For any pet owner, saying goodbye to a beloved furry family member can be one of the most difficult times in life. This past week was incredibly hard as we were so close to saying goodbye to our eldest cat Madison (14 years old). Although she is still with us, we aren't sure how much time we have left with our sweet, kind, affectionate and always-by-my side Madison.
On Saturday evening (1/29), Madison was acting completely normal. She was eating normally, following her normal routine and not showing any signs of concerns. On Sunday morning (1/30), everything changed. Madison stopped eating and drinking and started acting unlike herself. She became lethargic and wanted to be by herself. Although this had happened twice in the past (2019), we were a bit concerned with her being older. We took her to the vet on Monday (1/31) and the vet was concerned about her hat. She was quickly diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (a feline type of cardiac disease that causes the muscular walls of a cat’s heart to thicken, decreasing the heart’s efficiency and sometimes creating symptoms in other parts of the body). Madison also presented with a fever and she was still not drinking or eating. The vet gave her fluids and prescribed heart meds and we went home hopefully that she would make a turn for the better. On Tuesday, things got worse.
Madison stayed under the bed all day and didn't move. She was still refusing to eat and drink and not like herself. Concerned that things were getting worse, we took her back to the vet on Wednesday.
For the next three days, from 7:30am - 5:30pm, Madison spent all day at the vet. They were concerned about her pancreas, heart, lungs and GI tract. We absolutely love our vet but we were also concerned about Madison being away from us all day as she is a very attached cat who gets stressed very easily. Madison received fluids, had x-rays and got some more meds. Her fever remained for two days and then her temperature suddenly dropped. She was kept warm and they continued to monitor her condition. We took her home for the evening as we didn't want her being alone at the vet overnight. Karel and I were not able to sleep as we were constantly worried about her and checking on her throughout the night. I even slept on the downstairs couch on Thurs and Friday so I could sleep with Madison by the fireplace.
By Friday, things weren't looking good. The x-ray showed Madison's lungs were filling with fluid and she was breathing very deeply with a little wheezing. At this point, we wanted to exhaust all our treatment options so the vet called in the late morning that he wanted to perform a pleural tap to remove fluid from her lungs. This should help her breath a little easier. But this procedure required her to be lightly sedated and there was a risk that the stress would be too much for her body so we went to the vet in the late morning to give her a kiss and told her to stay strong and to fight through the procedure. Thankfully, a few hours later, the vet called that all went ok. He took another xray and drew more labs and felt that at this point, we were dealing with heart disease - likely end-stage.
With it being Friday evening, we were worried about the weekend and not being able to take Madison to the vet for fluids so he gave us some injections to give her at home to help her condition. On Friday evening, we were just so thankful to have Madison home with us.
After such a stressful week, all I wanted was to enjoy time together and to have her by my side. We
found Madison outside of our apartment complex in 2009 and ever since, she has been such a special cat for us. She shows us so much love and gratitude and she loves being around us. When Maddy came home, we were just so thankful that she could be with us. We were so excited when she finally drank from the bathroom sink (her fav place to drink) and even jumped on the bathroom sink for water in the evening.
But just when we felt like Madison was really making a dramatic improvement, she had a convulsive seizure on Saturday late afternoon. It was the scariest thing for us and we felt like it was time to let her go. We contacted a few at-home pet euthanizing companies but nobody had any options available for that evening. We were still struggling with the idea of Madison no longer being in our life but we also didn't want her in pain.
There were a lot of tears, sleepless nights and discussions this week/weekend but right now, Madison is stable and doing so much better. She is now drinking and we have found a few cat food options that she enjoys. We are doing all that we can to keep her happy, loved, comfortable and stress-free.
To be honest, Madison seems completely back to her normal health. She is breathing normally, she is drinking and snacking on some cat food treats. She is walking normally, jumping on the sink/bathroom counters, chatting with me and back to her normal routine. She is a fighter and so strong. After 8 days of not eating, we are so relieved that she finally has food in her stomach. I am not sure if the seizure was from hypoglycemia or a blood clot or something else so I will speak with the vet on Monday.
Madison is spending all her time with us and we are so grateful that we can enjoy this time with her knowing that we may not have that much time left together.
We were stretching our energy and focus all over the place this past week so we are both feeling empty and exhausted.
Over the past week, Karel and I have done a lot of talking. We love our animals as they are part of our family. Madison has been there with us through so much. It's interesting how we both handle these types of situations so differently. Whereas I am the emotional/sensitive one in our relationship, I find myself staying strong and realistic when it comes to these types of things and Karel is much more emotional. But you just never know how you are going to react to a hardship or setback. When it comes to injuries or sport, Karel is so much more realistic, positive and accepting of the situation.
I've always tried to be open and honest on social media when it comes to sharing details about our life. Although I don't share all of our struggles, I feel it's important to document the highs and lows in my life as I want to be transparent and authentic. Like so many others, we have our share of struggles.
But I do believe that being grateful is a choice and we should never take a day for granted. Finding the positives, focusing on what you can do and keeping perspective can help us feel less overwhelmed by unfortunate circumstances. Going through life with a grateful mindset does not mean you are being superficial. It means you are making the most of everyday, knowing that you are taking nothing for granted.
