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January 7, 2005
Quality of Life
I've been doing a lot of thinking about Joplin, spending time with him, holding him and making sure he's comfortable and happy. Anybody that has had to make a decision to euthanize a four-legged friend knows that it's not a decision to be taken lightly. I also did a search on the web and came up with this site: Pet Loss Support: Quality of Life.
My veterinarian suggested that if Joplin were his, he'd probably make that decision.
The decision to euthanize is not taken lightly, and although my veterinarian suggested that if the cat were his, he'd make that decision.
But my veterinarian only saw an anxiety-ridden black Persian who'd pissed himself in the cat carrier, and not the mellow, relaxed, albeit smelly cat that I have at home. Considering his condition, the poop on the floor doesn't bother me quite as much and I'm more than happy to clean it up.
For some remarkable reason, Joplin has been walking much better over the past few days. I'm not certain why. I did lay my hand on his lower back and focused on healing--but I'm not any kind of spiritual healer so I don't know that I have all that much strength, or even the faith to do it.
I have to laugh at this moment, because as I'm typing about him, he appeared out from under my desk to get some petting. Smelly as ever.
I know my vet says that cats can't stand to be dirty or smelling of their own bodily fluids, but I'm almost certain that either Joplin can't smell it or he just doesn't care. This is a cat that used to walk around with poop stuck to his fur from out of the litterbox, not seeming the least bit concerned about it.
Maybe I'm in denial. I've had Joplin for 11 years and he doesn't seem to be too terribly much different, even with the walking problems than he has now. So I have to clean up poop every so often off of the floor. And sometimes I can't even figure out where the smells are coming from. When I weigh that with the kind of decision that would merit ending his life, it doesn't seem such a bad thing.
My Roomie says Joplin looks pitiful. "But does he look miserable?" I ask the Roomie. If Joplin is miserable, I'm having a hard time seeing it.
Posted by Bastique at January 7, 2005 5:28 PM