Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
i'm about to go feed them. i feed them a mixed diet of grain free, 86% meat-based kibble and freeze-dried raw food. it's easy - i just put a few of these freeze dried nuggets in a dish, smush them with a fork, and add a bit of warm water. after a minute or two, it's all rehydrated and i mix it up and my kitties eat it. they make very cute om-nomming noises when they eat. one of them almost purrs or growls while she eats. and one of them tries to 'bury' it sometimes; it looks like she's covering it with dirt. but her paws are just pulling along the pergo floors. like it's imaginary dirt.
i didn't know why she was doing that at first. after some research, i discovered that in the wild, cats with big kills get full. instead of abandoning their kill, they either drag it away (like leopards - they drag their kill into a tree) or they bury it. that way the scent is less detectable and the cat can come back later and finish it.
so sometimes, one of my cats tries to 'bury' her raw food so she can save it for later. when she does that, i pick up her mostly-eaten dinner and put it on the counter when she's done 'burying' it. then when she wanders back in a little while later, i put it down for her again.
so, yeah. that's what i'm doing.
i didn't know why she was doing that at first. after some research, i discovered that in the wild, cats with big kills get full. instead of abandoning their kill, they either drag it away (like leopards - they drag their kill into a tree) or they bury it. that way the scent is less detectable and the cat can come back later and finish it.
so sometimes, one of my cats tries to 'bury' her raw food so she can save it for later. when she does that, i pick up her mostly-eaten dinner and put it on the counter when she's done 'burying' it. then when she wanders back in a little while later, i put it down for her again.
so, yeah. that's what i'm doing.
when we got to the vet, she took blood and gave him some fluid with something in it; i don't even remember what. i was in a daze at the time. the blood work didn't show anything - his kidneys were functioning better than they had been all that year! we took him home and kept him comfortable to see if whatever was in the bag they gave him helped.
that night we made a few phone calls to have people come say their goodbyes. he slept with me all night, just like he used to when he was a tiny kitten.
the next morning, there was no change. we made the decision as a family to put him to sleep, but of course no one would come with me. easily one of the hardest thing i recall doing. but i know he's happy and frolicking and hunting things over the rainbow bridge.
One of the sisters I told you about departed Dec 2009, age 18, and I had probably let her linger longer than I should as couldnt bear to say goodbye.
I lay on the bed with her in my arms asleep all afternoon and when the vet arrived my husband brought him to the bedroom where he gently put the injection feed in. I had my hand on her and could feel her heartbeat stop. She just was laying sleeping one minute and gone the next. I always talk of metaphorically walking to the gate with her.