Annie

Annie may be on her way out. *sigh* About a week ago I realized she'd been peeing regularly in Taenzer's crate. I've been keeping it closed since then except when Taenzer gets her before-bed chewy, which she insists she can't consume unless she's in her crate. I've been *really* extra-special good about keeping her litter boxes clean. So this morning I came out to this huge stain in the living room rug.

It was pretty big. And neither T will wake me up if they have to go. But they both went (I watched) before we went to bed last night, and neither of them has peed in the house in years (although Taenzer will take the occasional dump), and I've been a little bit worried about Timber, who's tiring really easily these days and is spending most of his time by himself. So it's possible Annie wasn't the culprit.

I'm going to do some reading about renal failure this morning, and probably try to talk to our vet. She seems to be getting around okay. I think she's even a little less creaky since we put her on Durlactin; she seems to be navigating the stepstool to get to her food better than she was. On the other hand, she is spending quite a bit of time alone. She'll come announce to me that there's no food in her bowl, but she's not sleeping on the bed with us any more. That could be because she doesn't like the fan blowing on her. She's sort of taken over my corner of the futon as her spot--that's where she is every morning, and if I happen to sit in it, she'll either move to the windowsill during the day or move off to the side of where I'm sitting.

I suppose I could try putting another litter box out in the living room--I could line that crate she's already ruined with newspapers and put it in there, and rig the little door so she could get in but Timber couldn't stick his head in.

I hate to put down a cat who's old but essentially healthy, esp. if I don't know that she's the culprit. I mean--that was a BIG spot (and I need to get some enzymatic cleaner, if I can find someplace in town that carries it). But she's leaving some BIG clumps in the litter box; I've been trying to imagine how big they might be if they were horizontal rather than clumped. With the prospect of car payments in my near future I'm trying not to use the credit cards unless it's absolutely necessary, but maybe I should take Timber in for a check-up (including x-rays) and see if they can get a urine sample from Taenzer (who, unlike Nixie and Stella, won't pee on command), just to rule out any problems with the dogs. Then if they get a clean bill of health, try the litter box in the crate--I think I've got an old one in the basement I could bring up. And if there's still a problem, then I guess it would be time to put her down.

*sigh* It's not as bad as losing Stella--poor Annie, she's never had "favorite cat" status--but she's been a constant in my life for 19 years; I've always said it will seem like the end of an era of my life when Annie crosses Rainbow Bridge. *sigh*