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Saturday, November 17, 2012

the house was a little emptier last night

since Wednesday night, we have been worried about our cat Pumpkins.  he was basically himself in the morning, jumping into the bed after my wife got up to check on me, get a head rub, and jump off again.  when it's my turn to get up, he's a fixture needing his tummy rub and neck rub at the same time until I absolutely have to get cracking and get to work.

Wednesday night, he was a listless little orange tabby rag.  poked about the web online vet sites, decided we would try broth, canned chicken, half a pepcid AC, and encouraged him to drink at every step.  cats, if you didn't know, are not long for the world if they stop drinking... there is a hand-in-hand with using the kidneys and losing the kidneys.

Thursday night, my wife had enough, and packed the kitty into the car for the emergency vet clinic 20 miles distant.  I drove over from the tail end of a union weekly negotiation call.

results... DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis, and even if we submitted him to approximately a week of high-effort, mid-4 figure hospitalization, not good odds.  we debated the obvious, and Cheryl was not ready to submit Pumpkins to euthenasia.

so Friday, I had all-day training.  cuddled my little buddy, laid next to him on the floor as he contemplated a series of dainties on plates and several water dishes of different heights and sizes, and eventually had to get dressed.  in he comes, ten feet at a time between rests, to see me.  lifted him onto the bed, gave him a good 15 minutes, and then was past the wire, absolutely HAD to get dressed and go in for factory training on a new line of equipment we are buying by the trainload for next year.  you may guess, but I'm not telling.  it'll be good.

put the fleece I've had to lay at the bottom of the bed in the sheets for my little crampy toes down in the hallway for something warm and familiar, put the cat on it, and had to run.  no breakfast, no lunch, had to live off the machines for the day.  the group decided to cut out the hour lunch break, so I got out early.  in the meantime, Cheryl had gotten a 4:30 appointment with the vet, and son 3 was going to take the kitty in.  I called Shawn, and told him I was tied up in traffic, taking an alternate, and would be able to spell him for the kitty visit if he preferred.  which he agreed to, didn't want to be anywhere near that trip, although he was at the house getting his cuddles in with pumpkins.

we went, the body temp had fallen almost two degrees from the emergency clinic, and the blood results they faxed over told the tale... it was End Times.  got ahold of Cheryl between buses, both I and the doctor talked to her, and we agreed it was time for the final gift.

told Dr. Pomeroy be careful which arm you stick that thing into... hit the wrong arm, you don't get paid.  he laughed for half a minute, and said modern practice was to reach the bloodstream via a kidney for minimum shock.

and I had time to introduce Pumpkins, perhaps the sweetest, most loving cat I've known in my life, to a friend of mine he'd be moving in with.

Fella name of God.

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