Today (Jan. 28) was a sad day in the household. Max was more like a dog than a cat in many ways. He was the perfect cat for us. Today he left us.
A few folks have asked what happened & while so much happened so quickly, here’s an overview.
This morning Max was not downstairs to greet us, like he is each morning (normally demanding his breakfast or morning cuddle). We found him under one of the beds and he just didn’t look well. Cuddled into him but he was not responding like he normally does. He kept fidgeting, and his tail was constantly twitching. I lay on the floor for a good amount of time just petting him, which he seemed to enjoy but whenever I pet near his butt he twitched. While petting him I really noticed how much weight he had lost. (Side note: I’ve been aware he had been losing weight for a short time, but Max was his normal self.) I offered him water and wet food, which he turned his nose up at. This was all around 10am.
I made an appointment for 4 pm (the earliest available), but during the day when I would check on him he looked more and more miserable, and he was getting harder to find (always somewhere unusual and in a corner). So we decided to head to the emergency vet just before 2 pm. At first the vet thought kidney failure or issues, based on the symptoms and the fact Max was very dehydrated. They ran some blood tests, and two white blood cell counts were off the charts. As soon as the vet said his kidney results were quite normal, he then said it could be cancer, it has been an underlying issue for some time (based on the levels in the blood tests) and it looks like it is related to his gastric intestine.
Options were discussed and we proceeded with having x-rays done. X-ray confirmed two masses in his GI and bowel. For anyone who knows us, our pets are our world, even Max. They are our family and this is the part where being a pet owner REALLY sucks.
Our choice, which we will always question if it was the right choice, was to love and cuddle Max while he crossed over that rainbow bridge.
Many have said that Max was a great cat. He was such a phenomenal cat. Our hearts are breaking. I love that little guy. RIP Max.