Hello to all, I am new to this site, actually new to any forum online. My name is John, and my cat's name is Spike, he's my friend, my best lil buddy, and he just threw up with some blood in the vomit. Sadly he's got FIV, which is in it's very late stages. Our vet is unavailable, being Thanksgiving, and the only 24-hour vet is some distance away, and very, very expensive.
I don't even know if going to the vet will help, he's in the very late stages of FIV, and he's got numerous conditions that have been bad and getting worse. I know what's coming, and that's why I'm here...
I live alone, except for Spike, and my only two friends are out of town for the holiday. I only have contact with two family members, one of whom doesn't like cats, and the other actually hates them. They won't come visit since they don't want to deal with stuff like the occasional cat hair in their food, or on their clothes.
Some years ago I suffered an accident, and the resulting injuries cost me almost everything, which resulted in a depression which cost me pretty much the rest. I am self-employed, doing internet-based work, so I rarely have to leave the house, so it's been just me and Spike since, and now I'm about to lose him too...
The reason I'm here today is because I really don't have anyone to talk to about this. I spend almost every day alone in a house with my only companion, who's about to leave me, and I have no one to tell how sad this makes me, or to offer any moral support, or just say 'I understand'... I've always tried to 'be strong' about things, keep a stiff upper lip, whatever, but this is just too much. I try to be cheerful and normal for his sake, because he picks up on my emotions and I don't want to stress him out, but it's getting harder and harder, and I find myself trying not cry or have an anxiety attack in the other room, meaning I'm not spending that time with him, which is so important to me right now.
I was going to go to the local Community Center today, to help with the Thanksgiving dinner, but I was afraid to leave him, and now I'm glad I didn't because of what happened. But I had also planned to try to talk to some folks there about what I'm going through, just to have a chance to talk about it, to let some of the sadness out... Not having that chance has just added to my anxiety and sadness, which when combined with this new and more severe symptom was just too much. So, that's why I'm here, today...
To all the members here, I'm sorry about my long meandering message, and that my first post should be about such an unhappy subject. Regardless of whether this post attracts any readers or comments, I'm thankful for the chance to talk about my little buddy and how much he means to me, and how sad this situation is making me, and how stressed out I am about this new symptom. I know some will say 'rush him to the vet', but at his last blood test about a month ago, his red blood cell count was horrifically low, as was his white blood cell count, and every other number of importance. The vet said the virus was 'raging through his system', and at this point all I could do was make him comfortable, and love him, which is what I'm doing, as best I can. I will of course call her first thing tomorrow morning to let her know, but as far as a panicked Uber ride to a vet's office he doesn't know, and scaring and stressing him out in his final days, I don't think that's the best thing to do, for him. Though any advice would of course be appreciated.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and again, sorry for the long message...
View attachment 263225 Spike, not long after I found him in an alley...
View attachment 263224 And about a year ago, in all his glory, about age 8...
I don't even know if going to the vet will help, he's in the very late stages of FIV, and he's got numerous conditions that have been bad and getting worse. I know what's coming, and that's why I'm here...
I live alone, except for Spike, and my only two friends are out of town for the holiday. I only have contact with two family members, one of whom doesn't like cats, and the other actually hates them. They won't come visit since they don't want to deal with stuff like the occasional cat hair in their food, or on their clothes.
Some years ago I suffered an accident, and the resulting injuries cost me almost everything, which resulted in a depression which cost me pretty much the rest. I am self-employed, doing internet-based work, so I rarely have to leave the house, so it's been just me and Spike since, and now I'm about to lose him too...
The reason I'm here today is because I really don't have anyone to talk to about this. I spend almost every day alone in a house with my only companion, who's about to leave me, and I have no one to tell how sad this makes me, or to offer any moral support, or just say 'I understand'... I've always tried to 'be strong' about things, keep a stiff upper lip, whatever, but this is just too much. I try to be cheerful and normal for his sake, because he picks up on my emotions and I don't want to stress him out, but it's getting harder and harder, and I find myself trying not cry or have an anxiety attack in the other room, meaning I'm not spending that time with him, which is so important to me right now.
I was going to go to the local Community Center today, to help with the Thanksgiving dinner, but I was afraid to leave him, and now I'm glad I didn't because of what happened. But I had also planned to try to talk to some folks there about what I'm going through, just to have a chance to talk about it, to let some of the sadness out... Not having that chance has just added to my anxiety and sadness, which when combined with this new and more severe symptom was just too much. So, that's why I'm here, today...
To all the members here, I'm sorry about my long meandering message, and that my first post should be about such an unhappy subject. Regardless of whether this post attracts any readers or comments, I'm thankful for the chance to talk about my little buddy and how much he means to me, and how sad this situation is making me, and how stressed out I am about this new symptom. I know some will say 'rush him to the vet', but at his last blood test about a month ago, his red blood cell count was horrifically low, as was his white blood cell count, and every other number of importance. The vet said the virus was 'raging through his system', and at this point all I could do was make him comfortable, and love him, which is what I'm doing, as best I can. I will of course call her first thing tomorrow morning to let her know, but as far as a panicked Uber ride to a vet's office he doesn't know, and scaring and stressing him out in his final days, I don't think that's the best thing to do, for him. Though any advice would of course be appreciated.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and again, sorry for the long message...
View attachment 263225 Spike, not long after I found him in an alley...
View attachment 263224 And about a year ago, in all his glory, about age 8...