So Mr. Bones isn't much worse, but he isn't better either. If the prednisone had made him a bit more active, or eating on his own, then we'd probably put off the euthanasia a little longer. But I'm afraid of how much pain he's in, cause cats are very stoical about these things, and we'd rather do this before hitting a crisis--like when Nombly's lungs suddenly filled with fluid.
I have two girlfriends whose boyfriends "have a friend who knows someone" who can do it for us at home, but Fernando's not comfortable with that. So we'll just try to make it happen as quick as we can--he'll make some calls tomorrow. Unfortunately our vet is on vacation. I really trust her because she put Nombly down, so I know she won't botch it (there are blogs devoted to bad vets--horrible). But Delyriam used to be with one of the other vets at the same place, and all the technicians are wonderful, so I'm sure anyone will do.
Sherry still comes to be fed, and still purrs. But his life consists of sitting on the bath mat and having liquidy food shot at him. Better to stop before it gets less dignified! Plus the week after next I have to go to two days of leadership training, so I'll be gone the same hours as Fernando. And we're afraid of leaving him alone too long, in case there's a crisis and he's in pain for hours before someone finds him.
I do seem to be writing about this all a lot. Well, it's all I think about, so I have a lot to process by end of day. Oh la oh la. Is there a song for killing your cat? How about "Break It to Me Gently"? It's how my Kleenex box and I feel right about now.
Break it to my gently So my tears won't fall too fast If you must go, then go slowly Let me love you to the last
I love being at a job where my co-workers are so kind, though. I know I can switch shifts around to accommodate the kitty and the vet visits, and they ask how I'm doing, and one manager offered to bring us to pick Sherry up, or to drive him when he takes His Last Drive; and today my boss, who I hadn't seen all week, immediately expressed his sympathy and told me to take off as much time as I need. Working with such nice and compassionate people is certainly one of the reasons many of us find it hard to leave this job. I guess that's my *bit of awesome* amongst this sad experience.
And Fernando and I seem to finally be on the same page, so that's a little easier. ;-)
I can't believe we'll only have one cat! As Midnightstreet said, what will I do with all my time? If a cat fight breaks out in the forest, and Mabel isn't around to hear, does anyone get scratched?
Oh, and -- I had a mini scare last night. I kneeled down to feed Sherry on the bathroom floor, and saw these teeny-tiny little black bugs, with hopping capability, near the base of the toilet. I went off to research and realized they might be fleas! Noooo! The last thing my Bones needs is to be itchy!!
I studied them closely but their bodies looked elongated, not diamond shaped, with little antennae, and a sticky bit at the bottom (the furcula). And they were easy to kill, whereas fleas are sort of hard-bodied and apparently hard to squash. Plus Haley hasn't been scratching at all, and I couldn't see anything suspicious amongst Sherry's white hair and pink skin.
So I believe they're springtails--which people think are fleas because they hop, but they don't eat mammal blood. PHEW. Went to bed late cause I couldn't rest until I had (a) killed them, and (b) reassured myself.
