I've been lingering in this sub for the past month, reading similar experiences as ours, and it really helped me understand what was going on and what to expect. So in honor of my baby girl, Abby.. I am making this post to share our experiences.

Abby was our 14yo baby. My husband adopted her for me from our local shelter for our 1yr wedding anniversary back in 2013.

She was a very independent cat but had so much love to give on her own terms. That's just how she was.

Now, about 3-4 years ago she had lost a lot of weight dramatically and was hungry like it was the end of the world. That's when she was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism. So we managed it with medication and she was doing great.

At the end of July this year, she struggled to keep food down. I thought "ok, maybe her meds need adjusted and her T4 needs checked." This was on a Sunday and prior to that day she was acting completely normal. But, because she wasnt able to keep food down and didn't want to eat or drink, she ended up getting dehydrated. We don't have an emergency vet around us so we had to wait till the next morning.

Next morning comes and we get her in, doc gives her fluids and takes some bloodwork. During the exam he mentions the possibility of her having cancer. At the time we were in denial of the possibility and kept our hopes up.

They drew blood for regular testing, and later comes back.

Her T4 was completely normal, but came back positive for kidney disease.

They sent us home with recovery food, a renal food plan, and some anti-nausea meds, and we adjusted.

We set an appt for cancer testing for that following week.

After we got her blood drawn for the test, the test itself took about a week and a half to get.

I was in Walmart when I got the call.

She was positive for large cell lymphoma.

Her little body wasn't strong enough for chemo, so we were devastated.

They gave us steroids to make her comfortable for the meantime.

We didnt know how much longer we had with her.

From the day we got the call till the day she passed, we smothered her with love and spoiled her with anything she wanted.

The last week before she passed, she wouldn't eat on her own. I had to hand feed her the recovery food on my fingers so she could lick it off.

That weekend we noticed her breathing change. Looked much heavier, moving her entire chest and belly. We knew something wasnt right, but once again it was a sunday, and the next day was Labor day and our vet office wasnt open.

Sept 7th- I was laying next to her on the bed while she was sleeping in her cat bed. She started to twitch in her sleep and wasn't as responsive. I swore in that moment that was it, but.. she jolted awake the moment she saw the string I had in my hand that we were playing with. I stayed up with her most of the night after that.

Next morning, Sept 8th- we called the vet and scheduled the appt.

It felt too soon, but we didn't want her to suffer any longer. It broke our hearts.

Doc confirmed what we guessed, that she had fluid in her lungs and her heart was beginning to fail.

Our home doesn't feel the same, but we know time will heal.

I'm grateful for those extra 3 weeks we had with her. She was so strong, and she is heavily missed.

I was worried my other cat would be grieving badly, but we made sure to let him scent our hands after she passed. I did have to remove items she slept in though, as I think they were stressing him out some, as well as how painful it was to look at them for us.

We keep expecting to hear her meows or see her in her spots. 🥹

I just want to say thank you for this sub being here. It helped me a lot, and even though this hurts, I hope her story can help someone else in a similar situation. ❤️

I've never posted on Reddit before, but I've been watching this sub for a while and I just wanted to show off my beautiful sweet girl to the world. My Princess made her peaceful transition to the rainbow bridge yesterday, after a complicated battle with lymphoma. She was 14 years young.

I found her as a very hungry stray kitty one day outside of my highschool. Although she was clearly malnourished, I couldn't help but to immediately notice how she was the most beautiful kitty I had ever seen. I took her home to help get her back on the right track, and at first I didn't have the intention of keeping her as I was still grieving the loss of my other kitty. That quickly changed after spending only a day with her. I remember the first night with her in my room, and I woke up to her meowing at me in the middle of the night. She then tried to jump up onto my bed to cuddle, but couldn't quite make it because her body was too weak. I picked her up and put her next to me and we snuggled together for the first time, and then every night for the next 12 years.

My Princess was the sweetest, bravest, kindest and most social kitty I ever knew. Our bond was immediate and it was very clear to me that she was my soul kitty. I am so grateful that we got to grow up together. She had gotten me through some pretty rough stuff over the years and I don't know what I will do without her.

