It has been a scary couple of weeks for me and my sweet Pachino Kitty. He was so sick that I thought I would have to put him down. Thankfully, he pulled through and now we are just taking one day at a time. I will post some old photos of Pachino as I tell you this story.
Pachino loves to play with rocks.
It all began on Saturday, October 19th. Pachino slept more than usual, only ate a couple of bites of dinner and went back on the sofa to sleep again. He didn't drink any water that day. With him being 15 years old, I keep a close eye on anything that is out of the ordinary. That night I slept on the sofa with him instead of moving him to the bedroom.
Pachino checking out a caterpillar.
Pachino wakes me up every morning at 6:00 sharp to eat breakfast. When I woke up Sunday morning and looked at the clock, it was 10:00 A.M. and Pachino was still lying on me, sound asleep. I said, "Let's go get breakfast," and he didn't move. I picked him up and put him on the floor, and Pachino fell to his left side. He stood back up and fell to his side once again. He walked down the hall falling with every other step, laid in front of the litter box and cried. I had to put him in the litter box and hold him up so he could urinate.
I carried him back to the sofa and he laid on his belly, tilting to the left with his legs stiff and stretched out to each side as if to say, "Stop this room from spinning!" I have Vertigo and he looked like he was having a vertigo attack. His eyes were huge, and he looked scared and disoriented. I checked all over his body to see if there were any wounds or to see if any bones were broken. He never cried once. I called the emergency animal hospital to tell them we were on our way. When we arrived, they took Pachino immediately and told me to stay in the waiting room.
While worrying about Pachino in the waiting room, I looked up at one wall and saw words in large. black letters with paw prints, "Love is a four-legged word." That is when I began to cry. Two hours went by without hearing a word so I went to the front desk and asked if I could be with Pachino. The answer was no because they were still working on him. Two more hours went by until a vet came to tell me what was going on with my sweet cat.
I was told that Pachino had high blood pressure. It was 200; 110-120 is normal. The vet suggested extensive blood work and ear cultures, and said that whatever was going on with Pachino was neurological, that it could possibly be that he threw a blood clot to his brain. They told me that the results of the blood work would be back in one hour and that I still couldn't go back to be with him.
Two more hours passed when I was told about his lab results. I was happy to hear that everything came back normal but when I asked what could possibly be wrong with Pachino, the news wasn't good. The vet went back to the possibility of a blood clot in his brain, a brain tumor, brain cancer, a stroke; she didn't have any definite answers. I would need to take him to different specialists and put him through many tests to get to the bottom of it. I told her that Pachino would never survive the tests because the stress would kill him at his age. The vet agreed with me. I asked if he was suffering and she told me that he wasn't suffering in pain, but he was suffering with this quality of life. She told me to take Pachino home, keep him calm and if he doesn't eat or drink by Tuesday morning, to call my vet. That would be the day to have Pachino put down if there wasn't any improvement.
Pachino meets Scary Mary.
The Vet gave me a supply of blood pressure meds to give to Pachino once a day. When we got home, I laid on the sofa with Pachino lying on my stomach and chest with his favorite blanket, until Tuesday morning. Not wanting to upset him any more than he already was, I stayed strong as I thanked Pachino for sharing his life with me, for making me so happy, telling him what a good kitty he is, singing softly his favorite songs; my way of saying good-bye. He knows how much I love him but I told him again and again. I even told him that it was OK for him to go if that is what he wanted, and that I would be OK. Pachino tried to get up three times during those days but it was only to use the litter box. I had to carry him and hold him up to use it. I tried to get him to eat treats, food, and to drink water but he wasn't interested.
Tuesday morning after he used the litter box, he could stand on his own! I praised him like never before. I got his treats, started crying and begged him to come to me and eat his treats. It was slow going but he did it, and ate two treats. I got some fresh water and he drank it. Right on cue, the phone rang. It was my vet asking if there was any improvement.
Now, we are just taking one day at a time. I am extremely happy to tell you that Pachino is almost back to his 'ole self. He walks slowly and his head tilts to the left side, but other than that, he is eating and drinking, calm and happy. Praise God!
I also have wonderful news about my brother's wife. After being in the hospital for four weeks, she is now in a nursing home/rehab facility and continues to improve daily. At this pace, she could be back home in 5-6 more weeks. Praise God!
Thanks for stopping by! I am looking forward to posting daily once again.
#dailypetphotography by 
All photos are my own.
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