Liberty in the Window
I thought I was going to lose Liberty, my 17 year old cat,
this past week. She stopped eating and drinking and dropped her weight which
wasn’t that much to begin with. She normally weighs 6 pounds. I took her to my
veterinarian, Dr. Jack Miller on Tuesday (July 10th). They did blood
work and examined her, but everything came back normal. They treated her with a
bolus of fluid and gave her a couple shots to increase her appetite and decrease
any inflammation.
After that, she acted like her normal self and still seemed
able to remain active, but she still wouldn’t eat or even drink water. I was
feeling desperate.
I took her back to the vet the next two days and each time
they gave her fluids and medicine. She was beginning to look rough,
uninterested in most activities, and just wanted to be held day and night. I
know I couldn’t take her to the vet every single day of her life to get fluids
and there was no way she could get any real nutrition.
On Friday I began to think about whether or not I should put
her down if she didn’t improve over the weekend. The thought of losing her
sucked out all my joy. I couldn’t even sleep or rest for thinking about what
might happen next. I wrote prayers for her and lit a candle, hoping for
anything that would bring her back from the brink.
And then something DID happen.
Liberty on Friday July 13, 2018
On Friday, she followed me into the bedroom while I made my
bed and, while I was straightening the bed clothes, she started pawing at
something under the dresser. Liberty had found one of Lily’s old dog kibbles…and
then she ate it. I couldn’t believe it. I had been trying to get her to eat wet
food believing it would be easier on her to start on something semi-liquid, but
being Liberty, she decided she wanted a dried out old gross kibble that may
have been under that dresser for quite some time. I was amazed, but not
reassured yet.
A few minutes later, she went to her dish and ate her dry cat
food ignoring the special high powered canned food the vet gave me. Then she
went back for seconds and then she went to the water bowel and drank, and
drank, and drank. I called the vet and his trusty animal nurse, Stacy, told me
to just keep an eye on Liberty to see how she would do and that they would be
open half a day on Saturday if anything went wrong.
Here it is, Sunday and now Liberty is eating her food
including her favorite canned food of chicken and tuna (gross in my book) and
acting completely normal. Crisis diverted.
I know that I’m not going to have Liberty forever, but the
very idea of her starving herself to death when there was nothing apparently
wrong with her was very upsetting to me. I may never know what happened (Can
cats get the stomach flu?), but I am so very grateful for the excellent care
the vet and his staff gave to Liberty and the kindness and generosity they
showed me during this whole ordeal. And now I get to have more time with
Liberty and enjoy her antics. It’s such a relief!
Diverse
stories filled with heart
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