He is 16 1/2 now and well it shows. He is doing okay now but it is only a matter of time.
He has lived a long and active life. What really gets me is when my DD says that my DS doesn't know life without Shiny. She is right, he was 2 1/2 when we got him. She was 5 1/2. For them it may be a bit harder. He is doing pretty good now so we have a bit more time.
Yes The Monday before I was due to leave the cat was found at the curb by my DD's Car. He was pretty unsteady and harda a hard time walking. I called the vet and I had about 45 min until closing so I grabbed him and threw him in the car ( didnt even bother with a carrier he was going nowhere)
Vet gave him some fluids and asked me what he wanted me to do. I did authorize some standard test for infection, kidney and liver issues. All negative. Diabetes - negative. Then he suggested Thyroid which he said was manageable. That had to be sent out.
I was leaving and so were the kids ( to a cousin's graduation ) so we arranged one of DD's friends who worked in another vets office to feed the animals. ( another cat, a gecko and an iguana)
I asked if I could board Shiny because I could not leave him unsupervised. No problem, that office is so casual, no appointments needed usually , just bring them by and unless it is a holiday weekend, easy to board and not too expensive. They took really good care of him and provided food and even moved him to more of a hospital room so he could looked in on more often but didn't charge me more than they quoted for regular boarding.
That made me feel a bit better. Dropped him off without test results in but we discussed if it was still negaitve then probably something life-ending. The vet would give him a cortisone shot and fluids and he would be fine for a while and then we could reassess and decide.
He ate nothing Tuesday and I really thought I would have to put him down either right before or immediately after the trip.
Wednesday he was better but Thursday the kids called and told me he had a seizure. Oh Great. He seemed to rebound and My DD the EMT callled her friend who worked at the other vets office and he was as good as to be expected after a seizure so he did not get seen that night. He was dropped off on Friday and the vet was brought up to date but reassured us he was in good hands.
I was on the phone with the vet late Friday and Saturday and the thyroid test was negative - so he gave him the shot and he is doing better. Up walking, and eating. He can't be outside like he may want to be but he is confined in the kitchen and seems to be okay with it.
He has to be watched when he is outside because he wanders a bit and I have found him by the curb and I am afraid he will be hit by a car. I don't want to put the neighbors through dealing with hitting him by accident.
Sorry for the downer but that is the circle of life. We will spoil him a bit while we can and enjoy spending time with him.
That trip must have been way too short. 
Hopefully you had a very special Mother's Day at least! 
Oh No this might mean new pictures. 
)!!! You would think the most popular ride in CL would be in tip top functioning shape before they let people in. At least you got a few rides in once they got it going.
Sorry about my inbox- all cleaned out. Already been there - now to keep up. 
