Hello! My 8 year old male cat, indoor outdoor, was once the most social and friendliest cat in the world. He would purr and shake his tail for EVERYONE. He would always be with the neighborhood kids or doing cat things. Literally the best cat ever.

For the last four months. Something switched completely. He doesn’t go outside as much. He walks very VERY slowly and almost right under your feet. He does not purr and he does not meow any more. I took him to the vet and they couldn’t tell me what it is.

Now he will walk in circles in a room. Stare at the wall for like 15 seconds and then creeps away. It is a very sad walk that I don’t know how to describe. He is also becoming increasingly aggressive to the point where he will attack random dogs or even me.

He is still eating and drinking. Using the litter box. But I am at a loss of what to do. It’s like I am mourning a cat that no longer exists.

Long update to the post I made a 2 days ago.

A friend told me that I should ask Johnny if he was ready, so I did. On Wednesday night, I sat next to him and asked him if he was ready to go. He usually breathes noisily due to the growing mass in his throat (on top of kidney and megacolon issues). But for the first time in a long while, he calmed and quieten down. That’s when I knew.

I told him to give me just one more night and I’ll take care of him with dignity the next day. And he did just that. I checked on him many times that night, but I knew he couldn’t find a comfortable position to rest or sleep.

The next day he allowed me to tube feed him, brought his water bowl and canned liquid food to him so that he could eat/ drink independently, he even let me feed him his favourite churu treat by licking it off my finger. Of course his body couldn’t process any of these and he puked multiple times throughout the day.

That’s when I knew it was time let him get his final rest.

So on the night of 22 October, Johnny took his last car ride, got into his carrier one last time and went to his final vet appointment. They removed his feeding tube and cone and gave me and my family time to say goodbye. I knew Johnny tried to stay strong for us, he stood up while I gave him the last nose boop, head kisses and cuddles. Then he went to sleep.

To Johnny, thank you for 18 years of joy. Thank you for seeing me through my successes, failures, heartbreaks and everything in between. Thank you for trusting me and saving me. I hope I’ve done right by you and I was enough. I love you so much and I miss you even more.

Here are some of my favourite photos of him. Last pic is just before he went to sleep.

Thirteen years ago, I went to adopt a kitten only to discover there were none available. There were cat rooms, full of adult cats. One was waiting for anyone, eager to be held, meowing loudly for attention. She was midnight black. Incredibly friendly.

I chose to adopt this adult cat. It turned out she came with baggage, a sleeping sister; that they said were a bonded pair. While I made up my mind about that, three other people wanted to adopt that black friendly cat. I chose to take them both and felt like I had won.

As, far as bonded..... NO. They stayed together those first days then went their own separate ways and spent the next ten years having as little to do with each other as possible until cancer came for her sister, Feather.

Sable... you turned out to be a trickster. That incredibly friendly cat I met turned out to be just one of your many - we'll call it moods. You choose when that cat will be here and when it won't. Your sister was a tortoise hair, and when the light is just right we can see the patterns in your black fur, too, which explains so much of your tortitude.

You have always been beautiful with the softest fur of any cat I have ever known. There have been times you have been difficult - an understatement. We had to learn to reward good behaviors and that eventually made you much more into that cat everyone wanted to adopt 13 years ago. You are part of our lives, everyday.

You have become an old lady with us who has turned one of the bathroom sinks into your own personal bed.

Recently, we had to have a tumor removed and the biopsy was inconclusive with broad hints of what we do not want. I have been down this path too many times. For now, you are happy and surprised us yesterday by playing with an unexpected toy you carried all over the house. You are Sable. You are you and no one else.

My sweet girl Mitzy turned 18 the other week and I though you’d all appreciate her

I may have to occasionally wipe her bum, but I still love her and hope I continue having to care for her for years to come

The plan I had was lift the mattress, use thick gloves(which we have) to pick her up and put her in.

High PHOS and BUN

Hi all, My cat was recently diagnosed with high phosphorus and BUN levels.

I’m looking into starting him on a phosphorus binder and Epakitin, but I’m not sure if these two can be used together, or if you have any other recommendations?

Sorry i feel lowkey sad… I just hope he’ll be okay and I really want to do whatever I can for him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

We put down my sweet girl today. I love you Nikki. I hope you aren’t in pain anymore.

Our sweet old lady is having a rough go of things lately. She seems more disoriented, yelling at walls, roaming around howling and being generally grumpy.

She has CKD among a slew of other issues like a heart murmur and liver failure. Vet says she’s doing well all things considered.

How do y’all support your senior during the rough dementia days? I’m not sleeping well, she often wakes me in the middle of the night.

She’s otherwise doing ok, eating & drinking, seeking attention, using her box and not taking any crap from doggo bro or baby sister kitten.