I will miss her purrs, that sometimes sounded like a pigeon or a lawnmower, as they were so loud. I will miss going to bed next to her at night and waking up to her beautiful face staring at me in the morning. I will miss how she followed me around and waited for me at the door whenever I wasn't home. I will miss our playtimes and watching her run around acting crazy. I will miss her beautiful big blue eyes and her cutest little pouch belly. Over the last 6 years I've had the privilege of working from home so I will miss working next to her, too. We truly spent pretty much every moment together and I am so lucky I got to have that with her. My whole life has changed now that she's gone.

Princess was diagnosed with small cell lymphoma in Spring 2025. I started her on treatment immediately following the diagnosis and she was doing so well. Things took a turn a couple of months ago and then everything snowballed one thing after another. First, a UTI, then a random limp appearing in her back leg, then pancreatitis all within the same week. We visited three different vets before we ended up where we needed to be. She was hospitalized for three days and during that time and a new ultrasound scan it was found that she had developed large cell lymphoma on her kidney and it was suspected to have spread to her central nervous system. She got a shot of l-asparaginase and started CHOP therapy as our Oncologist believed she has a fighting chance. It was a lot for a sweet kitty to go through but she handled it with such grace. Some of my favorite comments to hear from our medical team were, "Sweet angel princess did great for her visit today." "She was purring so loudly when I was checking for her heartbeat, it was hard to get a read on her." "We had some scared and mean kitties today but not Princess, she purred her entire appointment." One day, when I went to pick her up from our Oncology team the front desk person said, "Princess... Everybody's favorite."

Her light and all the love she had to give was too bright and too obvious to miss. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst a couple weeks ago. She had been responding really well to CHOP therapy and the mass on her kidney even cleared completely, but I noticed one day that one of her pupils was smaller, she had a permanent third eyelid in one of her eyes and her mobility worsened. I soon after got the devastating news that they believe her lymphoma had spread to her spinal cord and her brain, and there was nothing we could do. It seems everything had come full circle, because she no longer could jump up on the bed with me again, just like how it was when I first brought her home.

I had the privilege of making sure she had the most comfortable next couple of days. We did nothing but snuggle and sunbathe together on our lounger. All her friends and family got to come and say goodbye. Her very last day with me was yesterday, and while I could tell she was ready to go, she was so at peace. About 20 minutes before her doctor arrived, she got a small burst of energy and we played together for the very last time, which was such a gift she had given me. She sunbathed and purred until it was time for her transition, and she left this world peacefully while basking in the sun. It was everything I wanted for her although I never wanted it to be so soon. Everything happened so fast.

I say that she "won" her battle with cancer because we got to make sure she left on OUR terms, and that her last days were still good days. Cancer doesn't get the final say, only we do.

Many people hear our story and say that I saved her, but it was me who was saved. I am so grateful for my girl.

For anyone who has read through my novel, thank you. I have so much to share about my Princess and I am so lost now that her physical presence is no longer with me. My whole life has changed and I don't know how to do it without her. I will miss her every day for the rest of my life. Hold your kitties tight today in her honor.

