilla died, Tiger started to soften and became a big baby and so we babied her often. Then, my father died of cancer a few months later in March of 1996 after being diagnosed a few weeks before. After my dad died, Tiger, for some reason, began to show me constant attention since I was home all the time. I was close to my father and although hardly anyone bothered with me and my family after my dad died, Tiger was always there and wouldn’t let us out of her sight. My mother and I would have coffee in the living room and she would lay down between us just to be there and listen. She would follow me everywhere and would often lay down on my foot or put one of her back paws on one of my feet! When I worked on my computer after my dad died she would stay with me and jump on my lap and get excited over the objects floating around on the computer screen. She never did anything like that during her previous five years. It was as if God was encouraging her to help me and my family. So from March of 1996 till November of 1995, she just became the biggest baby and gave so much attention to us and really helped me to cope with the loss of my father so losing her recently has been extremely heartbreaking and terribly frustrating.

During the time I spent with Tiger on Wednesday I must have hugged her several times and each time I did she would become very calm and even purr a little. When we took her to the vet to put her to sleep late that afternoon I sat in the back of the car. She was in her carrier in the front and would let out some soft cries. I wanted to say my last goodbye and hope she would acknowledge me. When I held her during the day she didn’t really react except to purr a little and stay still. But I when put my hand to the cage she cried out a little and gave a big swipe of her little face against my hand! That is a moment I will never forget. But I just feel very sad and frustrated today because I lost my best friend. The crying has been constant for me. She helped me cope with my father’s death since March of 1996 and just hung around me all the time. It was very sad to see her get old and not run around like she used to. Her having diabetes made life very difficult for her but we loved her and she is now buried in our special memorial garden in the back yard with Priscilla and Elvis.

You should take your cat to a local animal shelter or Humane Society. If she is crying, there must be a reason. I assume by “messed up” you mean her legs might be broken. Your cat seems to be in a lot of pain and needs help. Even if they have to put her to sleep, at least you will have helped ease her pain.

Mary Paulin

My cat Nikki’s condition worsened daily, primarily she seemed confused about her food, sat and stared at it for a long time before trying to eat a little of it, and she was sleeping in really unusual places, such as a mixing bowl in my storage area. She was frequently urinating in the same places she slept. In her throat, she made a sound every few minutes that sounded as if she were about to vomit or was choking on something.

She never staggered when she walked, but looked shaky. And her pupils were the size of dinner plates, which made me think she was very uncomfortable or in pain.

I made an appointment with the vet for Sunday, Nov 13, to have her examined and euthenized if necessary.

My daughter and her husband and my little grand-daughter, Flora, came on Saturday afternoon to say goodbye and we took pictures. Flora was delighted to be able to hold Nikki, wrapped in a baby blanket, because ordinarily Nikki is very much a one-woman cat and feisty with anyone else who tries to touch her. That afternoon, she was like a sleepy newborn.

On Sunday, the vet nurse, Lori, had the same experience when she picked Nikki up in her blanket and said, “I’ve always wanted to hold you like this.” Nikki had never been a happy camper at the vet.

The vet agreed Nikki had fought her kidney disease long enough and was ready to go. With the doctor’s help, NIkki died very peacefully in my arms. She will be cremated and I will bring her home in a little urn. She may be the only pet I will ever have. She taught me, who had never desired a pet, to be a loving, and loved, cat mother. She never was a noisy cat, but the apartment seems so still without her. I miss her very much.

Mary Patricia