time for sleep, but...
Sep. 25th, 2005 12:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quietannMyrtle is in my lap, and her purr is back, as strong as ever. She purrs even when I am ignoring her, as long as she can sit in my lap.
She hasn't been so happy in a while. Her mobility is getting worse and worse, and she has problems keeping her feet underneath her sometimes. (When that happens, she often lies down, and after a few minutes gets back up and keeps heading to wherever she is going.) Her world is shrinking: food bowl, litter box, heated cat bed, all in a space that is about 8 feet by 11 feet. And my lap, when I can give it to her.
I have found my other cat, Spook, sleeping in the cat bed with her a couple of times. She seems to think this is a good thing. She is eating enough that she's actually getting a bit fat.
(For anyone who is new to my LJ, or has forgotten the details: Myrtle is an ancient tabby cat who I adopted 4 1/2 years ago. She was turned in to the MSPCA by a landlord who found her and 2 other cats in an apartment, left behind by the former tenants. In her first year with me, she was treated with radioactive iodine for hyperthyroidism, and had major dental work. In January 2003, she had a front leg amputated because of bone cancer. She was given 6 months to live; obviously she knew better than the vet did! She's had various other medical issues, and I estimate she's cost me about $2000 per year. These days, her kidneys are shot so I have to give her sub-Q fluids, she has a heart murmur, her few remaining teeth are rotting (and nothing can be done because her heart murmur means she can't be "put under" for a dental cleaning), and the joints in her remaining three legs are giving out. A few months ago, she lost the ability to purr -- though that has come back, miraculously enough.)
It all sounds horrible, but she is basically a content cat. Until I see misery on her little face, I will honor her desire to live.
She hasn't been so happy in a while. Her mobility is getting worse and worse, and she has problems keeping her feet underneath her sometimes. (When that happens, she often lies down, and after a few minutes gets back up and keeps heading to wherever she is going.) Her world is shrinking: food bowl, litter box, heated cat bed, all in a space that is about 8 feet by 11 feet. And my lap, when I can give it to her.
I have found my other cat, Spook, sleeping in the cat bed with her a couple of times. She seems to think this is a good thing. She is eating enough that she's actually getting a bit fat.
(For anyone who is new to my LJ, or has forgotten the details: Myrtle is an ancient tabby cat who I adopted 4 1/2 years ago. She was turned in to the MSPCA by a landlord who found her and 2 other cats in an apartment, left behind by the former tenants. In her first year with me, she was treated with radioactive iodine for hyperthyroidism, and had major dental work. In January 2003, she had a front leg amputated because of bone cancer. She was given 6 months to live; obviously she knew better than the vet did! She's had various other medical issues, and I estimate she's cost me about $2000 per year. These days, her kidneys are shot so I have to give her sub-Q fluids, she has a heart murmur, her few remaining teeth are rotting (and nothing can be done because her heart murmur means she can't be "put under" for a dental cleaning), and the joints in her remaining three legs are giving out. A few months ago, she lost the ability to purr -- though that has come back, miraculously enough.)
It all sounds horrible, but she is basically a content cat. Until I see misery on her little face, I will honor her desire to live.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-09-25 05:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-25 12:20 pm (UTC)