I once had a cat named Taddy.

She was from TidBit's first litter.  She was just the best barn kitty.  When she was about 2 she got sick and wouldn't eat.  We took her to the vet, they kept her over the weekend, gave her fluids and nutrition until she started eating on her own again but couldn't find a reason why she had gotten sick, nothing blocking her tummy & nothing abnormal in her bloodwork.  Within the week she had stopped eating again and passed away.  I miss her still. 

Well, the last few days have been horror for me as I've watched Elroy go down this same road...or at least one incredibly similar.  El and I came home from the farm early Tuesday and he ate his dinner just fine.  Later, I could hear his tummy rumble a bit but it isn't abnormal for that to happen so I thought nothing of it.  Wednesday morning he ate about half his food, walked away, and then came back to finish it off.  This *never* happens so I paid attention but wasn't terribly concerned since I didn't see anything else out of the ordinary.  I left and was back by 1, by 130 he had thrown up twice.  He drank some water and begged for dinner later.  Again, this happens from time to time so I brushed it off.  And then Thursday happened.  He ate nothing for breakfast, very little around lunch time and nothing for dinner.  He also drank very little water.  He didn't want to play, he didn't do much but sleep or lay and watch me walk around.  I started to stress out.  I was supposed to leave on Friday and leave him alone overnight (one of my best friends, Elizabeth, was going to feed him at his normal times), but I wasn't going to leave him when he was sick!  Well, it was decided that I would wait and see if he went potty/ate Friday morning before I decided to leave or not.  Friday I got up around 6, he didn't even try to get me to feed him.  When I went to the kitchen to get his food, he stayed in bed.  This wasn't a good sign.  I tried everything to get him to eat, nothing worked.  I watched him for a while - he never ate, he never got anything to drink.  It was about 1 when Elizabeth suggested that I bring him to the vet office that she works at to have him checked out.  The vet checked him out, she couldn't feel any type of blockage and gave him fluids to try and perk him up and gave him an anti nausea medicine....then I drove him to his normal vet about an hour away where my sister was going to meet us since she works at that vet (yes, I'm surrounded by animal lovers!).  He got checked by that vet, again, she couldn't feel any blockage.  We went ahead and did bloodwork and shot an xray of his body.  Nothing abnormal.  I was sent home with special food and told to keep an eye on him and to bring him back on Monday if things didn't change.  We got home about five hours after we had left & for a while I thought I had brought home a different cat!  He drank some water, ate whatever food I gave him (which was small amounts per vet's orders), and seemed happy and almost better....or at least on the way to better.

Then this morning came.  He wanted nothing to do with the special food, but he ate a small amount of his normal dry food when I sat right next to him and nearly hand fed him.  But, no water that I saw.  My thought?  Thank God he ate something.  Right?  Wouldn't you think that?  And he hadn't thrown up what he ate before!  Small victories!  Well, he did finally drink a small amount of water but he is now refusing food again.  I've tried everything.  He won't eat.  He hasn't drank in a while.  I'm faaaaa-reaking out again.  And it is the weekend, no vet hospitals open.  I'm a mess.  He's my baby!  And he's acting just like Taddy girl!  I don't know if he's been poisoned or if something wrong that we haven't tested for.  I just don't know.

At this point I'm waiting until Monday unless he gets wayyyyyy worse tomorrow.  He is most likely going to visit the vet again.  Yep, a vet I can't even fathom how I will pay for it.  Oh well, he's my furbaby and I can't imagine how I would be if something really bad happened.  When I was driving to the second vet yesterday, I was on the phone with mom sobbing.  I spent a lot of yesterday crying.  I have a feeling that until my baby stops looking so pathetic and sickly like he does in these pics, I'm going to do a lot of crying.