[NEED-A-VETTE]

This one was a shock.

Started with not eating Sunday the 15th. Vet trip on the 16th, where she got an antibiotic shot and subcutaneous fluids. Seemed to do better that evening. In the animal hospital by the next day, Tuesday the 17th. It was that fast.

High fever and trouble breathing that Tuesday the 17th. Earlier that morning she was at a normal temp and no other issues. By lunch, she was struggling to breathe. Rushed her to the animal hospital. All tests, including blood tests, were normal. Kidneys, lungs, liver...all fine.

She has been up and down for the past week. Started out in the oxygen chamber. Eating via a feeding tube, but she was tolerating it well. She was having seizures and we got those under control. She had problems breathing and we resolved that. Fever came down and held steady right around normal.

Everything was finally stable. She just needed some neurological recovery time, which the vet felt could be done at home if we were willing to do feedings and meds. (Of course we were.) Next steps were going to be an esophageal feeding tube and bring her home on Wednesday.

But this morning, she took another sudden turn. Body temp was low and dropping. Blood pressure dropped. She was crashing.

After making plans to bring her home, we instead spent our visiting hours today saying goodbye. She was literally crashing before our eyes. She was only 12 years old, but her body was done. ☹️

This was a hard blow after just losing our other kitty in September.

She was a beautifully, lovable kitty and she will be missed. 💔

RIP Bailey.