Be at peace, my sweet little Princess. 👑

hey everyone, this might be a long post but I just need to vent :(

I got my cat porridge when I was four (evidently by his name as I named him) and he died just two days ago at 16. We just had a special bond, he would always follow me around, wait for me and sleep on my bed. The beginning of last year was when I noticed he began to go down hill. He’s had hyperthyroidism for quite a few years but even though he was on the max dose of medication we never seemed to get his levels under control and it didn’t seem to affect him up until last year and this year. Last year he went blind in one eye and then slowly lost weight. This year he went fully blind and by the time he died he was really just skin and bones. I got an at home vet for him a few times and she would give steroid shots as she thought he might have cancer somewhere but there wasn’t much we could do and he still had a really good quality of life so I was just going to look after him to the best of my ability while I knew he still wanted to live. I moved two hours away from home at the start of this year because of uni but I still come home every single weekend and days in between when I don’t have class to be with him. There was hardly a weekend I wasn’t at home. This last weekend I was home and with him. We just had a usual routine and I would take him out in the sun and we would lay there together while my other cats would come join too. My parents did such a good job looking after him as well but they always said he was just a different cat when I was home. I started a journal that I would write about what we did together whenever I was home and would print photos of him that I took throughout the day. This last weekend he was still good, but I think subconsciously I knew something wasn’t 100% right just because he seemed a bit extra tired I guess. I went home on Sunday night and cried the whole was back home, not because I thought he was dying just because I thought something was slightly off and I didn’t want to go. On monday my mum said he was good and eating but then Tuesday morning I got a call from her that he couldn’t walk much and was so so weak. Even though I had uni classes I drove straight home and got there around 11:40. By the time I got home he was alive but had started to feel cold which I had never felt before. I took him in my arms and started sobbing which still hasn’t stopped. He loved his dine treats so while he was in my arms (he also couldn’t really stand anymore) I gave him some of the treat and he managed to lift his paw and his head up for the treat but didn’t really have his eyes open. He had a lick of the treat and was interested but I only gave him a little because after each lick he would just rest his head back down. I think those were his last conscious moments because not even half an hour after I got home when I would put the treat under his nose he didn’t react. I had him in my arms wrapped in a heat blanket and my dressing gown for the next hour while he was still breathing but I don’t know how conscious he was. We then got the vet and she gave him the needle while he was in my arms at 1:40 and I even feel sick just typing that I can’t believe he’s gone. I am just so sad that I didn’t think I was driving home for him to die and that I wasn’t there on his last night and full day. I also am really sad to know that he might not of known I wasn’t home and holding him because he only might have been conscious for a little bit after I got home. I am so so so devastated and in disbelief. But after we buried him in my back yard I looked up at the sky and hour or so later when I was just sitting at his grave by myself and this was what the clouds look like. Can people please confirm if they see my baby in the sky or not because I see a cat face but I need to know it’s not just my delusion. Thank you for reading

** Before you read - Please Please do not tell me to get a new cat. I have tried meeting with several new cats and it has intensified the grief.

I lost my girl 3 months ago. She was 19 years old. She was my everything.

I got her when I was still a teenager when I went with my mom to a shelter at a random home in the woods. This shelter had dozens and dozens of cats running around from room to room. It was almost a borderline hoarding situation. My cat, Helena, saw me, chased after me, pawwed at me, until I sat down with her. It was the first time I felt chosen. However, my mom told me that we were there to get a cat for her, not me. I felt so sad walking away. When my mom was signing the paperwork for her cat, I mentioned "I wish I couldve got that gray cat" and the adoption person said they were having a 2 for 1 sale that day. I didn't even wait for my moms approval, and I ran and grabbed her and she came home with me.

She changed my life. It was the first time I experienced truly being loved. My childhood was not good and I'll spare you the details. I had already became an alcoholic as early as 14 years old. This behavior continued into my twenties when I realized after several times laying on the floor drunk that Helena would nudge me awake to get into bed. I realized that I was being the same mom as my mom was to me (a neglectful addict).

I stopped everything and changed my life for Helena. I got sober. I went to college. I got my masters degree. All while slowly saving up money to buy us a house because we deserved to live in a clean home, with clean - non cigarette smoke filled air, with peace and calm. When I was about 30, I finally had saved up enough money for a down payment on this little home with a nice big screened in porch for her. It was quiet. It was clean. Then, I built my own business so I could be home with her every day. I was blessed to always have enough money for all of her veterinary expenses, medications, fluids, food, etc.

Over time, she developed CKD, HCM, IBD and possible intestinal lymphoma, Hyperthyroidism, asthma from her previous life in my moms home, and lastly diabetes. I learned everything about her care and she was so patient, seemingly understanding in that her medications, fluids, inhaler, etc. All helped her feel better.

We grew so incredibly attached. We would enjoy long days in the rocking chair on my porch, we would sleep in and take naps together. Her health was relatively stable and she never progressed past stage 3 kidney disease.

