Donna~

I read somewhere that cats brains are hard-wired to think about killing mice. They dream about them. Nothing makes them happier than catching voles or mice. One of our favorite cats lived to 20, and used to bring home up to a dozen voles a day from the nearby field. Our yard was rodent-free. No squirrel ventured onto our lawn. He caught voles and chippies right up to the end in our current woodsy backyard.

Nothing makes kitty happier than catching a vole/mouse/mole and bringing it to you for a present.

Smokey may have slowed down, but he may still have a few years left to give you. Best wishes to you and Smokey.

~Bunnycat
(ps- if he is a regular meat eater, and gets finicky when sick, try boiling chicken for him, divide and freeze most in small portions, then you can thaw and have "fresh frozen" chicken for him. Long ago, a friend mentioned to me that was what she did for her old cat. When my cats get sick or get finicky in old age it can help keep weight on.

Oh my word!!Whaaaaa! I had the same thing happen, almost, with my most favorist cat of all times, Sammy!
I put him through a living cat-hell to keep him for my own benefit about 13 years ago! He started exhibiting symptoms
of a bladder infection. Several bouts of it later, the Vet told me that the only other recourse was to "bobbit" him (remember that case?) making him a female, literally! That left him dribbling out of the litter box since he no longer had any muscle in the area. That was fine, at least I still had him.

Then the supposed, *bladder infections*, blood in urine, his discomfort and all returned within a few months.
Turns out, he had a very rare type of bladder stones, that were spiked, like 'Sweet Gum Tree' balls or "Sputniks" if you go back that far.
The only cure was surgery. I couldn't stand him being so uncomfortable and I wanted to keep him so badly that I agreed (many, many, many $$$$)!

The Vet gave me the recovered spikey things and one was about the size of the eraser on the end of a pencil!!!!!
His *recovery* was pretty awful--very anemic, in pain and very exhausted. It took quite awhile.

Well, that got him through 5 more years. Then, he began to exhibit strange symptoms. One being, he'd get in the bath tub
and just sit with his nose under the drip of the faucet.

We were in the throes of bringing my DH's father back from Fla., with Alzheimer, and all that brings into your life, and his! With the complexities of he and DH's mother getting situated here, and the subsequent placing of him in a care facility and we were so *in and out*, running to rescue them in the worst of manifestations of that illness, we were so distracted, exhausted and emotionally wrung out that we were not aware of the creeping symptoms that ensued with our 'Sammy' for several weeks.

By the time I hit the bed, at night, cuddling Sammy, it wouild be in the back of my mind, that he had a peculiar odor, but I'd be asleep before it could form a sane conclusion!!!

One day, I realized his long haired, all white coat, was actually YELLOW and he reeked of urine! Long story short, we had to put him to sleep. I knew this, over the weekend (Christmas)! We kept him through that time, because our daughter was home from college and she wanted time with him as well. That very morning, that we took him in, he was sitting on the back of our sofa, in the family room where we have a fireplace. A mouse, had gotten through the ash dump and darted out into the middle of the floor, and Sammy LEAPED off the back of the sofa and landed on the mouse, very excited to have accomplished his *mission*!

Two hours later, our Sammy was in Heaven!

Your post, just brought back so many memories. I loved that cat!!!

BTW, conclusion to the story is, that I pray that I will be able to make a very self-less decision, if another time confronted with similar circumstances
again--I would not want my good cat-friend to have to go through what he did for me to have him for my own comfort as opposed to his.
I say this, as my Ragdoll, 'Buddy' is showing signs of a UTI this very morning, first time in 7 years, and his sibling, living with our one daughter, started the same thing a month ago!!!!! I think, early neutering may be the culprit. They (Veterinarian medicine) had determined that some years ago, but the person I bought my cat from (also a Vet)said that is no longer the case. She neutered them at 3 weeks!!!!!!

I don't like the *timing* of all of this, this morning!!!!

Oh dear!!!

My thoughts are with both of you and with your ordeals. As a cat person, my DH, would not tolerate that kind of thing happening in our home. He would say it's time for the cat to go and I would be the one to do the "deed"!! T G our older cat just went to sleep in one of his usual napping places and I didn't have to make any choice about putting him down. It's been this way always.

He loved our cat and our former dog, which lived 17 + years, very much in his own way, but he doesn't deal with illness well so I have to do all the Vet stuff, etc..

I told our sons not to let their father touch me if I ever get sick!!! He'd want to just put me out of my misery and bury me by the compost bin !!! LOL

Connie

Thanks bunnycat! What an encouraging note. This cat is so happy to be a cat, I guess I was teary because she isn't what she used to be...I'm not either, and was reminiscing about her in her younger days.

Oh Janice that's too bad!! I hope your cats will be alright!! They are such precious friends, aren't they?

Smokey was throwing up and weak...that's what had me worried. Not a hairball. In any event, she's eating really well now and seems more her self. I hope she has a few years left in her, she's the sweetest tempered animal I've ever owned.

Donna

Donna--I hope you have your 'Smokey' for a good while longer. You never can replace a pet!
Just like you can't replace people, we and they are all different temperaments and personalities.

