Flo hid from us, perhaps for years, until a blizzard forced her out into the open, hungry and cold. She never wanted to be touched, in part because I never saw her.
When we discovered her hiding place in the woodshed, we both bought food, and she simply seduced me into loving her, a fiercely independent barn cat.
It is an emotional thing to see her like this, she barely moves and when we pick her up – one or both of us holds her for a while at least once a day – she weighs as much as a feather, she is so skinny and light and moves so rarely now.
I called the vet to ask about her, and she said as long as she is eating and seems comfortable, she might do better by being left alone rather than poked and tested
I agree. It could be days, weeks, months, even a year or so, but my own sense is that the end is getting close. We will pick her up and hold her every day.
She deserves to die the way she wants. I imagine she will simply be gone one day, as is the custom of barn cats. A farm is a place of life and death, we respect both.
sniff, sigh……….ah, barn cats. Been there before on several occaisions, as have you. Merely hearing your voices and feeling your touch will help guide her safely to the portal, when it comes. Peaceful journey to the portal, dear Flo.
Hi Jon, I’m so sorry that Flo is so weak and ill now. I’m sure that she is comforted and knows how much she is loved when you and Maria hold her each day.
She isn’t ill. She is dying. She is old. Nothing to be fixed or medicated.
If she is skinny and light is a feather it won’t be many more weeks. My friend found her cat laying in the kitchen barely breathing and took her to the vet to be put to sleep so she could be buried in her yard. She was so dehydrated the vet cannot inject her in her paw. I will never forget the screen that came out of her when he put the needle into her heart.
Laura, I’m so sorry your vet didn’t use compassionate euthenasia technique, which is absolutely a standard procedure. When I’ve brought my animals any of my several vets over 50 years, I’ve held every one on my lap until they started purring and then the final dose was administered painlessly through an IV. The vet who did a direct cardiac administration should still be reported to your state licensing board no matter how much time has passed. That person violated every professional standard of medicine, human or animal.
I haven’t asked the vet about that, Emile, I don’t know if she uses it or not. I don’t think we want to use it.
in my past Vet. Tech experience, this *technique* is NEVER EVER used when owners are present. EVER.
He never put one of my cats to sleep. She was already dying. But my friend didn’t want her to suffer and ended up suffering. 3 times my vet has euthanized my cats. All three because of cancer. And I held them till they were gone. One of my cats was 19 and I didn’t even know he was going to die. He started to walk to me one day and had a heart attack as he was on his way to me.
You and Maria have taken care of them for years and I’ve watched pictures of them as well…pardon me while I shed a few tears for the declining barn cats. I will miss seeing and hearing about them.
My 18-year-old kitty also was getting skinny and losing weight, as is often the case of elderly cats their kidneys are not working properly. My vet recommended giving her epakitin as recommended by weight which helps process the protein in their food. And takes the stress off of kidneys I also give her 1/4 teaspoon of Bena fiber because without enough fluid in their bodies they can get constipation. It is working marvelously she has gained back two of the pounds she lost in just a month. And it is also important that they drink enough water so I have added water to her bisque treat. I know you don’t like advice but I offer it anyway
Hey Kim