He's Very Old

My polydactyl cat, Haiku, is blind and arthritic. Our friend and vet saw him Saturday, declared his internal organs to be in good shape, was a tad worried about his weight, and proclaimed that his lengthening tendons are a normal symptom of his arthritis. She didn't want to up his pain meds, as the next pain meds up wouldn't cure anything, and could cause kidney damage. So I'm being more diligent about squidging the transdermal pain meds into his ear, and he gets chicken-flavored cosequin on his gooshy food.

Last night, he was limping something fierce, and it took him two tries to hop up onto the hassock. I carried him to bed with me when I turned in.

This morning, he was in exactly the same position on the bed. I got up, and did my morning routine, including preparing the gooshy food with his meds; he didn't come after me, not even when he heard me open the cat food can.

I carried his (too-light!) body to the food, and set him down in front of it. His back legs splayed out behind him. He licked the cosequin off the food, but didn't eat anything.

Then he took five minutes to cross the room to the water fountain. He drenched his head and front paws while getting himself a drink. His hind legs weren't walking, so much as pushing.

tamidon has prepared a rice pillow for him, which we're nuking in the microwave to get it warm.

The end is approaching.

He's Not Eating

Ever since I got home from work, he's been hiding under the bed.

I left him there for a few hours, but he didn't touch any food today. tamidon bought some high-calorie nutrient gel, so I gently hauled him out from under the bed.

He wouldn't eat the gel off my finger, so I dabbed some on his nose.

He left it there.

Keller (the meat-loaf cat) licked it off for him.

Both Haiku and Keller are sidled up with me. Haiku seems to like the feel of my thigh and Keller's meat-loaf body.

But he's not eating.

[ETA:] He's leaning against my arm, and purring. He's still not eating, but he recognizes my scent and he's purring.