I will say my 'Buddy' is so much like my 'Sammy' though! They both consider/considered themselves to be *companion-cats* to the hilt. Sammy would play *fetch* with Q-tips and those big poney tail holders, as long as you had energy to re-throw them. 'Buddy' is the same way, except his toy of choice is those left-over rings from milk gallons!!!

Good news--hopefully! Just back from the Vet with 'Buddy' and he thinks he might just have an irritation of some sort. He gave him a cortisone injection, so we'll see!!

I wonder if 'Smokey' might have eaten a Vole or mouse that had been poisoned??? Anyone around you really serious about their gardening (besides you) that would put out bait for them? I do, but no one around me has cats--and any from farther over, probably would not venture into our yard, due to our dog, etc.--hopefully!!! Our 'Lab' wouldn't eat a Vole, if her life depended on it!! She's such a 'princess'!

Connie--it's hard being the one to 'carry out' the deed, isn't it!! But, in the long run, they are better off, having a life of quality rather than the way some have to go! I think of the ferrel kitties out there with no one to attend to their medical needs.

And, the chicken idea is a good one, Bunnycat! I'll have to keep that in mind! However, my two cats won't touch ANYTHING other than their food. You could leave raw fish on the counter, and all 'Buddy' would do is sniff it once or twice and then proceed to try and 'bury it'! When that doesn't work, he looks at you with his 'Big Blues' as if to say "How CAN you eat that stuff"!

Cats leave paw prints on our hearts.

When the time came to put our 18 year old Siamese to sleep due to mouth cancer, I was determined
to be with him all through it. But when we got to the Vets I was bawling so hard and didn't want to let him go, so
hubby took him in "the room" and held him during it.
Still after nearly 10 years, I feel a guilty pang for failing him....excuse me while I go get a tissue.

Cats are one of the most beautiful creatures God put on this earth.
I always say anyone that doesn't like cats has never been owned by one.

Donna sounds like Smokey might have just had an upset tummy and bringing you the vole was
her way of showing you her appreciation for you caring for her.

Janice your Buddy is a handsome guy, I'm guessing his paws are white? Most Ragdoll breeds have markings very similar to the Snowshoe breed. Praying that the cortisone will help him feel much better.

I think I might have posted this picture before, but in case I didn't, here are my two Snowshoe boys
Bandit on the left and Cocoa on the right.
{{gwi:888265}}

Janet

Oh Janet, they are a really handsome pair!! I love those faces! How do they refer to them as far as coloring and markings go?

'Buddy' definitely has the white feet, in fact, his 'official' description is a 'Seal Mitted with a Blaze'!

Yours would be described as possibly 'Seal Bi-colors' and in Ragdoll world the 'bi-colors' seem to be the ones
folks prefer! They tend to win most of the prizes in the Ragdoll shows, as I understand!!

I hope we get to see more pics. of everyone's kitties!!

Oh, and thank you, Janet, for praying for 'Buddy'--he seems to be fine today--$45 later! LOL It was worth it though,
to not go into a weekend with a possible UTI and the danger of blockage that can occur when it is ignored!!
*Been there and done that* with our Sammy in the beginning of his woes!!! Very scary!

I hope your 'Smokey' is getting better everyday, Donna!!! We need to pray for 'Smokey', for sure!!

Sniff, sniff, you are so kind hearted. That's why I love it here, caring people.

Janet and Janice your kitties are beautiful! I know how you feel about them. Cats are wonderful companions, and they wheedle their way into our hearts.

Our last cat, Marnix, was my special pal. He followed me everywhere in the yard, and when he heard my car he would greet me at the gate. I have soooo many wonderful memories of him. We had to have him put down, because he had a dog disease (according to the vet), he had cancer of the tail. I vowed never to love another animal, the pain of the loss of him was so great (I'm getting choked up now). But Smokey came into our lives and she is the sweetest thing, oh well so much for never loving another pet.

Donna

Yeah, Donna! We all *think* that--"never love another pet, again" but then after some time, we feel the void so badly,
that we do just that---"love again"!!!

How does the song go--"Tis better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all"! It's true with pets, too!!!

Is 'Smokey' still doing okay??

ok, I truly couldn't even read the whole thread - I stopped after Janice's first reply. LOL

I lost my very first furry friend to kidney issues and once that happens, you FREAK any time another cat has a UTI or anything resembling it.

Prayers for both of your cats recoveries!

Donna I'm so glad that Smokey seems to have recovered. We had a cat - Tiger (dearly loved & still missed) - who lived to be upwards of 23 yrs. old (when we adopted him we guessed his age at about 10 based on what we knew of his owner - he could have been older). Just so you know, Smokey could be around for quite a few more years!!
Glad Buddy's fine as well Janice.

Love your Snowshoes, Janet. Gorgeous coloring.

Prayers for all the kitties - they really are very precious and they do leave paw prints on our hearts!

June

Smokey is doing great now! She is eating like a trooper again and acting like her old kitty self. All we can figure is that my sister took a trip for a week and the cat went into depression. The rest of the family was still here and she was pampered as usual, but she must have missed her.

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts and words. Pets are such a special part of our lives, aren't they?

Donna

Donna, you are so very right, I bet! Our cats always get depressed and stop eating much at all while we're gone.

Our son inlaw always checks in on them every couple days and he says they just don't eat!! That makes me real sad
knowing that when we HAVE TO go for an extended time!!!

"They love us--they REALLY love us!"