Our Bad News!

We have noticed our little Stormer-boo has not been up to par lately.  For the last few weeks she hasn't wanted to eat very much.  She'll go a day or two without an appetite at all.  Then she'll be back to eating but it's just a minimal amount. She also has had trouble keeping her food down.  After having issues for a couple days in a row though she'll appear to rebound a bit. 

However, as of this weekend she was not rebounding anymore.  She has stayed the same for quite a few days.  Super lethargic as well!  Her meow's are minimum and her purring mechanism seems to be broken.  We noticed she's virtually stopped purring on Saturday night. After deciding that this time she has not shown us any improvement in many days we made a vet appointment. 

For those that are not accustom to cats it's important to mention that cats are not like dogs.  They do not go to the vet regularly.  They take care of themselves a lot better than a dog does.  Dogs are much more dependent on humans to take care of their needs.  Cats do their own thing, quite self-sufficient. For example, Brad could literally go out of town and leave Storm in the house to fend for herself, which she would do just fine.  Cody and Simon can not be left alone like that, Simon would eat Cody.  Not to mention they would be petrified to be left alone for a day or two!

Today we took our little Stormer to the vet.  We both knew it was likely not going to be good news we would receive.  The recommendation of the vet was for Storm to be immediately hospitalized.  It is unclear how long she would need to be hospitalized.  Maybe a few days maybe a week.  Hospitalizing a pet and giving them 24 hour care of that nature would be super expensive.  It would ring up a multi-thousand dollar bill super quick. Storm has kidney failure, renal failure.  She is eighteen years old and with that kind of diagnoses we are unsure how long hospitalization would prolong her life and if it would actually prolong her life at all.  Not to mention Brad is worried about her passing away while in the hospital.  Another issue we see with hospitalizing her is the trauma it might cause.  For a cat that rarely requires going to a vet to suddenly be hospitalized might be too much for her to handle.  

As of this moment our decision is to keep Storm at home and just enjoy the time she has left.  It's going to be absolutely devastating to see her go.  My poor husband has had Storm since she was a kitten.  He's super attached to her.  I've become attached to her as well. I started crying at the vet and I'm beginning to cry as I type this post.  We think the best thing we can do for her is to just be around her and keep her comfortable. 

This was the first time the boys have been left home while Storm had to be taken to the vet, they were anxious to check her over as soon as she arrived home. Simon was first to check on her.  And right now as I type Cody is on watch.  He is laying near her. Poor sweet Stormer-boo!