So many of you know ...
that I had to have my Jinxy put to sleep last week. I've sort of shared the story piecemeal, but I suppose I should pull it all together here in one place.
A week ago last wednesday I came home from work and found he'd thrown up all his breakfast. Which didn't worry me overmuch, but when he threw up all his dinner I started worrying a lot. Thursday I was pretty much a basket case at work. Things were okay off and on with periodic throwing up. So Saturday morning I called the vet and made an appointment for the following Friday since I already had a vacation day scheduled, and things were semi-okay at that point.
By Monday night he wasn't keeping anything down, and after he threw up about 8 pm Monday night, and then was sort of hiding and crying a bit I called the Emergency Vet Clinic that operates at night when the other local vets offices are closed. They suggested I bring him in and luckily after terrifying him out from under my bed, I got him trapped in a corner of my closet and burrito'd him up in a towel and plunked him in his carrier. I have scars from previous attempts to get him in the carrier so either I was lucky or its a sign of how not-well he was feeling.
Emergency Vets is in Uni town, say a half hour drive away.
He did really good on the drive up once he calmed down from the hissing mad state he was in when I first plunked him in his carrier.
So we arrive and they take him back to check on him, and eventually awesome Mr. Dr. Vet comes in to talk to me and says he thinks it might be a bladder obstruction. So they tested him for that. He had a fever, and the test came back WAY postive for a bladder infection, so we decided they'd catheterize him and keep him over night and then I could come back in the morning and pick him up and take him to my regular vet for further treatment. So home I went.
Just after I got home I picked up the phone to call my mom and say I wouldn't be going to work on Tuesday because I had to go and pick up the cat between 7 and 7:30 etc, and the phone rang in my hand and it was awesome Dr. Vet to give me the bad news. He'd done an x-ray once they'd lightly sedated Jinxy to check things out further and it turned out he also had a bowel obstruction. Which MIGHT have been cured with surgery and thousands of dollars. I hate taking the money into account but while yes, I don't have that kind of money, he couldn't give me any real guarantees as to the success of the surgery and what they might actually find when they opened him up. So I decided that a quick and peaceful end was really the only choice.
So back into my car I went ... by now its after 11pm. Get to the clinic around 11:30 and they brought Jinxy in to spend some time with me all wrapped up in a blanket. He was partially sedated ... i.e. stoned out of his little kitty mind. Mostly he wasn't focusing too well, but I held him and we had a little chat and some snuggle time and then awesome vet came in and we both cuddled Jinxy was we sent him off to kitty heaven. Awesome vet skritched his nose and called him "big boy" and "sweetheart" and was entirely ... you guessed it ... awesome. I can't say enough about how he and the rest of the staff made that terrible night so much better just with their kindness and sympathy and gentle treatment of Jinx.
Fast forward a week. His toys are still all over the house, and his dishes are still in the kitchen. But I went up last night and picked up his ashes. And had a little weep in the car when I found that the clinic had included along with the ashes in a carved wooden box a little plaque with his paw print pressed into it. And then some wonderful person had put his name on it, and drawn little hearts onto it as well. They're so super kind.
So now he's home with me again, on a shelf in my kitchen next to previous kitty Daniel.
And I think I shall take a break from being a pet mama for a while. My poor battered heart needs a bit of a break. But Jinxy was equal parts adorable and OMGWHATDIDYOUDO?! and I will miss his little face.
A week ago last wednesday I came home from work and found he'd thrown up all his breakfast. Which didn't worry me overmuch, but when he threw up all his dinner I started worrying a lot. Thursday I was pretty much a basket case at work. Things were okay off and on with periodic throwing up. So Saturday morning I called the vet and made an appointment for the following Friday since I already had a vacation day scheduled, and things were semi-okay at that point.
By Monday night he wasn't keeping anything down, and after he threw up about 8 pm Monday night, and then was sort of hiding and crying a bit I called the Emergency Vet Clinic that operates at night when the other local vets offices are closed. They suggested I bring him in and luckily after terrifying him out from under my bed, I got him trapped in a corner of my closet and burrito'd him up in a towel and plunked him in his carrier. I have scars from previous attempts to get him in the carrier so either I was lucky or its a sign of how not-well he was feeling.
Emergency Vets is in Uni town, say a half hour drive away.
He did really good on the drive up once he calmed down from the hissing mad state he was in when I first plunked him in his carrier.
So we arrive and they take him back to check on him, and eventually awesome Mr. Dr. Vet comes in to talk to me and says he thinks it might be a bladder obstruction. So they tested him for that. He had a fever, and the test came back WAY postive for a bladder infection, so we decided they'd catheterize him and keep him over night and then I could come back in the morning and pick him up and take him to my regular vet for further treatment. So home I went.
Just after I got home I picked up the phone to call my mom and say I wouldn't be going to work on Tuesday because I had to go and pick up the cat between 7 and 7:30 etc, and the phone rang in my hand and it was awesome Dr. Vet to give me the bad news. He'd done an x-ray once they'd lightly sedated Jinxy to check things out further and it turned out he also had a bowel obstruction. Which MIGHT have been cured with surgery and thousands of dollars. I hate taking the money into account but while yes, I don't have that kind of money, he couldn't give me any real guarantees as to the success of the surgery and what they might actually find when they opened him up. So I decided that a quick and peaceful end was really the only choice.
So back into my car I went ... by now its after 11pm. Get to the clinic around 11:30 and they brought Jinxy in to spend some time with me all wrapped up in a blanket. He was partially sedated ... i.e. stoned out of his little kitty mind. Mostly he wasn't focusing too well, but I held him and we had a little chat and some snuggle time and then awesome vet came in and we both cuddled Jinxy was we sent him off to kitty heaven. Awesome vet skritched his nose and called him "big boy" and "sweetheart" and was entirely ... you guessed it ... awesome. I can't say enough about how he and the rest of the staff made that terrible night so much better just with their kindness and sympathy and gentle treatment of Jinx.
Fast forward a week. His toys are still all over the house, and his dishes are still in the kitchen. But I went up last night and picked up his ashes. And had a little weep in the car when I found that the clinic had included along with the ashes in a carved wooden box a little plaque with his paw print pressed into it. And then some wonderful person had put his name on it, and drawn little hearts onto it as well. They're so super kind.
So now he's home with me again, on a shelf in my kitchen next to previous kitty Daniel.
And I think I shall take a break from being a pet mama for a while. My poor battered heart needs a bit of a break. But Jinxy was equal parts adorable and OMGWHATDIDYOUDO?! and I will miss his little face.