So I think my wife's ancient kitty is dying. Update in OP

[Tycer]

Nancy is out of town until Friday. I don't think the cat is going to last that long. We're not surprised. She's been moving in that direction the past week or so. Peaceful like, not in pain or anything.

Nancy wants to see her when she gets home, so I'm thinking I'll brush her out nice, pose her on a towel, and put her in the styrofoam ice chest on dry ice until then.

Any better ideas for preservation for a couple of days?

Update:

Well she's chillin'. Man I've cleaned up a bunch of dead animals and nothing, nothing, smells like dead cat ooze. Blech. From the metallic smell and bit of red on the south side I'm guessin' acute renal failure was the final cause. 17 good spoiled rotten years.

I sealed the backside with wax, washed the nasty off, dried, conditioned, brushed and posed her on a bed of dry and regular ice. We'll have a memorial and a burial Friday night.

All are welcome. We'll have stir-fry to serve.

Rest in peace Priscilla. Godspeed.

Say a prayer for my Nancy guys. She's going to be one sad woman Friday. She already knows, but Friday will bring it home. I feel for her. She's a darn strong woman and she's going to hate feeling weak over the loss of her little kitty.

[FWiedner]

Whatever else you do... don't field dress her.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

Don't forget a little water around the dry ice to add the smoke effect. Oh, and we're going to need a picture. Just to make sure you brushed and posed appropriately of course.

[bakamorgan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJP1DphOWPs

Here is an option if you lived in CA, im sure theres some options closer to home.

[Tycer]

Whatever else you do... don't field dress her.

But won't that leave the intestinal flora to run rampant and cause ugly bloating? Don't you think replacing the entrails with something less volatile would be better?

[Tycer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJP1DphOWPs

Here is an option if you lived in CA, im sure theres some options closer to home.

It says at the end that he won't do pets.

[FWiedner]

Whatever else you do... don't field dress her.

But won't that leave the intestinal flora to run rampant and cause ugly bloating? Don't you think replacing the entrails with something less volatile would be better?

I suspect the dry ice might prevent such, but a few discrete vent holes on the underside might help.

Oh... and some of those cute deodorizing pine trees.

[Mescalero]

Tycer,
I don't envy you,
Miss Pretty is anytime now ( girlfriend )
Bagera is in the same shape ( girlfriends daughter )
They do not bother me, but the girls are attached to them.

[Tycer]

BTT

[1894c]

ok..i know that's this post is suppose to be sad...but you guys cracked me up...vent holes...and that you tube link...yikes... :O

[FWiedner]

For true, Tycer, kidding aside...

Our pets somehow become family members, and just like all family members some we care for and some not so much.

Please accept my heartfelt condolences.

Stir fry is a grand memorial.

[Blaine]

I'm speechless......

You must be very careful not to let on to the better half that these thoughts were even in the same state as you.....I'm sorry for the loss of your pet...

[Tycer]

I'm speechless......

You must be very careful not to let on to the better half that these thoughts were even in the same state as you.....I'm sorry for the loss of your pet...

Thanks. Yeah, I won't be sharing any gallows humor with Nance. It would not go over well and not be forgotten.
Sorry Rimfire. No pics.

[J Miller]

I don't know weather to offer condolences or laugh my butt off.

OK, seriously give my condolences to your wife for the loss of her kitty. Me and mine do know how it feels to loose a member of the family.

We have two elderly kitties now, one pushing 15 or 16 we don't know for sure and the other about 13.
I will be very sad when they go and so will my wife. But I sure won't curry comb and pose them in a box of dry ice. No way in the world.

Joe

[Pitchy]

Sorry for your lose bro, prayers up for all concerned.

[Streetstar]

I don't know weather to offer condolences or laugh my butt off.

OK, seriously give my condolences to your wife for the loss of her kitty. Me and mine do know how it feels to loose a member of the family.

We have two elderly kitties now, one pushing 15 or 16 we don't know for sure and the other about 13.
I will be very sad when they go and so will my wife. But I sure won't curry comb and pose them in a box of dry ice. No way in the world.

Joe

Yep

Give the poor departed the dignity of a quick amd proper burial and your wife will understand its for the best.
Explain that the body is an empty vessel and u would not like that to be her last memory of her kitty

[Sixgun]

I ain't sayin' nothin' for or against. I like animals more than I like people.

You know the circumstances and the character of the people involved. You will know what to do. I have been know to put animals in our freezer for various reasons.

Hope it works out for Nancy. When a good animal buddy dies, it hurts more when two footed animals die.

You know why God made it so animals cannot speak? Its so they cannot deceive.----------------------Sixgun

[damienph]

Boy, if there was ever a time for a new "OT" section....

[GonnePhishin]

Tycer,
Sorry for the loss of HER pet, although I have a feeling you liked the cat as well.
Without trying to be funny, do you have an extra fridge you just store soda pop in? If so, you might wrap up her cat in a garbage bag and put her in the fridge to keep her cold to slow down the decomposition.

