Skookie Monster

DISCLAIMER: Writing is how I cope with my life and I am very close to my cats. This post is a total indulgence for me and you have my permission to skip it.

I have a cat and her name is Skookum and she's sick.

Skookum is actually always sick. I feel like I'm always sending my mom a text that says, 

"Pray for Skookum; something is wrong". 

I've always joked that as sick as she is, she would live to be 22 years old and cost us a fortune.

Right after we first got her, she ate some painters tape and then she threw it up, got really sick, and almost died.

Skeletor Skookum- on the brink of death 2006

Then we got her de-clawed (yes, we're horrible cat torturers) and when she came home from the surgery, she had a cough. We took her to the vet and he said it was irritation from the breathing tube and gave us some antibiotics. The cough never really went away and we learned that if you gently massaged her throat for a bit, the coughing spell would end. 

The vet also told us at one point that she has a poor immune system and that her gums indicated her teeth would probably prematurely fall out; but not to worry, cats do just fine without teeth.

A couple years ago she started getting bloody scabs all over her face. One day I went to pet her and when she turned to look at me, a giant flap of dried bloody hair fell off of her chin and a smell wafted up to my nose. I yelled, "Brian... umm, Skookum smells like death..." and antibiotics it was.

Last month she stretched out on her back and we saw big spots of hair were missing under her arm and leg and it was red and irritated. OMG, cat. It never ends. More mystery allergies.

That brings us to now. We got back from a camping trip and I could just tell something wasn't right but I thought she was just extra grumpy at us for leaving her all weekend. But then the signs just kept getting bigger and more obvious until she could barely walk and would only get up to drink water for 5 straight minutes at a time. I was brooding over it at work when I remembered that at one point the vet said the antibiotics could cause kidney failure. We've never given her the full dose because of that- we have only given her as little as we can to maintain her and keep her from being miserable. 

I googled feline kidney failure and freaked out so Brian called and took her in as soon as he could. At first they thought it was diabetes because she's a chubster and has lost 2lbs since she was there a month ago and excessive drinking is also a symptom. However, they did blood work and confirmed it was her kidneys. I knew it had to be because I read that it can cause them to become very weak and lose their ability to walk or hold themselves up.

They said if it's a kidney infection, they can treat it with more antibiotics and IV fluid but her levels are so high, it's doubtful that's the cause. They are doing that overnight to see what happens. If she hasn't improved tomorrow, we're to give her special kidney food to see if that helps regulate her levels. If that doesn't work, she's pretty much doomed.

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that even when something/someone is sickly and you know in the back of your mind that they will likely die soon, you're never really prepared for it to actually happen. 

I know we were able to give her a good and comfortable life full of love; and I know that we will continue to do the best we can for her now. I know that she will never know life without love, but man. This sucks. 

7 years is not long enough with Skookum. 

I know she's still very much alive so I don't want to act like she's dead, I'm just feeling reflective because the thought of death is good at doing that.

Skookum Montage:

She can always find the heat vent in the winter.

Good grief, Charlie Brown.

This picture was featured in the Colorado Springs Gazette in an article about cats with extra toes.

I love sharing grumpy moments with my Skookum.