Ok, here’s the story of what happened yesterday. My sister texted the ACO in my hometown so she knew I was coming. When I took Louie out of the carrier, a bit of fluid came out of his nose. The ACO freaked a bit, and noted that his belly was still soft. We wound up going to the local vet, who confirmed that Louie was deceased. The ACO is kind of new and wanted to be 100% sure before taking him. I had wrapped him in a soft towel with his face peeking out just a bit. I think a small part of me hoped I would find him looking to get out of the carrier Thursday morning. I had closed his eyes, so he looked like a sleeping kitty, a peaceful sight. Handling him was not too bad. Besides, I had said my goodbye the night before while we cuddled one last time, and I kept reminding myself that he was already at the Meadow.
The vet agreed with my suspicion that it was most likely a heart attack. Large cats are prone to enlarged hearts which must work harder to support a bigger body. Louie was a large cat indeed, not fat, just a big boy. The other thing that can take a male cat quickly without warning would be intestinal blockage due to crystals. I’m less inclined to think that because Louie ate wet food daily, though he did like his crunchies.
So there you have it. Going from feeding six cats to five has been hard. Each cat has his/her uniqueness in the group, and the missing element that was Louie is palpable. Oh how thankful I am for the remaining five!