Monday, I got up, took the dog out and fed the starving horde of kitties. While I was in the bathroom, Lace came in and meowed one, LOUD, extremely distressed cry. I picked her up. Both nostrils were closed with dried mucus, which I removed. I took her into the bedroom to give her some antibiotic drops that the vet said to use for colds.
When I put down after the drops, I noticed that her diaphragm was heaving, besides the fact that she just lay there, not running away as she always did when I gave her those drops.
I put her into a carrier, threw on my clothes and we rushed to the vet.
The vet was on his biannual 2 week visit to Argentina, but fortunately, he had gotten a very nice lady to take his patients while he was gone, unlike other times when he had a retired vet sitting in who needed to stay in retirement.
She examined Lacy and told me that she'd need an x-ray to confirm, but she was sure that her chest was full of fluid, which probably meant cancer. Lacy was 13 and had been getting steroid shots for years due to the lesions in her mouth, which had also come back. The vet took the x-ray and the test confirmed the worst. They gave her a sedative, then as I held her, she slipped away, no longer struggling for each breath.
Then I had a couple of problems to deal with. I was not able to bury her. The last kitty grave I dug, still had my elbows and back messed-up and I had to be directing the choir on Thursday, Friday, Saturday night and Easter Sunday. A normal service would make me stiff for a day or so. All these services involved a lot of standing, as well as rehearsing. The high blood pressure issues had me off my usual Excedrin, as it has caffeine and was creating problems. So I bit the bullet and asked them to have her cremated. There are no budget packages there, $240. Added to the cost of the visit, x-ray and euthanasia, that meant I owe them $320... which I'll have to pay in installments.
I know I made the only choice. I physically couldn't bury her and I couldn't just "throw her body away".
When her ashes are ready, I'll scatter them in the garden, so her remains will be with the others who've gone before her.
I can't remember the last time that I had only 6 kitties...
No comments:
Post a Comment