(no subject)
Jan. 26th, 2010 02:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
randomnessShe's realized the real problem with stories -- if you keep them going long enough, they always end in death.Ember the Wonder Cat is dying. We got the word from the vet this morning, when bedfull_o_books took Ember in to find out why she was going to her water bowl and staring at it as if she didn't know how to drink any more. Apparently, cats with kidney failure do this.
--Neil Gaiman
Ultimately we always knew it would come to this. Eighteen years is a pretty long life for a cat. The last few months have seen her health slide downward, certainly with occasional rallies, but always ending up worse. I didn't expect the end to be this abrupt, however.
It's been fortunate for us all that for the last couple of years Ember has had nearly all day company as I work from home these days. She's always been a social cat and appreciated having us nearby, even if most of what she did lately was to sit near us and snooze.
The vet suggested bedfull_o_books take her home so she could spend one last day here. We're having a calm restful day together.
Tomorrow morning we take her back to the vet and they do that thing which people like to call "put to sleep", a euphemism I've never particularly liked. The arrangements for her cremation have already been made. Her ashes will be scattered in bedfull_o_books' parents' back garden, a place Ember had always liked when she visited in years past.
bedfull_o_books herself has been weepy since she got the news. I tear up occasionally myself, most particularly when I write about it. There will certainly be a hole in our lives after Ember is gone.
In the meantime, she is curled up next to me the way she always does, resting quiet and alert as I type this.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 08:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 01:26 am (UTC)So, if the person wants to be with their pet, it's very important that they should ask the vet in advance what they should expect, so they can be prepared and make an informed decision about whether they want to be there.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 08:42 pm (UTC)*sympathies*
If you would like to have a vet come to your house and do this with her at home, we called Jeremy Gransky, At Home Veterinary when it was time to take Zombie Kitty. It felt somehow easier for me that way. (you could tell him
I'm so sorry.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 02:24 am (UTC)Meanwhile, much love and hugs. This is never easy.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 08:52 pm (UTC)Don't wait too long, kidney failure is supposed to be an incredibly unpleasant way to die.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 09:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 09:15 pm (UTC)I send hugs to you all.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 09:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 09:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 09:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 09:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 09:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 09:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 10:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 10:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 11:08 pm (UTC)Would that they had lifespans as long as ours.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 11:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 12:13 am (UTC)that's all i got, but please pass it on to E.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 12:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 12:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 12:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 01:02 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 01:05 am (UTC)You guys have done such a very, VERY good job of handling this. Ember has had a great old age.
And I know I keep repeating myself with this message, but I think it's important, because I know it's hard to make those judgment calls. You're doing it right, and the vet's counsel is good, and I'm really glad they told you all to have a great last day together, and that Ember's condition was in such a way as to make that possible.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 01:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 01:23 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 01:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 02:05 am (UTC)I am so sorry
Date: 2010-01-27 02:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 02:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 03:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 03:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 03:41 am (UTC)So sorry. xoxoxo
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 04:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 04:25 am (UTC)*hugs*
Date: 2010-01-27 04:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 05:05 am (UTC)If an at-home vet visit for this would be better, I can dig up the name of the vet who came to help us with Merlin. Jo Guthrie recommended her to us.
*hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 05:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 06:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 03:49 pm (UTC)Your quote is really perfect -- it really says it all.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 07:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 04:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 05:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-02 02:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-17 03:11 am (UTC)*hugs*