At least she's home now...
The Big Black Fluffy Thing was missing for three days.

I walked the neighborhood last night calling for her. She has a tiny voice, so I wasn't expecting a reply, but hoped for a familiar black shadow to appear. I went to bed worried half to death.

This morning there was still no sign of her. I went for a bike ride and a few errands, came home and called for her- nothing. I went to the back door to let the Stoned Siamese in- and there she was, sitting on the step. She walked in slowly, like she was feeling unwell, and I scooped her up to give her a hug. She smelled like death, but at least she purred.

Since then she's eaten a little and drank a fair bit of water, and is now asleep in one of the chairs I usually sit in. She's still not exactly bouncy and still smells like death- but at least she's here.

Had I lost her I would have not dealt well with it...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Mon 18 May 2009, 20:50, 20 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Give her some plain chicken
that'll make her smell less like death
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Mon 18 May 2009, 20:51, Reply)

Cooked or raw?
I've never fed her people food before, so I don't know how she'll react.

She's not been cleaning herself. Something appears to have not done well with her- she's got shit matted under her tail.

I'm not sure if she crawled off because she was sick or if she was trapped somewhere in a shed for a few days...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Mon 18 May 2009, 21:01, Reply)

Cooked.
grilled or microwaved with nothing on is best for sorting out an unsettled stomach, or just feeding them up when they've not eaten for a while as regular cat food is too rich for them.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:12, Reply)

I'll go get some.
I need to run to the store for that.

Shit, tonight the cat may eat better than I do...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Mon 18 May 2009, 21:14, Reply)

You can go for tuna or white fish if you need to as well
warm it in the microwave for a few seconds first so it's not hot, but so it smells a bit to get her interested in it.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:21, Reply)

Yay for the return!
I know just how you feel.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Mon 18 May 2009, 20:54, Reply)

It's been hard.
Josephine has been almost like one of my children. She sleeps with me, snuggled under my chin, and sits on my lap most mornings while I read b3ta. Losing her would have been a very hard thing to take.

She may reek, but I'm glad she's home.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Mon 18 May 2009, 21:03, Reply)

Hurrah!
Glad she made her way home not very worse for wear. Never nice when they go missing, so it's great to hear she got back and can get lots of love an attention.
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:02, Reply)

she'll get lots of love and attention
if she cleans herself up a bit. She currently smells like a dead chipmunk.

Oh hell, who am I kidding? I'll still snuggle her anyway.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Mon 18 May 2009, 21:07, Reply)

Not much Kitty karma tonight then
My little white friend Pippin is currently at the vets.

She's lost a huge amount of weight over the the past week and has been sicking up brown sludge.

Vet thinks she may have a tumour on her bowel and is going to carry out tests and, if necessary, an exploratory operation tomorrow.

I fear the worst.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:06, Reply)

I've had that happen.
Marcelle was my old cat, the one I had for over twenty years. She was a tiny little thing with black and white markings like an insane mime, and I was the only one she was really affectionate to- but she was my little kitty.

She began getting sick about a year before she died, and it was indeed a tumor. The vet said that there wasn't really any point in operating on such an old kitty, that the anesthesia would probably kill her, so to keep an eye on her to make sure she wasn't in pain. She eventually died in her sleep.

I'm sorry to hear about Pippin...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Mon 18 May 2009, 21:11, Reply)

Thing is
She's been as perky as usual all the time - her coat is in good condition and her eyes are bright.

It was the weight loss and the sick that worried me.

Maybe if she is in trouble I can give her a few more months but I'm not sure how I'd feel about that.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:16, Reply)

My Snufkin
died of bowel cancer. By the time it was diagnosed it had spread too far to operate.
When her time came I didn't take her to the vets when I should have done, and instead of going peacefully she died howling and in pain. It was the most traumatic thing I've ever seen, I will never forgive myself and wish more than anything in my life that I'd done things differently. I failed her.

When Pippin's time comes, whether now or in ten years, letting her go will be the most loving thing you could ever do for her. (I know you know that).

Sorry to be so maudlin... Snufkin was 16 years old, and she died a couple of years ago... but the guilt and the sorrow is as real and as raw as it was then.
( warmfuzzies Isn't here, Mon 18 May 2009, 23:29, Reply)

If she's young and it is a tumour then they should be able to remove it if there's decent margins
tomorrow. Younger cats always do better under anaesthetic than younger cats, so she stands a good chance.

Hope it all goes ok.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:14, Reply)

She's nine
And, as above, she's in good order.

My vet is great. Between me and my sister he gets four cats and two dogs - a previous vet had written off my sister's partner's cat as a terminal case four years ago but she's still up and about with new treatment recommended by my man.

I trust him a lot and I know he'll do the right thing.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:21, Reply)

Nine is fine, they should do pre-anaesthetic blood screening anyway to check
her kidney and liver function and for any infection, but there's no reason why she couldn't take an anaesthetic at that age if they're all showing within normal ranges.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:29, Reply)

All been explained
They'll do blood screening. She has a slight heart murmur but otherwise she's A1.

The vet knows us both well anyway and was genuinely upset to have to give me potentially upsetting news.

Here she is:-

simonsgallery.ukgeeks.co.uk/p58304400.html

With her best friend Big El.

(I've repainted the door frame since!)
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:44, Reply)

Aww, she's very cute
Mine's in my other thread
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Mon 18 May 2009, 21:55, Reply)

She's a lovely little cat
And we've been through a lot together.

Me and my ex-wife got her as a rescue cat - she'd been a in a kitten farm. Pippin, not my ex-wife, that is. My ex-wife had been in the Gestapo.

She's been a real companion to me. Big El is a fine kitty in his own way but he is a very independent boy and wanders in and out when he feels like it.

Thanks for your comforting words. Nice to have an animal therapist on B3TA.

I really really want to pick her up tomorrow and bring her back home again. I hope I can.

Edit - been a bit wrapped up in my own slough of despond tonight - your kitty is a very fine boy by the looks of him.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 18 May 2009, 22:16, Reply)

thanks, he's pretty awesome
Let me know how she gets on tomorrow
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Mon 18 May 2009, 23:45, Reply)