gingerand((calliope))(GA)
Member
wings_cat
Calliope left me after midnight, last night. It was her time to go. She let me know it was time.
She was diagnosed with CRF and thyroid issues in Dec. She was stage 1 with the kidney problems and her labs had been stable since the DX. Friday evening, she took an acute turn. She snuggled with me Friday night, but in a different way. She wouldn't eat her halo treats that she loves. She was drinking a lot of water, as she usually does. She's always been a big drinker, which is why that was not a signal to me, that she had FD. She had trouble walking, suddenly, and stabilizing herself. I thought her arthritis was bothering her. We'd just switched to giving the adaquin every 2 weeks rather than once a week and I was thinking that she still needed more, but I was wrong.
I took her to the vet on Saturday morning, but, in my heart, I knew that she wouldn't be coming home, so I took some pictures of her in the kitchen before we left. The vet found that she was terribly dehydrated, and I know she wasn't dehydrated on Thursday, because I'd done the skin test. This all happened very quickly, though my vet told me they compensate for a long time before beans can see something wrong. The vet tried to run the labs, but the blood was too thick. She was going out of town, so she wanted to have Calliope go to the ER for monitoring and getting fluids and more labs,after some fluids. She put the port in, herself, and gave me fluids because she said it would be cheaper for her to do that than to get it done at the ER.
So, I took Calliope to the ER with my socks that she loves so much and my Pj top from the night before, in her carrier. We'd snuggled with her really good at the vet's office while we waited for the labs to be run. She wasn't purring any longer, but she was rubbing her face on mine and enjoying all of the petting as much as she could, but she was tired and she was ready to go. I knew it, but I still held out hope. My vet told me to prepare myself, though she wasn't ready to give up on Calliope, yet.
The ER doc was WONDERFUL. He was so caring and so gentle with Calliope. He called her sweet endearing names. He put her on the fluids and told me they would run labs later in the night, after she'd had fluids for a while. He took a lot of time with me.
Her labs were beyond bad and she was horribly anemic. Her kidneys had gotten much smaller. So, just after midnight, I let her go. She is no longer in any pain. She doesn't have FD, she no longer has arthritis, kidney or thyroid issues. She doesn't have to get the adaquin shots, she hated so much. She is happy and healthy.
The ER vet told me my vet had called him several times to check on Calliope. He said that from what my vet told him about me and from talking to me that I'd taken good care of Calliope and that I'd extended her life. He was so comforting in everything we discussed and in every decision we made. I was a mess.
I will miss every movement Calliope made while she was with me. I'm devastated and completely heart broken. However, I am so grateful for the over 16 years we had together and I think we two were meant to be. I adopted Calliope when she was 4 weeks old, though I was told she was over 6 weeks old and weaned. She was not. For weeks, I got up all night and came home from work several times a day to hand feed her until she could eat on her own. She came to me needing my help and she left with me helping feel better in the last years of her life. I'm glad I was the one who answered that ad in the paper.
For those who don't know our story, here is my one year OTJ post and which includes some thank yous to people who helped me through that.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... sg-1773953
I was going to PTS when Calliope was diagnosed with FD. I thought I had no choice, but the folks on this site helped me save her life and gave us both more time together.
Special thanks to MaryJo and Smokie who talked to me for hours before and after I let Calliope go, until the wee hours of the morning and who helped me and supported me in some very difficult decisions under stressful conditions. MaryJo made me feel good about everything I decided and made me smile through the tears. What a good friend she has been to me.
Special thanks to Miriam and Putty, who have always been there and who sent me kind and sweet notes when Calliope was diagnosed with all those new issues and yesterday and today, during all of this. I'm so grateful you are my friend.
Special thanks to Mister Snuggles and Lil' Christmas who put on quite the show in my kitchen last night at 3:30 am with a ball they were batting into kingdom come. They made me laugh.
Special thanks to Fat Lucy, who slept by my head all night and sits up against my thigh in my chair as I type this. She is so loyal and she sits by me every day, all day, while I work at the computer.
Special thanks to Snugs, too, for working your way under my arms while I was sleeping and spooning with me all night. I needed that and Snugs would relocate in that position every time I turned over. It was nice to wake up during the night to a snugly kitty.
Special thanks to Calliope who gave me so much joy for over 16 years and showed me what "tortitude" means. That joy far outweighs the grief that I feel right now, even though my heart is broken into a bazillion pieces. I know that joy will help me heal.
I never could figure out how to reduce a picture of Calliope for this new site. Below are some pictures from the last several months or so of Calliope in one of her favorite places~snuggling in the many pillows on my bed. (At least, I hope I uploaded these photos, correctly.) She even has one of my socks in one of the pictures. She loved getting into all of those pillows and she liked sleeping above my head, so she could lick my hair off or maybe give me a hairball during the night.