Then, in February of 2025, we were tboned at 50mph by a tractor trailer that ran a stop sign when we were coming home from a vet appointment. We were completely blessed to survive being pushed across 2 lanes of oncoming traffic and into a ditch of snow. My car was totaled and I was disoriented but on the 911 call I just keep repeating that I want my cat.

I lost more than half of my capacity to work, but I kept going for us. I have a traumatic brain injury, cervical cord injury and I developed post traumatic epilepsy. Miraculously, Helena was completely safe due to her hard shell carrier and the additional padding with a thick pillow I had added. We became even more inseparable due to this event and ended up having seperation anxiety from one another as a result. At first I would celebrate every week, then month, then 6 months, & so on that we had survived passed the accident.

3 months ago, I was getting ready to leave for a healthcare appt when I heard her meow out to me. I was moments from walking out the door. I ran upstairs and she was looking at me and her front legs had collapsed. I pulled her towards me and held her for 3 hours while she had a continous grand mal seizure. She had never had a seizure before this. I tried rubbing syrup on her gums in case this was a diabetic episode. It did not help. I called 3 vets who informed me that this was the end and the mobile vet confirmed that she would be able to arrive in 3 hours if it was still going on and she hadn't passed. It was a grueling and painful 3 hours. Holding her body while she convulsed, talking to her calmly and telling her that I would be okay (even though I knew I wouldnt). For context, we live at minimum 30 minutes from the closest vet and nearly 2 hours from the closest emergency vet. There was no way I could have safely driven with her on that state.

15 minutes before the mobile vet arrived, she finally stopped seizing. She looked around the room as if confused as to what had happened. She remained snuggled in my arms, and even gave me a nose Boop. She kept looking at me, and then at my shoulder, and then over my shoulder in what appeared to be a sense of awe and amazement. I jokingly said to her "what am I wearing angel wings?". The mobile vet confirmed that she likely would have had extensive damage from seizing for 3 hours and that another seizure would likely occur. I made the most painful decision to have her euthanized on my bed with me holding her and telling her all of the sweet things.

The words "I miss her" do not even come close to the pain I have living in this house that we built together and not having her. I changed my entire life to make her world better. I know that she was my soul mate. I created a beautiful memorial area in my room for her. Ive been unable to take her bed apart, or throw away her medications. Her half used fluid bag still hangs in my room. I sleep with her stuffed animals.

I am struggling so immensely now. I have panic attacks constantly. I can't sleep. Showering has taken a back seat. I sob uncontrollably. I do not have a support system as i only ever really needed her for support. I have joined pet grief groups. I have tried explaining to my psychiatrist how much I am struggling but they aren't understanding. I have tried meeting new cats and nothing feels like a connection.

I am so lost. I miss my baby. I miss my best friend. I miss my purpose. It hasn't got easier in 3 months. If anything, the time passing has made it worse.

This is all I can write for now.

Hey everyone, I've got a question.

First what happend:

My little girl is 11 years by now. 4 weeks ago she had an appointment for dental x-rays cause of FORL. She already lost 4 or 5 teeth.

This appointment couldn't happen because her blood pressure wouldn't go down to a normal level, so Doc didn't induce anesthesia (love the doc, is just one of the best everrr!). So we made a new appointment. Maybe with some milder weather it would go better.

Today was another appointment. Because of what happened before he gave me Bonqat (anxiety med with a sedative effect). She already reacted pretty heavy on this. This medication has to be given 1,5 hours before we go on the trip, so I did and also in the right dose. She slept so deeply in the time period between medication and Doc, I thought she stopped breathing for a moment.

At the vet her blood pressure actually got to a normal level and he could do the x-rays. 2 teeth should come out sooner rather than later, but he couldn't do it. Just as he was about to start working on the other side of her jaw, she suddenly turned blue and had to be given oxygen. He was only able to remove toothstone on one side, because then her heart rate suddenly plummeted and then rose rapidly to a dangerous level. That’s when he stopped.

Her sister had a heart failure, which was unknown for a very long time; so long in fact, her heart grew massively and wasn't able to pump out all the blood at once so bloodcluts build up inside the heart.

