I'm sorry to say Pookie is showing her very advanced age. For the past six weeks or so, she has been spending all of her time sleeping on a heating pad on the sofa. The only time she gets down(using the steps we made for her) is to eat or use the litter box. She is obviously uncomfortable and has become very vocal about it. Gentle tummy massage helps a bit. The Acidophilis helps a little bit too.
When home remedies did not work well enough we took her to the Vet. He doesn't think the constipation is the problem. He says she has a large tumor between the stomach and kidney and she is far too old and fragile to have surgery to remove it. Euthanasia was suggested but we are reluctant. If she has too much pain we will have to consider it but for now we are doing the best we can to make her comfortable and content. She gets lots of cuddling, brushing and gentle contact which still brings on purring.
She demands large quantities of food and water but is very picky about what she eats and there must be ice cubes in the water before she will drink it. Talk about spoiled! Despite the large amount she eats she is now only 5 1/2 pounds. Her new favorite food is canned salmon.
Sandy

UGH...this made me boohoo. :(

Awwwwwww...... Pookie!

Please give her a cuddle from me.

C3D

Best wishes for Pookie's continued contented quality of life. A cat perched on her own warm sofa is not to be taken lightly! if she is peaceful and happy she should be there!

I once spent 4 weeks feeding my old golden retriever hotdogs cause thats all she would eat at the end of her life. You should have seen the looks I got at the grocery store when I'd buy 20 packages on sale.
Hopefully she, or you, will know when and if the it is time. Most people don't want to hear this, but I feel that while euthanasia is one of the hardest decisions we may make for our furry friends, in the end it is very often the kindest, when the time has come. We CAN make the decision to ease suffering and make sure they know we love them to the end. Again, this is just my personal belief.

Hopefully NOT in your future any time soon, Sandy. Only happy thoughts!

Sarah

:(

Well canned salmon it is, then! tumors aren't so simple. but, i am glad she enjoys a tummy rub.

amusing about the ice cubes...and it shows the diff in purrsonalities. my old man liked his water hot. my old man's greatest exercise was getting up from his bed, walking 3-4 feet, stand in one place, turn around and crawl back in bed....lol...i think he kept forgetting what he was up for. :)

he didnt' move as far as to the litter or food, but he didn't have to think to do that. "think, think, think" - in winnie the pooh fashion.

Poor Pooky. Sandy, sweetie, will you give her a soft belly rub from me?

:( Mary

That's so sad. Our thoughts are with you and your little girl, Sandy.

Our Pookie sends tummy rubs and cuddles, too.

Brenda

Thank you all for the good thoughts. Sandy