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And now, the price of a long life....
It was becoming a struggle to give him the PediaLyte, so I bit the bullet and took him to the weekend place. They are double for the initial exam, but otherwise close for the day vet. As a bonus, my vet who saw him Thursday was able to take a phone call, so the doctor had the stats for Thursday, the vet to talk to, and my report for in-between.
Did you know that most cats die of renal failure?
Max will be 17 in January, if he makes it. That is old for a cat, and until recently, he and Merlyn were my Dorian Gray cats -- they were eternally young, in looks and attitude. Burmese are little love bugs, and soak up affection like a sponge. It's not uncommon for them to live to 16-18 years. That sounded so far away when I first saw that statistic.
Brae lived to only eight, an early death for a Burmese. Max didn't have any gray at all until he was 13, and that was one white whisker. We told him he looked very rakish.
I kept hoping that it was my stress over medical that kept them a tad nervous, and that they weren't stressed because of the ongoing "We will KEEL the outsider!" thing they have with Maizie, the ghost behind the door who goes out every morning and rubs on their rub spots. Whatever the reason, both Max and Merlyn are showing some elevations in kidney enzymes. Merlyn's is slight and so far is being controlled by diet -- I'm mixing dry Wysong Uretic and KD into his dry California Natural. He and Max have both decided to eat it. Merlyn gets some Wellness chicken & herring (either fresh or arctic chicken-herring -- Maisie and Merlyn will eat it either way. Although Maisie longs for the days of mom making a pig hunt and and sharing the spoils.)
Well, Max had lost another half pound since Thursday, and his creatine and such was climbing. So, I sold off one of the kids, and staked Max for an IV tonight. I'll go get him around 6:15 am tomorrow, and see if I can take him in early to NWVC. They wanted $421 and change for this -- and told me that he would probably need 2-4 days of the IV. This may mean taking him back and forth between the day center and the EM, so he's monitored.
The last Visa medical bill was over double the usual -- things left over from da procedure back in May. This cycle is working up to that level. I hope the d*** stock market will come back enough that I can sell something without a great loss. Of course, no taxes on a loss. There has to be some advantage.
I went over to see him a few minutes ago. He was huddled in the back of the cage -- it took him a while to recognize me through the noise and all the weird smells. Then he came over for scritches. I got one of the aids to get him a blanket -- my arms were too cool, and he's used to an electric basket.
W had some money he owed me (Hah! I already paid for these things.) So he gave me the check and told me not to worry about the cost. If Max can get back quality time, it's worth it. She said 6 months to two years, with keeping his water absorption at a good level. Some cats have gone 3 years before going downhill.
It is, alas, a time of great stress and financial trial. I hope the turn of the corner is coming. (And that there's no oncoming train....)
Did you know that most cats die of renal failure?
Max will be 17 in January, if he makes it. That is old for a cat, and until recently, he and Merlyn were my Dorian Gray cats -- they were eternally young, in looks and attitude. Burmese are little love bugs, and soak up affection like a sponge. It's not uncommon for them to live to 16-18 years. That sounded so far away when I first saw that statistic.
Brae lived to only eight, an early death for a Burmese. Max didn't have any gray at all until he was 13, and that was one white whisker. We told him he looked very rakish.
I kept hoping that it was my stress over medical that kept them a tad nervous, and that they weren't stressed because of the ongoing "We will KEEL the outsider!" thing they have with Maizie, the ghost behind the door who goes out every morning and rubs on their rub spots. Whatever the reason, both Max and Merlyn are showing some elevations in kidney enzymes. Merlyn's is slight and so far is being controlled by diet -- I'm mixing dry Wysong Uretic and KD into his dry California Natural. He and Max have both decided to eat it. Merlyn gets some Wellness chicken & herring (either fresh or arctic chicken-herring -- Maisie and Merlyn will eat it either way. Although Maisie longs for the days of mom making a pig hunt and and sharing the spoils.)
Well, Max had lost another half pound since Thursday, and his creatine and such was climbing. So, I sold off one of the kids, and staked Max for an IV tonight. I'll go get him around 6:15 am tomorrow, and see if I can take him in early to NWVC. They wanted $421 and change for this -- and told me that he would probably need 2-4 days of the IV. This may mean taking him back and forth between the day center and the EM, so he's monitored.
The last Visa medical bill was over double the usual -- things left over from da procedure back in May. This cycle is working up to that level. I hope the d*** stock market will come back enough that I can sell something without a great loss. Of course, no taxes on a loss. There has to be some advantage.
I went over to see him a few minutes ago. He was huddled in the back of the cage -- it took him a while to recognize me through the noise and all the weird smells. Then he came over for scritches. I got one of the aids to get him a blanket -- my arms were too cool, and he's used to an electric basket.
W had some money he owed me (Hah! I already paid for these things.) So he gave me the check and told me not to worry about the cost. If Max can get back quality time, it's worth it. She said 6 months to two years, with keeping his water absorption at a good level. Some cats have gone 3 years before going downhill.
It is, alas, a time of great stress and financial trial. I hope the turn of the corner is coming. (And that there's no oncoming train....)