 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| I gave meowmie a scare when they were preparing to move back to Illinois. Dad-dad had left the front door open to load the truck, and meowmie discovered that he hadn't locked us in the bedroom! She looked all over and couldn't find me; she was frantic, running all over the house and the street, crying and calling my name! As scared as I was by all the commotion, I felt so bad that I crept out from behind the CD tower in the living room so she could find me. She was SO relieved, she gave me tons of hugs and kisses! |
| We lived with dad-dad's parents for a year and a half; they had a cat and this HUGE black dog to play with! I didn't play much with Shayna, the dog, because she was older and it hurt her to move too quickly; but I loved to play with Claws, their cat! So did Kas; the three of us sounded like a herd of elephants when we started to play chase! Shayna died last Xmas Eve, several months after we'd moved out; I was sad when I heard that, I really was. For a dog, she was really cool; I'm going to miss her! |
| We live now in this big apartment, but it seems small because of all the stuff we own! But it's great; lots of places to hide and climb!! Tasha went to live with meowmie's mom, because they have too many animals according to the property manager. They had a dog for a few months, but Smudge went to the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago on August 11 because meowmie was told by the vet to remove any and all stressful factors from my environment. |
| On the evening of August 9, meowmie and dad-dad tried to get a picture of me with meowmie in the kitchen, but I was scared and peed on the floor. They noticed that there was blood in my urine, and meowmie brought me to the vet the next day for treatment for FLUTD, or Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. The vet said it was probably a viral cause, but gave meowmie some Clavamox for me to ward off any possible secondary bacterial infections. I'm really good about taking my pills; I never give her any trouble! |
| Meowmie talked to Dr. Dan about my April diagnosis of feline asthma (I had to be rushed to the 24-hour vet because I had trouble breathing), and she said the other vet thought I MIGHT have a heart murmer. Dr. Dan listened and said that I had a significant one, as well as something called a "gallop rhythm," and told her that I also had a very high heart rate of 240 (it shouldn't exceed 200 even when I'm stressed). She asked him what that meant; he told her that I probably have something called feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). |
| I don't know what this HCM is; but ever since that diagnosis two days ago, meowmie has been crying a lot and giving me extra-special treatment. Don't get me wrong, I love the attention; but I hate to see her so sad. Nothing hurts, not even the FLUTD; I'm just tired all the time and I don't want to play very much right now. Meowmie thinks that I won't be around very long, even though others have reassured her that I can live a long time with HCM; I hope she's wrong because I love her and don't want her to be sad. |
| In two weeks meowmie is going to take me back to Dr. Dan so he can do an x-ray and an ultrasound on my heart, and try and determine how bad my HCM is. I know that Dr. Dan plans on starting me on atenolol to slow down my heart rate, which should perk me up a little. Meowmie will ask him about other drug therapies available, so she can keep me around as long as possible. I know that as hard as it will be, when it becomes too painful for me to live meowmie will make the decision to euthanize me. Her last gift to me will be releasing me from my pain; and to me, that is the greatest act of love that one can show. Meowmie told me that she will keep my ashes in a special place, and that part of me will always live on in her memories and in her heart. I couldn't ask for a better, more loving meowmie. I am hoping beyond hope that Dr. Dan is wrong, but if his diagnosis is right I'm going to show meowmie how very much I love her too! |