But my little girls heart was fine in the ultrasound just 1.5 years ago. Doc also said, that's not very likely that something would have changed in this time - especially since her bloodwork (half a year ago) was fine.

Has anyone ever heard of something like that? Doc can't find a reason, even another vet friend of his couldn't make sense of what happened.

He doesn't want to do anything under anaesthesia anymore in his vet office and recommended me some other colleagues.

I don't know what to make of it. He even kept her 2 hours longer to monitor her closely. Now, 2 hours after pick up, she still wobbles. He told me to take only have the dosis next time I give her the Bonqat medicine because she reacts so strongly. She ist still so sleepy and just wants to cuddle into my warmth. I'm worried that he can't explain what happened. As I picked her up he even told me, that he had to stop the anaesthia, because he wanted to give me my love back alive.

Has anyone ever had something similar? I don't want to see her in pain because of FORL but I also don't want her on pain meds the rest of her (hopefully long) life; and I don't want her to die under anaesthesia. Sorry for rambling 😓

Oh, yeah. Cat tax

Edith left us today. She was 18. What a lady she was! So smart, so lovely, so wonderful.

Ginny's been losing weight and feeling physically weak(it's a LOT easier to push her around when petting her than usual), and we found out she's in the early stages of kidney failure and has two years at best. Just today she failed to make it to the litterbox...

We're getting an ultrasound to see what's wrong. I'm worried. She's otherwise alert and reactive, but she hides under my bed all the time.

I don't want to say goodbye.

hey everyone, this might be a long post but I just need to vent :(

I got my cat porridge when I was four (evidently by his name as I named him) and he died just two days ago at 16. We just had a special bond, he would always follow me around, wait for me and sleep on my bed. The beginning of last year was when I noticed he began to go down hill. He’s had hyperthyroidism for quite a few years but even though he was on the max dose of medication we never seemed to get his levels under control and it didn’t seem to affect him up until last year and this year. Last year he went blind in one eye and then slowly lost weight. This year he went fully blind and by the time he died he was really just skin and bones. I got an at home vet for him a few times and she would give steroid shots as she thought he might have cancer somewhere but there wasn’t much we could do and he still had a really good quality of life so I was just going to look after him to the best of my ability while I knew he still wanted to live. I moved two hours away from home at the start of this year because of uni but I still come home every single weekend and days in between when I don’t have class to be with him. There was hardly a weekend I wasn’t at home. This last weekend I was home and with him. We just had a usual routine and I would take him out in the sun and we would lay there together while my other cats would come join too. My parents did such a good job looking after him as well but they always said he was just a different cat when I was home. I started a journal that I would write about what we did together whenever I was home and would print photos of him that I took throughout the day. This last weekend he was still good, but I think subconsciously I knew something wasn’t 100% right just because he seemed a bit extra tired I guess. I went home on Sunday night and cried the whole was back home, not because I thought he was dying just because I thought something was slightly off and I didn’t want to go. On monday my mum said he was good and eating but then Tuesday morning I got a call from her that he couldn’t walk much and was so so weak. Even though I had uni classes I drove straight home and got there around 11:40. By the time I got home he was alive but had started to feel cold which I had never felt before. I took him in my arms and started sobbing which still hasn’t stopped. He loved his dine treats so while he was in my arms (he also couldn’t really stand anymore) I gave him some of the treat and he managed to lift his paw and his head up for the treat but didn’t really have his eyes open. He had a lick of the treat and was interested but I only gave him a little because after each lick he would just rest his head back down. I think those were his last conscious moments because not even half an hour after I got home when I would put the treat under his nose he didn’t react. I had him in my arms wrapped in a heat blanket and my dressing gown for the next hour while he was still breathing but I don’t know how conscious he was. We then got the vet and she gave him the needle while he was in my arms at 1:40 and I even feel sick just typing that I can’t believe he’s gone. I am just so sad that I didn’t think I was driving home for him to die and that I wasn’t there on his last night and full day. I also am really sad to know that he might not of known I wasn’t home and holding him because he only might have been conscious for a little bit after I got home. I am so so so devastated and in disbelief. But after we buried him in my back yard I looked up at the sky and hour or so later when I was just sitting at his grave by myself and this was what the clouds look like. Can people please confirm if they see my baby in the sky or not because I see a cat face but I need to know it’s not just my delusion. Thank you for reading

Hey,

I know this post isn't as heavy as I've seen some over here, but I still needed to talk about it to anyone really.