Calliope, you were loved and so was I. wings_cat
Calliope left me after midnight, last night. It was her time to go. She let me know it was time.
She was diagnosed with CRF and thyroid issues in Dec. She was stage 1 with the kidney problems and her labs had been stable since the DX. Friday evening, she took an acute turn. She snuggled with me Friday night, but in a different way. She wouldn't eat her halo treats that she loves. She was drinking a lot of water, as she usually does. She's always been a big drinker, which is why that was not a signal to me, that she had FD. She had trouble walking, suddenly, and stabilizing herself. I thought her arthritis was bothering her. We'd just switched to giving the adaquin every 2 weeks rather than once a week and I was thinking that she still needed more, but I was wrong.
I took her to the vet on Saturday morning, but, in my heart, I knew that she wouldn't be coming home, so I took some pictures of her in the kitchen before we left. The vet found that she was terribly dehydrated, and I know she wasn't dehydrated on Thursday, because I'd done the skin test. This all happened very quickly, though my vet told me they compensate for a long time before beans can see something wrong. The vet tried to run the labs, but the blood was too thick. She was going out of town, so she wanted to have Calliope go to the ER for monitoring and getting fluids and more labs,after some fluids. She put the port in, herself, and gave me fluids because she said it would be cheaper for her to do that than to get it done at the ER.
So, I took Calliope to the ER with my socks that she loves so much and my Pj top from the night before, in her carrier. We'd snuggled with her really good at the vet's office while we waited for the labs to be run. She wasn't purring any longer, but she was rubbing her face on mine and enjoying all of the petting as much as she could, but she was tired and she was ready to go. I knew it, but I still held out hope. My vet told me to prepare myself, though she wasn't ready to give up on Calliope, yet.
The ER doc was WONDERFUL. He was so caring and so gentle with Calliope. He called her sweet endearing names. He put her on the fluids and told me they would run labs later in the night, after she'd had fluids for a while. He took a lot of time with me.
Her labs were beyond bad and she was horribly anemic. Her kidneys had gotten much smaller. So, just after midnight, I let her go. She is no longer in any pain. She doesn't have FD, she no longer has arthritis, kidney or thyroid issues. She doesn't have to get the adaquin shots, she hated so much. She is happy and healthy.
The ER vet told me my vet had called him several times to check on Calliope. He said that from what my vet told him about me and from talking to me that I'd taken good care of Calliope and that I'd extended her life. He was so comforting in everything we discussed and in every decision we made. I was a mess.
I will miss every movement Calliope made while she was with me. I'm devastated and completely heart broken. However, I am so grateful for the over 16 years we had together and I think we two were meant to be. I adopted Calliope when she was 4 weeks old, though I was told she was over 6 weeks old and weaned. She was not. For weeks, I got up all night and came home from work several times a day to hand feed her until she could eat on her own. She came to me needing my help and she left with me helping feel better in the last years of her life. I'm glad I was the one who answered that ad in the paper.
For those who don't know our story, here is my one year OTJ post and which includes some thank yous to people who helped me through that.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... sg-1773953
I was going to PTS when Calliope was diagnosed with FD. I thought I had no choice, but the folks on this site helped me save her life and gave us both more time together.
Special thanks to MaryJo and Smokie who talked to me for hours before and after I let Calliope go, until the wee hours of the morning and who helped me and supported me in some very difficult decisions under stressful conditions. MaryJo made me feel good about everything I decided and made me smile through the tears. What a good friend she has been to me.
Special thanks to Miriam and Putty, who have always been there and who sent me kind and sweet notes when Calliope was diagnosed with all those new issues and yesterday and today, during all of this. I'm so grateful you are my friend.
Special thanks to Mister Snuggles and Lil' Christmas who put on quite the show in my kitchen last night at 3:30 am with a ball they were batting into kingdom come. They made me laugh.
Special thanks to Fat Lucy, who slept by my head all night and sits up against my thigh in my chair as I type this. She is so loyal and she sits by me every day, all day, while I work at the computer.
Special thanks to Snugs, too, for working your way under my arms while I was sleeping and spooning with me all night. I needed that and Snugs would relocate in that position every time I turned over. It was nice to wake up during the night to a snugly kitty.
Special thanks to Calliope who gave me so much joy for over 16 years and showed me what "tortitude" means. That joy far outweighs the grief that I feel right now, even though my heart is broken into a bazillion pieces. I know that joy will help me heal.
I never could figure out how to reduce a picture of Calliope for this new site. Below are some pictures from the last several months or so of Calliope in one of her favorite places~snuggling in the many pillows on my bed. (At least, I hope I uploaded these photos, correctly.) She even has one of my socks in one of the pictures. She loved getting into all of those pillows and she liked sleeping above my head, so she could lick my hair off or maybe give me a hairball during the night.
Calliope, you were loved and so was I. wings_cat
