Marie's Web Log

Our older cat, Max, died at 5:30 this morning. He was 13, or possibly a little older, since we got him from the Toronto Humane Society and never knew his exact age. It was a shock - he was fine (relatively, given his age and the fact that he had arthritis) until Friday morning, when Ian found him on the floor, unable to stand up and obviously in pain. Ian rushed him off to the vet, where they x-rayed him and said he had "massive" osteoarthritis in one of his legs. They gave him an injection of painkillers and sent him home with some painkilling pills and others to help rebuild his cartilage.

By Saturday afternoon it was obvious that he still wasn't well. He still couldn't get up, he wouldn't eat or drink or go to the litter tray. Back we went to the vet, where they gave him another injection of painkillers. On Sunday, it seemed like he might be recovering a little - he took some food and walked around a bit. But on Sunday evening he kept hiding - always a bad sign with a sick cat. Then he threw up the little food he'd had.

This morning we heard him making strange noises (he was sleeping on a chair in our bedroom). Ian went to see him and found him on the floor, where he convulsed and died. When we took his body back to the vets (they will cremate it), they were also surprised that he had died. They said it must have been something unconnected to the arthritis - an undiagnosed underlying condition, perhaps. We also think it could have been a reaction to the painkillers, but we can't know for sure.

We are very, very sad. He was a lovely cat. He was with us for ten years, and was a good and loyal friend. Just writing those words brings tears to my eyes.

We had our Chinese New Year party yesterday afternoon. It went very well - a small group, about 11 adults and 6 children, and a nice mix of ages and personalities. We hung up for the first time the big silk 100 butterflies wallhanging that we bought in Changsha. I also put up some traditional scrolls with good wishes and a paper lantern, plus two lovely round fabric lanterns lent to me by a friend, and we had Chinese rice crackers and other snacks, and dumplings.

Other than that, things are pretty crap. The weather has been cold and gloomy, none of Ian's or my job applications have amounted to anything, and Ian is still waiting for people to decide both on giving him any consulting work, and on funding for his PhD. The little bit of editing work I was doing before Christmas has completely petered out and I haven't managed to get anything new. I'm beginning to think it's a lost cause in this part of the country, unless you've brought clients with you. I'm feeling very sad and frustrated and helpless. Or is that hopeless? I'm not sure.