One Less

Tonight our family has one less member.  We had to put our 9 year old cat down today.

We have been struggling with our cat for quite awhile.  It started back in spring of 2010 when I was pregnant with Adelyn.  Skyler started peeing outside her litterbox.  First we tried a shot of antiobiotics, which seemed to help but only for a day or two.  Then we had to get a urine sample....let me tell you how fun that is.  They say to put a rocks in the litterbox instead of litter, so it won't be absorbed into it, but when your cat isn't peeing in the box that won't work.  So I put her in the crate we used when our dog was a puppy until she peed.  This sounds cruel, but the crate is big enough for a dog so she had plenty of room.  We found out she had crystals in her urine, which could be bad.  They gave us another antiobiotic, which helped but as soon as we stopped it, she started going out of the box again.  The vet said she may have a blockage and recommended we do an xray which would lead to surgery.  We opted to try out a prescription food, and after a few weeks it seemed to do the trick.

Skyler had long hair, so often had hairballs. She would have a bunch and in the process throw up her food.  Nothing like stepping in wet cat puke in the morning.  My husband was so frustrated by it, as it was just one more thing to do.

Then things were going ok, with an occassional complaint from my husband about her (she wasn't the friendliest cat in her later years, probably from him not being nice to her).  I think one thing my husband hated was litter box duty.  After all, he had it quite often, being as I was pregnant 3 times in a span of 4 years.

Things got busy and crazy when Coen was born.  I'm not sure if that stressed Skyler out or what, but we began to have the litter box issue again.  Cat pee stinks.  Luckily she was going in the same place, next to her box, which is in the basement.  Our basement is finished (if you call it that, the previous owners did a horrible job) so we had to worry about the carpet.

I took her to the vet and they gave us antibiotics.  Again, they seemed to work but when she went off them, same thing, she started going outside the box again.  The vet wanted a urine sample, but when I took her in her bladder was empty...twice.  My husband was ready to give up, he had been wanting to get rid of her for awhile, saying it was too much cleaning up cat puke with two working parents and two little kids.  True, yes, but I made a commitment when I adopted the cat.

Then she peed.....all over Sierra's bed.  That was it.....she had to stay in the basement. 

Finally we decided to do the urine sample.  The vet took her overnight and got it and turns out she had blood in her urine.  Simple fix, more antibiotics, or so I thought.  There was no change at all with the meds.  We tried changing her food, I bought one of those diffusers that was supposed to calm cats.  No change.  The only thing we didn't try was giving her anxiety pills.  I drew the line there, because I am lucky I remember to feed both pets and let the dog out, much less giving one a pill every day and worrying if I forget she will pee on a bed again.  I also drew the line at getting a $100 urinalysis.  At this point I had already spent well over $200 on this issue, $200 I just didn't have since I was off work unpaid for 3 months, plus the additional expenses we now have with another child.

We made the decision after she was on the food for a few weeks.  I feel like we gave it a good shot, but nothing was working.  I am not sure if she was anxious due to all the craziness in our house.  I won't sugar coat our household, it's stressful during the week.  We bicker over stupid stuff because we are tired and get no time to ourselves.  The kids are tired from getting up early.  It can get hairy, and often our dog goes upstairs under the bed (he's sensitive).  Skyler never had issues after Sierra was born though.    There were too many factors to consider, and not enough money and time to address them.

I feel so badly about this.  I am trying not to think about it.  I wouldn't even go downstairs at all today to see her before my husband took her in.  I didn't cry, although I almost did when he came back home without her and with the paperwork.  I made myself stop, a skill I have acquired since Adelyn died.  It's sad, but I guess we gave her 9 years (we adopted her from a shelter).   

I think this is where losing Adelyn gives us a bit of perspective.  This is NOTHING compared to that, so I guess I am dealing better than I would have 2 years ago.  I remember before Adelyn, thinking that I would never survive when something happens to our dog.  Silly me......I survived losing my baby.  Although our dog is my first baby and I know it will be harder when that time comes.  Hopefully that won't be for a long time.

Rest in peace, Skyler.  I know you are up there with our Adelyn now.  I truly believe pets go to the same heaven as people.

My favorite picture of Skyler, from when she was just a baby