Dying Felines

Does this look like a dying feline to you?

Evil, perhaps. Cunning maybe? But dying? Not quite.

Spent a small fortune getting the cat pictured from Texas to Scotland last year as part of my "let's change our lives" plan that is currently being revamped. This male, Bo, is known to talk back (sassy pants) and to drop tootsie roll turds in a bath tub if he's upset. But we love him and couldn't bear life without him.

He's almost 13, and still an active old man. Curmudgeonly, but lovable. Because of incredibly stringent quarantine laws in the UK, poor soul had to spend 5 months in a quarantine cattery (sounds like a brothel but it's really quarantine kennel for cats). It was a bit like prison - his father and I had visitation rights 3 times a week! I still feel guilty for that, but who wouldn't?

Well, on his release date, March 22, 2009, Bo made the car trip like the little soldier he is: cried and sulked almost the whole way.

If ya look closely, you can see his tiny Mother, Joey, crouched down in the travel kennel. She got to make the trip too, but this story isn't about her.

Being an insane cat lover, I give Bo kisses. No tongues, please. But love and hugs. I noticed his breath had become, well, stinky. And not that cute "oh he's got kitty breath" smell either. I'm talking funk, straight up gingivitis. Dingy gingies as me and Obm Jean from back home used to say. I didn't think much of it other than "maybe we should brush his teeth." Yeah, that worked out well...Ever tried brushing the teeth of an angry, drunken sailor who's just home on shore leave? Well it's the same thing. Trust me.

After a couple weeks in his new home in Scotland, Bo wasn't playing, wasn't grooming and just wasn't himself. A mother knows. The hubby said "well what do you suggest we do?" to which I really had no answer. Couldn't pinpoint it you see, and didn't want to seem like a hypochondriac by proxy to any vet here in Scotland. Not yet anyway.

When his right jaw had swollen to the size of the planet Mars I figured I better call in back up. Luckily got him in to a vet who calmly pointed out he had an abscessed tooth that would need to be yanked out after a week of antibiotics. Let me just tell you...giving a 9 pound Maine Coon Cat capsules of any kind isn't easy. Tell me a thousand different ways to get it done and I will counter with a thousand different ways the little bastard can wiggle out of it.

I am now a professional cat wrangler. BUT, this isn't the end. Took the cat in for his op, and the vet chic (not the one from last time) said, and I do quote "Well I still hear the heart murmur and he is indeed in heart failure." Sorry, what? She repeated herself. Two more times. To which I replied with tears and I'm sure a twisted face. She said some other things that I can't really remember but to call later that afternoon to check on him.

I am not a mother, never have been and don't intend to be anytime soon. But this little dude is my baby. And I would wager that most of you reading this who have any healthy regard for pets would agree hearing "he has heart failure" would lead you to believe OMG he's dying!

For the next four hours I cried and was angry and all this shit came flying up out of my mouth that I couldn't believe I was upset about. (another post, another day). Fully prepared to bring this old man cat home to die, I completely and totally over reacted to what someone else told me (this goes back to my post from earlier today...don't believe all that you hear).

When the time comes to pick up the doomed and fallen soldier, the vet chic shows us an x-ray of a slightly enlarged heart. Not in the least bit upsetting or life threatening. Explaining various things to us about his tooth and dental hygiene, I finally interjected "So...he's not dying??", to which she replied "No, not today. Not imminently."

Could have slapped her...He's fine.

He's got a healthy dose of the trots (diarrhea) from the meds, and he still resists getting his pills 2x a day (got the scratch marks to prove it)...but as you can see from the next picture, he isn't, in fact, dying. Way to go, Bo~!