El Sickerino

Remember this furry friend that I usually speak so lovingly about?

Damn Cat (aka Elway)

He hadn't been acting himself last week so we finally took him into the vet to find out he is Sick with a capital S. Poor thing is in renal failure and I now get to add kitty dialysis to my "list of things I never knew I could do but have to do". His condition is chronic so I will get to do it for the rest of his live, however long that may be.

Elway is about 9.5 years old. We got him when we lived in Minnesota and had moved into a house. We had wanted a bengal cat (which are in no way related to wild bengal tigers), but purebreds can be very spendy. We found a gal who was selling "mixed" bengals, meaning the female she wanted to breed got some outside lovin' from a stray cat. For $50 Elway was ours.

Yes, he can be a pain in the ass especially when he "sprays" all over 1/2 our belongings in storage, making them stink to high-heaven and rendering them useless. The puking thing is also very annoying. He is loud and doesn't like company to invade his space (just ask guests who try to use the downstairs bathroom when he is visiting--he will give you an earfull). The last time we had someone take care of him while we were gone, she had to send her husband over because he wouldn't let her in the door. He has broken a few things which include but are not limited to: a lamp, a toilet tank cover, a large shelf, and has ruined parts of the carpet with his scratching. He takes up more than than his share of the bed at night and insists on drinking out of the faucet.

But he is a member of the family and everyone (mostly) loves him. The girls adore him and hubby would be lost without him. He comes from a family of cat lovers. If I had a scanner, I could share one of hubby's senior pictures with the cat. I only know of one other person who is married to a cat-holding senior. Even my sister-in-law who has known hubby for a good 20 years didn't know that about him.

It is hard to see him sick, but hubby doesn't think he is in pain. The poor thing hasn't eaten much of anything in over a week. He is making it down to his litter box, but isn't quite making it in these days. He has perked up some from when we brought him in, but he has definitely slowed down and lost some of his personality. The girls know he is sick and that he may not live much longer.

I don't know what we'll do when he's gone. The house was eerily quiet the day he was gone to the vet. The girls see this as an opportunity for a potential new pet. I'm not so sure about that. ;)