I had this plastered all over plurk since it was happening in real time then. Easier for quick updates.
Essentially, over the course of time, my cat -- Avalon -- was losing a lot of weight. At first, she just OUTRIGHT refused to eat a brand of food. I figured it was just because she was being hideously picky. Quite frankly, I wouldn't have put it past her because Avalon was a snooty, stubborn, spoiled brat, so I got her something else. She liked the new food better, and seemed to gain a bit more weight. Life carried on.
However, I did notice something odd, that a lot of her weight seemed concentrated in her stomach area where she seemed to just balloon out. I figured it was because she just started eating again so she was probably just full. I didn't think much of it.
On Friday, when she came out of her room, she was wobbling in her walk. She wasn't doing well. Chii and Jolta just outright told me that I needed to take her to the vet then and there; I agreed with them and we took her to an emergency vet.
The reason why she was so ballooned out was because she was filled with liquid coming from her lymph nodes. She had two huge tumors in her next to her liver. The vet offered to medicate her. My friends suggested we should at least give her a fighting chance. I agreed to try.
I had to syringe Avalon canned food because she hates the damn stuff and it was fatty and would hopefully help her recover. She hated it and shoved most of it out of her mouth, but took the medication well. However, on Sunday night, her breathing got worse and she started to hide in her litter box -- NEVER a good sign. I decided on Monday night I would have to put her down, but then she vomited and because to huff and breathe worse. She was suffering.
So I called a friend to take me back to the vet and put her to sleep. Jolta and Rev came with me for support. The vet assured me that she probably would not have lasted another night and I made the right choice. Rev equally assured me that I made the correct decision, that it's better to have done this way and be with her than let her die while I was at work or something -- that she probably would have been alone.
There were many tears. Jolta, Chii, and essentially EVERYONE told me to stay home from work today (Monday). So I did; I'd tell anyone else to do the same.
I'm glad she's not suffering anymore, but I'm going to miss Avalon. Sure, she was pushy and moody, but she was still a wonderful, loving cat to me -- even if she really only liked me and kind of hated everyone else for the most part.
Anyway, that's about it. It's 8:30 AM, and we'll see if I can get back to sleep now. Doubtful.