Feline inflection point :-(

[flexagon]

I'm worried about Nala, my 18-year-old tabby cat. A week ago Wednesday they told me she'd lost a lot of weight and they found a bump on her rear... it seemed to be an infected anal gland, and they flushed it out somehow and shot her up with antibiotic and told me to feed her a kidney-care diet. (Her kidney numbers, which had been holding steady, were also worse).

A week later the bump, still there but smaller, drained only what seemed to be clear cystic fluid. We decided to just let it be, if it wasn't seeming to bother her -- come back in two months and we'll check on the kidney values, they said. But today the bump is bigger than ever, and she doesn't want to sit on it, and she might even be walking a little funny. The vet, of course, is closed until Monday, and maybe even then since it's a holiday, so I guess we'll watch it for a while.

Even before today's bump expansion, I was realizing a few things: that she's always going to be skinny from now on, and it will never again be a year or even six months between vet visits. My kitty, who was with me pretty much all through my 20s and 30s, is not going to be there for my 40s. The vet's not talking about decline, death or even fluids, but I feel like I do in an airplane when it starts to go downward and the pilot hasn't announced the descent yet.

Comments

[apfelsingail.livejournal.com]

Huge, huge hugs. Is it worth trying to call your vet's office anyway? They might have an answering service?

[flexagon]

Thanks for the hugs. I did call -- no answering service and nothing special about Memorial Day. The website does list several local emergency places, but (reading online) such measures don't seem to be called for, and I'd rather see the vet who has the history on this.

Nala's a little better today -- oozing again, which is probably easier on her than pressure continuing to build up in the lump. We're doing warm compresses.