I'm on the third leg of my vacation right now, near Lake Travis in Austin.
I got here from Seattle on Thursday night and it was with a heavy heart.
One of my parents' barn cats, Tangerine, had to be put down. When I came
into the barn on Monday morning, I noticed that she was bleeding around the mouth, and ears. I was quite concerned that she had been poisoned - given
the damage evident around her mucuus membranes. My mom thought it likely that she had tangled with something like a raccon.
In any event, we took here to the vet the next morning (Monday having been
Labor Day) and they did an x-ray and blood test. The vet thought it could be
feline lukemia, HIV or a liver problem. In the end, it turned out to be catastrophic liver failure.
I hope to never see the like again - but at least we got to say goodbye to her before she was in too much pain. As my mother said, and I believe as well, its our final responsibility to our animals to put them down when they can no longer be cured or are in pain.
Posted by artandscience at September 9, 2006 03:15 PM