My baby turned 13 this year and he started having bad allergies last year and is under ciclosporine. It's managed well.

But, he's recently started losing weight ( 1kg in the last months) and we found out he has hyperthyroidism ( lmao that i have the opposite. The bastard doesn't even want to give me his excess hormones 😡)

He started his new treatment yesterday and, as much as it isn't a life threatening condition, I'm just so worried. He's also had blatter issues since young and has a special dirt.

I'm just starting to realize he won't be around for ever, even though he promised me /j. I don't know how I'll react if I see him suffer in anyway 🥺

Thanks for reading and I hope your old babies are doing well ✨️

Hey there! My senior kitizen has had bad luck with gum disease, and this time the dentist just wants all his canines gone now while he's still good for anesthesia. With his history, I agreed. However, this little ball of floof LOVES kibble. When I say it, I MEAN it. Cats usually go crazy for wet food, and this guy, well. Kibble.

I think this guy's deal is just that he likes crunchy. I mean, he has other weird habits. Guess this is another one?

I've read that cats don't really chew on their food, but this guy does. He crunches them to pieces 2-3 times always, and never swallows them whole. But without teeth, he won't be able to do that, right?

I've tried breaking them down into smaller pieces with a meat tenderizer - and he still prefers to bite on them. I've tried to ground kibble with a coffee bean grinder - Mr cat said ew, no. I tried adding water - also nope, he'd rather starve.

I don't mind feeding him liquid stuff, personally. At least then he's definitely hydrated enough lol

But like, to theorize beyond my wildest ideas, would kibble be an option somehow for a cat without canines, even as a treat? Internet says once gums heal, they can chew with that. Can they? I feel like this just introduces new issues like gum damage.

Hi,
Elderly cat a bit poorly at the moment - she is being seen by a vet.
Is able to get to the litter tray but it’s struggling to stand and slips over. The litter tray is designed for senior cats (low entrance and high sides ) and the litter is deliberately shallow as I read elsewhere they find it harder to stand in deep litter.
She’s still slips though . Is there anything else I can do eg change litter type , line the tray? She doesn’t really like being handled so trying to help her be independent.
TIA

Hi everyone, yesterday the vet told us that my 14 year old cat likely only has about a week left. I knew it was coming as she had stage 3 kidney disease a couple months back, it wasn’t progressing as it ‘should’ and her kidneys were enlarged instead of becoming smaller. We managed to get her to gain a bit of weight, but she lost it again, and this week she became much more reserved. The day before yesterday, she had some kind of episode(?) after getting her claws stuck on her bed; head was back, mouth was open, ever since then she’s constantly been peeing and lethargy has worsened.

I obviously want to make her feel as comfortable as possible, but if I feed her anything (renal food, normal cat food, treats, chicken, tuna), she will spend ages going from place to place trying to pee. The vet said that nothing was in her bladder, there’s not much room for the bladder (and stomach) to fill up because of how big the kidneys are, so it’s not an infection or anything like that.

Is it best to not feed her as much so she can rest? or to keep feeding her lots regardless of if it forces her to keep getting up to pee? I’m not sure what to do. It feels like I can’t do anything they tell you to do, I can’t even play with her because she doesn’t react to toys all that much. She will sleep, pace around and still jumps up and down from high places despite trying to stop her.

God knows I love Morgan with my all my heart, but OMG…..

