Saffron Update

I’ve been putting off posting this update. Saffron is OK but has had a rough week. For the last couple weeks she has had more digestive problems than usual (about three bad days per week instead of one; this is probably an indication that her overall condition is getting worse). This past weekend she clearly didn’t feel well and Sunday we couldn’t get her to eat. Not eating is very bad for cats because they can go into liver failure very quickly. Since she already has liver problems, not eating is a very serious problem.

When she saw the vet Monday her digestive problems were gone but she was dehydrated and her gingivitis was not responding to antibiotics — which was why she didn’t want to eat. (She is too frail for dental surgery.) Fortunately, she HAS responded to extra fluids and pain medicine. The pain medicine doesn’t make her groggy, loopy, or hyper; it just makes her act like her normal, perky, hungry self. Whew! Today she is OK, but we have no idea how long it will last.

If she had not responded to this treatment, it would have been time to make THE decision. When she first got sick we decided that as long as she was eating, drinking, getting to the litterbox, and looking happy, her quality of life was good. Fortunately, the new medicine means she has those things, for now. I’m afraid it may not last long and that the end may come soon and possibly suddenly.

She likes to be near me or where she can see me. Here are some photos of her telling me she's ready to eat and looking happy and snuggly in her favorite bed (I left the little Christmas tree up -- undecorated -- for her because she loves sleeping under it so much):