Sunday

25 November 2018

The appetite stimulant kicked in just before 3 this morning. He was lounging in bed near my head, quietly, until it was suddenly GET UP LADY GET UP and when I didn't get up, he bit my nose.

That certainly got my attention. Of course I got up.

He ate about half an ounce of canned food at 3:15, and then again at 7:30, 11, and 2pm. When dinner rolled around, he came to get me, not the other way around, and he ate a little more than half an ounce.

While he ate, the Spouse Thingy grilled steak, and Max ate a bite or two of the meat I shredded for him. At 9pm, he ate about 3/4 of an ounce.

All in all, he took in a bit less than half of what he usually eats in a day, but his stomach has probably shrunk a bit and not stuffing it in was a good idea.

What I don't know is if 100% of this is owed to the stimulant, and whether he'll revert to not eating once it wears off. The vet said we could get more to give him a couple times a week at home if needed.

While the relief here is palpable, we're also feeling extremely cautious. Without knowing why he suddenly stopped eating, we can't know if he just managed to catch a bug or if there's something more brewing, or it this is just the beginning of his end. So we wait and see, and hope that he's still hungry tomorrow, and that whatever is wrong is something he's recovered from.

No matter what, he's a frail old man now. He has very little muscle mass now and his fur looks a little raggedy these days. But damn, I hope we're over the hump and not just stopping to rest a little.

Doesn't matter how many times I rationalize his age and time creeping up on him; I am not ready for it, and this week proved it.

3 comments:

Gigi said...

For today, things are okay. Sometimes that's as much as we can think about all at once. We are purraying they'll be okay tomorrow, too. And the day after that. Max was Spitty's inspiration to start blogging, and he's still his role model today. Max is a REALLY Good Boy with REALLY Good Humans.

Gemini and Ichiro said...

Mama says she hates seeing you go through this with Max. It's like watching herself with some of her kids as they aged. We hope that this is just a blip and you have more time with him. We aren't ready either...

MargB said...

I understand the not ready feeling. Dip became frail and raggedy too (also hypothyroid/kidney) and no amount of rationalization or attempts to mentally prepared me to be ready. Even now, six months later, I miss my guy so much. Sending hugs for you and healing purrs for Max.