Riding the Butterball Rollercoaster

Sorry for the delay in posts. These past two weeks have been emotionally draining. I took off Friday and today to try to get some spring cleaning done but it has pretty much been spent taking care of and watching over Butterball. At least once a day in the past two weeks I've watched him and thought I should really call the vet and bring him in to be put down. He has pretty much stopped eating any of his cat food. He does eat the occasional Greenie cat treat and actually ate almost an entire jar of turkey baby food between last night and this morning. He continues to lose weight but I'm supplementing his diet by syringing Nutri-cal into his mouth a couple times a day. He really dislikes it so it is an ordeal that I try to get over as quickly as possible. Nutri-cal is a high calorie supplement for cats that are off their food. It is supposed to be great tasting, but tell that to Butterball as he gags on it while I'm trying to get it down his throat. I then syringe a bit of water into his mouth as the Nutri-cal is very sticky and oily. I follow that up with a warm washcloth to his face.

Here he is on Saturday enjoying the sun on my enclosed back porch. Yes, it is a mess. Since it is unheated, in the winter it is basically left to the cats.

But, he then has moments where he takes an interest in watching the other cats play. He has also walked to the door every day these past four days to be let out on the front porch. Being an indoor cat, Butterball has never really shown any interest in the outdoors, but for some reason he has recently taken to exploring the front porch, with my supervision of course. On Sunday he walked down the stairs off the front porch and explored the side yard. Birds were in the bramble and he found a nice sunny spot and watched them intently. So then, I let out a sigh of relief and think he's still enjoying life and he is just not ready to go yet.

Watching the birds in the bramble.

I'm thinking he is a bit dehydrated today so my neighbor will be coming over in a while to give him an IV of fluids under the skin. It won't harm him and I'm hoping it will make him feel better.

So, my mind has been muddy and foggy of late. Pretty much tuned to the channel "all Butterball, all the time". I've not been to anyone's blog for while either so I also apologize for that. Please send good thoughts and prayer to Butterball and myself so I can make the right decision at the right time for Butterball.