Sick Sick Qif

My cat Qif suffered a severe diarrhea and vomiting some eleven days ago. On the morning of Friday 2 December, I found the mess she had made overnight all over the place. All day Friday she didn’t drink or eat. She is now fourteen years old, and she has never been seriously sick in her life. She always had a healthy appetite, and she ate well the night before.

Saturday morning I called her vet. I suspected gastroenteritis but I was mostly worried about her dehydrating. I was not able to take her, however, until Monday morning. She had not slept much for two days. She was apparently in pain; her forepaws folded, she stared out vacantly all day. On Monday, the doctor, after a preliminary examination, administered blood tests and radiograph. He then advised that that Qif stay at the clinic overnight for enema. The next day, he reported that she was not constipating but that he suspected pancreatitis. After two nights at the clinic, she was cleared of pancreatitis but there was no diagnosis. On Thursday morning, after paying $1366 covering consultation, examination, tests of all sorts, and lodging for three nights, I picked her up; she was not eating at all, I was told, and might do in the comfort of her home. Back home, she still didn’t eat but she slept, and slept well for the next two days. Friday evening, she came to the kitchen and meowed faintly begging for food. I put a spoonful of her usual salmon treat in her dish; but just sniffed and didn’t eat. I forced water into her mouth with a syringe. I was not successful giving her any of the pills I was instructed to administer. On Sunday, I finally saw a good sign; I saw her drinking water from her water bowl. These two days, she has been eating a bite or two during the whole day. This morning she had three bites; so, she is definitely on the mend.

I sorely missed Qif these three days she was away. It was especially sad the first night; I felt forlorn without her who comes up to my bed and sits on my chest and purrs for a while before retiring to the foot of the bed to lean on my leg to sleep. She is an old cat, and sleeps most of the day; but she is ever present in the fringe of my field of vision. The dead silence in her absence was chilling. I realized, though it was no surprise, how deeply I am dependent on her. I know someday she is going to die and leave me behind but thinking about it gives me shivers.

PS It’s now 14 days since the attack of what seemed like gastroenteritis. Qif is now eating a little more than a few bites several times a day. Three days ago I put some dried food -- small pellets -- in a bowl, which I always had for her snacks, even though I thought she wouldn’t be able to eat them. But she did -- more than her favorite gourmet salmon. So, she is steadily on the mend, though slowly.

PPS Three weeks have passed since Qif took ill. I added water to the salmon paste to make a sort of puree; she didn’t even sniff at it. I gave some raw eggs, well stirred; she didn’t touch it. She threw up once but started eating more of her favorite salmon. Her loss of weight is visible in sagging skin. But I think she is steadily regaining her health.