Not yet giving up

Abby had trouble waking up this morning. I found her sleeping next to her bed, shivering. She finally came to with a start, unsteadily followed me to the front door, and stood out in the yard a while before doing what she needed to do.

I carried her back in. She’s lost more weight, her rib cage is clearly visible, and she no longer has the strength to jump on the sofa.

She turned down all food this morning, even plain chicken.

By 10am I’d decided tomorrow might be the day. I didn’t want to take her to the emergency vet because they’re not familiar with either of us, and the strangeness might frighten her, so I’d hoped she’d last the day until we could go into the only vet she’d ever known.

She’s been sleeping most of the day, occasionally with hard shivers. If she’d slipped into lethargy or had stopped taking in water, we’d have taken it as a sign that she was ready to go.

But she’s still drinking water, and when she’s not sleeping is attentive and focused.

So we started feeding her with a syringe tonight. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t spit it out. We’re still waiting to see if the food stays down, but we managed to get a good bit of food into her.

There’s no way to know what tomorrow could bring, but for now we’re not feeling helpless.