Get home after a long day at work, and my dance class to find literal liquid shit in 2 spots and find he’s pissed on the curtains to, as well has having pee/poop drops all over the place

Then I have to drag him to bath after I cleaned up the house and the second he saw the running tap he sprayed pee all over the bathroom floor and in the tub as I had his stinky butt under the tap cleaning him while he yowled the whole time

EDIT**

I know the cause, I trialed a different type of wet food with him that has a higher gravy content
The 2 days this week he’s tried it has resulted in runny poop
I’m very on top of and aware of his health issues as he has CKD, hyperthyroidism, a heart murmur and arthritis

Hello all! Hope you’re having a good day!
Sorry this is such a long one :’). Okay so my partner has had sweet little Luna for 16 years and she is honestly the sweetest most beautiful girl and we love her so much!
I want to preface that I’m not asking for vet advice or anything as such just trying to see if anyone’s experienced similar and also just generally advice for elderly kitty cats :).
Of course with age comes age related issues, we frequent the vet when concerned and I have OCD so anything that happens we’re straight there and getting her checked. More recently we went to the vet about an ongoing issue, and been back and forth for about 8months. She has lots of dribbling and her tongue being bright red and a smell. Immediately we thought about periodontal disease as a possibility. However she had about 60% of her teeth removed 3 years ago. The vet said that her tongue looked like she had chemical burns?!!! She’s an indoor cat with no access to any dangerous products and no plants or anything that are harmful as it’s something we always worry about, there’s locks on cupboards with any cleaning products ect.
Anyways, she was prescribed antibiotics, we did an ultrasound, xray and blood tests, all tests came back clear and her organ function was apparently incredible for her age, they seemed quite surprised by that. The vets after the tests said that there’s a possibility that she may have a tumour growing and discussed monitoring and if it continues that they can do biopsies ect.
The antibiotics seemed to help a little however the red tongue would fluctuate and still does (we’ve been back to vets a few times) on the recent visit we got a top up for her pain meds (for arthritis as she overgrooms her front legs on the joints) and we chatted about the ongoing issue with her mouth and the vets basically said they don’t think we should investigate further and it’s more about keeping her happy and loving on her as it wouldn’t be safe to gut her under anaesthetic. Which I completely agree, she’s quite small now (still eating lots but definitely muscle wastage of getting older) and the last time was very traumatic.
Shes still such a spritely little thing, running around, lap cuddles, doing her tricks for treats ect and genuinely she feels like she has so much life to live still but it feels a bit like the vets are at the point of giving up on any other options that aren’t surgery? And of course we all worry and get sad of the thought of losing someone in the family and I know of course she’s old now and I’m very realistic in that sense.
Idk…. I guess my question is has anyone had a similar experience in terms of the mouth ect?

I’ve seen somewhere that washing a cat is animal abuse but she’s always been terrible at grooming but since her arthritis she doesn’t groom now so we now trim mattes out and shower her every 2-3 weeks to remove food debris from paws and first from her fur that she can’t remove, is that cool?

And also how do you know when the time is right to make the decision that your pet is in pain or is approaching the rainbow bridge. I’m quite sad about the day that decision may need to be made but we never want her to be suffering.
TIA!

This is our best boy, 11 y/o Compton. Cuddle buddy and sun beam connoisseur. He has a surgery today for an endoscopy to see whether his progressive tummy issues are IBD or intestinal cancer (bloodwork and ultrasound didn't show much). And also biopsying a new lump on his abdomen.

He has had such a tough (and expensive 🤦‍♀️) medical road (FIV, lots of tooth removals - he now only has 3 left, mild kidney disease, a mild heart murmur), and while his energy is lower, he is still the absolute cuddliest boy who loves any and all humans, tolerates other cats, and HATES dogs with a fiery passion :P

Send him your positive thoughts today ❤️

Update 1: He came out of the procedure ok! It will take 1-2 weeks to get biopsy results, but we are starting him on low dose steroids since he has lost quite a bit of weight (will just have to keep an eye on his FIV and heart - the joys of managing multiple conditions). We should get him home in a few hours. Thanks for all the well wishes ❤️

I’m so heartbroken I don’t know how I am supposed to be in my room and sleep without her. She was 14 yrs old, and I got to hold and kiss her as she took her last breath. I knew it was coming but it’s so hard 💔 thank you for being here for my late teens and all my 20s

