Our 20 year old Siamese cat hasn't eaten in at least 3 days. She was only 5lbs to begin with, so she is down to almost nothing now. She stopped being able to jump up on the bed two nights ago, and while she's always been a noisy cat (Ceebee is for Chatter Box), her cries have changed and you can tell she's in pain. She will drink if I bring the bowl up to her face, but will not eat. This cat has snuggled with my baby since the day we brought her home. I'm well used to waking up to hear V explaining, 'No THANK you Ceebee, you can't sleep on my head'
Her sudden decline is a shock to us. I mean, we've known she had medical issues (partial kidney failure) for a couple of years, but she has been acting normal and healthy until this week.
And our poor sweet Sasha is now no longer able to walk around the block without a rest. There are days when we've only walked her once. It doesn't help that our home is a highranch bungalow so she has to go upstairs to get inside, and our entire home is hardwood flooring. I've actually found her bambied on the kitchen or livingroom floor and I often have to help her up the stairs. Our one consolation is that she isn't in pain. The issues are neurological, so she is losing feeling and sense of her legs. V knows that she's not well. I tell her that her legs are 'owie' and that V has to be careful with her. But she's still 'Sasha-bear' to her. V runs up and hugs her (very, very carefully and gently) easily 20 times a day. The amount of concern she's showing breaks my heart.
Speaking of broken hearts, I have no idea how I'm going to address the death of these two pets with her. I do know they won't be going to heaven, or waiting for her somewhere, or taken by angels, but how does one introduce the concept of death and its permanence to a toddler? I can barely comprehend life without these two, they have been part of her family her entire life. I hate the fact that this will become part of her life so early in her life.