Tim and I have had a very sad couple of days. We had to make the very hard decision to end Junebug's suffering and put him to sleep. It just didn't seem like he was going to recover and he was slowly wasting away - not the kind of death he deserved.
Over the past few weeks Junebug had become a bit of a different cat. He didn't seem like his normal, happy self. We wrote it off as his not adjusting well to the baby and being jealous. I feel badly now that we didn't investigate further. Instead, we tried to let him outside more (hard to do when you live in a subdivision) and gave him more attention. Then, last week we noticed that he had stopped eating. He was also acting like he just plain didn't feel well.
Ellie and I took him to the vet and they did blood work. We found out on Saturday that he had kidney failure that was starting to cause his other organs to slowly shut down. The vet felt that if we could get him rehydrated and eating again he might be able to continue living for a few more months, possibly longer. She said that he would probably just sleep all the time because he would be nauseous and generally feeling unwell. We weren't sure what to think about him living that way - his quality of life would be so poor. But we tried anyway for a few days.
Junebug began eating a little over the weekend, but then stopped eating completely by Tuesday. Wednesday morning he began having trouble walking and we decided it was time. The vet examined him one last time and said that it looked as if he was developing multiple organ failure and that the circulation to his back legs was compromised. She worried that he could develop a blood clot in his legs that could ultimately cause a stroke. She agreed that the time had come.
I held Bug while she administered the drug to put him to sleep. As I stroked his fur I thought of all the good times we had had during his life. He brought so much comfort to Tim when he first moved to Idaho, not knowing anyone. The first time that Tim and I held hands it was while we were both petting Junebug. Junebug has gone from living with just Tim to having me, another cat and two dogs to share his home with. And then we went and added a baby! He has really seen it all.
We will miss him so much.
2 comments:
Amber,
It sounds like Junebug was a lucky cat with a wonderful family. Bless you for being so good to your animals.
Cousin Diane
Amber and Tim, We were so sorry to hear about Junebug. We agree with Diane, Junebug had a great life with you both and Ellie. Love, Dad and Lynn
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