My old cat: I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

[hedgehog]

Smoky came to us about nineteen years ago as a young cat that someone had abandoned "out in the country". He was very sick and in pain from a huge abscess on his back. We took him to the vet and he turned out to be a marvelous cat. He loved to be petted but if you accidentally touched the spot on his back where the abscess had been, he would gently nip you to let you know about it.

This summer he started fading, eating less and less. The vet told me last spring that he was in kidney failure, so we were pretty amazed that he made it this far. This morning both my husband found him under a pile of clothes and I found him later lying across a doorway. We both thought he was gone until we picked him up. I think he is going to die today since his paws are cold and his tail is going limp. We put him on a soft towel and tucked him under a dresser so he'd feel sheltered.

Here's the problem: I went to take a shower and when I came back, Smoky was no where to be seen. I'm not even certain he's still in the house since he might have gone out the cat door and out to the three story barn! Now I have to deal with the grief of losing an old companion and the absurdity of searching around for a dead cat!

[malta blue]

1. I am crying for you now Hedgehog

Send the other kitties and the dogs out to look for him. Sapa is good at that...we lost one of our kitties, Sapa found him trapped under a house and stayed there with him until we got him out. If Smoky and Sapa have bonded at all, send Sapa out - really he may surprise you!

Smoky is a tough kitty, but old. I am truly sorry for your dilemma right now.
Peace.:hug:

[livetohike]

2. Hugs for you hedgehog

:hug:

I hope you find Smoky curled up and sleeping soundly.

I lost a dog to kidney failure three years ago.....

[Arugula Latte]

3. Aw, I hope you find ol' Smokes ...

Kitties do have a way of creeping away to die alone. :hug:

I'm glad he had a good, long life after you found him.

I have to take my 14-year-old kitty to the vet today and I'm terrified that she has cancer... :cry: ...

[Patiod]

9. Let us know what happens Oregonian

They really worm their way into your heart, especially after 14 years.

[Arugula Latte]

11. Thanks ... I'm back from the vet ... Good news!

He doesn't think it's likely she has cancer -- probably a bacterial problem in the digestive track. He gave me some medication to try for a few days. Overall, he said she looks good. Whew!

:hi:

[malta blue]

12. That's great news!

:bounce:

[Arugula Latte]

13. Thanks, malta!

:hug:

[Patiod]

14. What a relief!

Scary stuff. Hope the kitty is feeling better.

[Arugula Latte]

15. Thanks!

I know I'm feeling better, and she seems to be quite frisky. I was worried because of blood in the you-know-what, but apparently there are many explanations for it, and most are less severe than cancer.

[malta blue]

4. Do you have any new information on Smoky?

[BarenakedLady]

5. Oh I'm sorry

:hug:

[idgiehkt]

6. they do this.

I stayed with my parent's cat the night that she passed from renal failure. They left her out of their screen porch. I knew she was going to die that night so I decided to stay with her so she wouldn't have to die alone. All during the night she kept getting up off of the pillow and trying to move away..it's their instinct to go off and die, I think. I was with her the moment she passed though, it was very sad. I wanted them to euthanize her, but they didn't.

[wildhorses]

7. so sorry hedgehog. I had a cat as a child named Smokey.

A grey tabby. I hope you find him, soon:hug:

[Dangerously Amused]

8. What a horrible situation.

I am so sorry.


:hug:

[calico1]

10. Animals tend to do that when they know

they are going to die. I hope you find Smokey in time. Please let us know how things turn out. I am so sorry! :hug:

[Rhiannon12866]

16. I am so sorry!!!

But, whatever happens, it does sound as if you've given him as marvelous life. Please let us know when you find him. I share your pain, since I adopt older animals. I hope that Smoky's okay, when you find him. I'd try tuna, since my cats always showed up for that, and mine never left the house...

Rhiannon:hug:

[hedgehog]

17. An Update on my old cat Smoky

I was wrong about his age, he was about 20 years old. I learned that he caught a mouse up in my bedroom a few weeks ago (I was on a trip and the kitten had brought her new toy upstairs to play with and then lost track of it.) Smoky caught the mouse, snarled at the dogs to stay away and then brought it downstairs to eat at the dining room table. (Makes me glad the kids are in the habit of leaving the newspaper spread all over it after breakfast.) The kids fed him about half a stick of butter to wash it down with.

We've searched the house, a couple of hedges in the yard and his favorite spots in the barn. This is amazing because I didn't think he had the energy top walk the last time I saw him.

Smoky was in the habit of going a missing a few days in spring and came back several years with bruises shaped like a deer hoof. We figure he was after the fawns. He stayed away an extended period one year so he might have even gotten one. He used to catch grouse, too. I found out that he was picking them up off the nests at night. I know he's gone, but part of me wonders if he'll turn up with a mouse just one more time.

[malta blue]

18. Thanks for the update Hedgehog.

Here's to Smoky...
:toast:

Where ever he may be...he may surprise you yet again.
:hug:

[Sanity Claws]

21. What a great story!

It's the type of story that you will cause you to smile while telling it and help you remember how wonderful Smokey was.
I hope you find out what happened to Smokey.

[El Fuego]

19. That's very sad, I hope you find him.

Seems like he would stay in the house. :(

[grasswire]

20. cats go away to die

I lost three indoor elder cats in a year. Each of them, when it was very nearly their time to pass, went to sit by the the door to go out, even though they hadn't been out in their adult lives.

Very sad. You might never find kitty.

[xchrom]

22. for smoky...

Poem For Cats

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And, as a cat, you know I am most able
To decide anything for myself.

Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon, replied the whiskered angel
But I must come slowly
For my human friends are troubled
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.

But don't they understand? asked God
That you'll never leave them?
That your souls are intertwined. For all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is....forever and ever and ever.

Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them
I just am....forever and ever and ever.

Author Unknown