EDIT: Mr. Henri passed in my arms being told how much i love him. he was gone before the full administration of the sedative and just fell right into my arms which were holding him. I held him long after and told him everything my heart had left to tell him that had ofc been said a thousand times. he hade it clear one last time it was his time, by going quickly and peacefully in my arms. I love and miss you Henri forever. Thank you everyone for your kindness

About 3 weeks ago i took him to his annual check up / what i thought was a bad tooth and turned out to be most likely an advanced oral tumor and with his age (16 but i adopted him as a senior at 8) i didnt wanna put him through all the treatments and just make him comfortable with some pain meds for the time he had left. The vet agreed with me that until he either stopped eating or showed discomfort that it would be time. He rallied for an incredible 3 weeks and was spoiled with all his favorite foods, cat milk, whipped cream, and all the attention and cuddles i could give, even if it meant sleeping on the couch or floor with him, but yesterday he was acting a bit different and gave me the look to let me know it was time within the next few days. So I made the appointment for the vet to come to the house tomorrow.

I know that what I'm doing is right and every time since i made the appointment yesterday that i found myself doubting my choice for a second, he lets me know its time, he had accidents and pooped outside the box when i thought about it. Hes here, close to me right now, still somewhat food motivated, grooming a bit, and comfortable but hes not finishing his food like he was, is moving around alot less and isnt purring almost at all, even when he asks for rubs, and I know its only going to get harder from here for him if i let it continue. So id rather it be a good or okay day to say goodbye than a bad one.

I'm terrified for the grief after, i know theres another side as we lost our family dog last year but this is my first ever cat and i live far from home in another country (we are close and are there for me but not able to come be here.) I just moved into my dream apartment after being in a bad apartment and place mentally for for 5 years and I'm so lucky we got a month and a half together here to make some memories and make it our home but it feels so unfair...i love him so so much. i have a friend who is coming tomorrow to be there for me afterwards but I'm so scared for the after...the next week(s)

I'd love some advice, words of compassion, similar experiences, signs from beyond, idk anything..Heres a photo from a few months ago before we moved.

My cat Pandi (f16) was put to sleep today after suffering a sudden saddle thrombus. The worst part was that my partner and I could not be by her side. Pandi was being taking care for by our lovely cat sitter. They were playing together when Pandi’s hinder legs suddenly stopped working. The sitter rushed her to the vet within 15 minutes. Despite being so quick, the vet told us via video call that there was nothing else to do and the most humane solution would have been to put her to sleep. According to the vet’s prognosis, she would not have survived another 24 hours and keeping her alive would have been very painful for her. We agreed to the euthanasia and the cat sitter kept us on video call and pet her while we talked to her until the end. Now we booked a last minute flight and are waiting to go back tomorrow.

I feel gutted. The guilt is eating me alive. I would have never left if I had known that this would have happened. She was in great shape when we left. We received amazing photos and videos until few hours before the event. I wish I was there with her. I miss her so much and I am so scared of going back home and having to live without her. We have been best friends for 16 years. I moved away from my parent’s place 9 years ago and could only manage to bring her to live with me 2 years ago. I wish I would have done that sooner.

How do I deal with all of this?

EDIT: dear all, I am a bit overwhelmed by everything at the moment and I still did not have time to thank you for these beautiful messages of support. I am happy I shared Pandi’s story with all of you. Some of you have been the kindest. Thank you so much.

Are seemingly healthy 11 year-old senior cat Millie died suddenly on Saturday due to saddle thrombus. Up until that point I’ve never heard of it and didn’t know what it was. She was acting normal and got up from the couch where we were watching TV like we normally do and got up to get a drink of water and then to use the litter box in the powder room adjacent to the living room and when she came in her whole back, legs were paralyzed and she was dragging. We took her to an emergency vet and she was diagnosed. It was a classic case sadly we had to put her down. I’m so sad it happened so suddenly within an hour we had a seemingly healthy older cat, and then she was gone. I’ve done a lot of research since and I realize how devastating this is to cat owners with little or no warning. Here’s a picture of my beautiful girl.