If you lived up here in ND, you could just wrap her up and put her on the porch. -10 will preserve a lot of things....

[Tycer]

Give the poor departed the dignity of a quick amd proper burial and your wife will understand its for the best.
Explain that the body is an empty vessel and u would not like that to be her last memory of her kitty

I'm thinking of it like I'm prepping the body for an open casket viewing right before the memorial and service.
Nancy knows death, she wants her last memory to be placing the first handful of soil on the body that the earth can reclaim it.
She'll still grieve for her own loss.

[Bill in Oregon]

All I can say is, wow, you're in a tough spot. Buried my last kitty in the garden and arranged some rocks that looked like a cat sleeping.

[J Miller]

After reading all this, I will have to pass on the stir-fry.
Too many memories of the Vietnamese that used to live next door to us in Phx.

Elaine

[92&94]

I'm sorry to hear about it, losing pets is never easy.

Old age is the best though, even while you miss the pet, you do know that it lived a long and happy life.

A few years ago, my wife got it in her head that she wanted a dairy cow. That cow became quite the pet also, and it was very tough on both of us when we lost her. Lucky for me I have a good friend who owns a backhoe.

We have another dairy cow now too, just bred her last month and it looks like it took. We'll have lots of fresh milk in October.

[Tycer]

[Blaine]

Oreo was Daughter's pet, and when she moved on, the dreaded little cur remained with me. We developed a laissez-faire agreement eventually. He loved rides, but always threw up So...when I picked up his cremains at the vet, they were trying to be all somber and serious. So....I just said "think of the bright side....this will be his first ride in the truck where he won't throw up on the seat"...They were not amused

[Tycer]

It just hit me today that I won't have to clean cat pee from around the cat box anymore. I've always hated that task. Prissy would stand in the box and pee part in and part over the side. Every day and when Nancy travels the job falls to me. Now I can cut that slab out of the basement floor and re pour it. Goodbye stink. Nobody else smells it but me. I really dislike cat pee smell.

[Sixgun]

Tycer,
I don't know if this can be any help to you, but if you need more ideas, I can flip the pages. ---------Sixgun

[2ndovc]

I ain't sayin' nothin' for or against. I like animals more than I like people.

You know the circumstances and the character of the people involved. You will know what to do. I have been know to put animals in our freezer for various reasons.

Hope it works out for Nancy. When a good animal buddy dies, it hurts more when two footed animals die.

You know why God made it so animals cannot speak? Its so they cannot deceive.----------------------Sixgun

Totally with Six!

I had several cats growing up, Old Man would let me have just about anything for a pet except a dog. Grandma was afraid of them and I'm sure it was passed on. I don't have any now as I'm deathly allergic to them. Thankfully I'm not allergic to dogs. First thing I did when I moved out and graduated college was get a dog.
When they pass it hurts more than most people I've known.

jb

[1894c]

so how about those leverguns... :)

[J Miller]

Sixgun,

My wife, the cat lover, wants a copy of that book. Any idea where we could find one?

Joe

[Sixgun]

Sixgun,

My wife, the cat lover, wants a copy of that book. Any idea where we could find one?

Joe

Joe,
I've had this book for 20 years and have no idea where I got it. Then again, I can't remember what I had for breakfast and its now 8:30 am.

Try googling the name and the author.

Its really funny and will give an evenings entertainment. Then you can do stupid stuff with it like posting certain pages on discussion forums, etc..... -----------6

[soon 2 retire]

Sixgun,

My wife, the cat lover, wants a copy of that book. Any idea where we could find one?

Joe

I entered the title in Amazon's search function; one source there showed 18 copies at $9.99 each.

Bob in Friday Harbor

[Griff]

Sixgun,

Cool book. Have to get a copy for my wife. Might be, even the son will "read" it!

[Hagler]

Tycer,

That is sad news. Please pass my sympathies to Nancy.

Shawn

[FWiedner]

This guy had a good idea.

Awww... Lookit that face... Good Kitty!

It's like Orville never left.

[92&94]

I had that book when I was in the 5th grade... got in trouble for bringing it to school

Teacher was a nice lady, but kinda naive and a bit prissy.

[Pointshoot]

Well I was never into cats or thought much about them at all. While growing up we had a few farm cats around the place to help keep the mice under control, but they were half wild and took care of themselves. I was more of a 'dog person' - ever since I was a boy.
Well over the last couple of years a two stray cats have showed up at the place. (We have no other cats now.) They were injured and we had them fixed up at the vet. Now they keep the mice and gophers (somewhat) under control. And, I've discovered that cats actually have a personality ! ( I never knew that.) One of our cats, Sam - is quite the expert hunter. He won't even eat much commercial cat food - he prefers the various mice, gophers, birds, etc that he hunts himself. Seeing that, I got him a hunter orange collar to wear - which suites him well. He does come when I call him from out in the field when he's hunting, just like a dog. The darndest thing to see from a cat.
We'd hate to lose either of our 'cat buddies' now.

Before, I never understood how people would get all weepy eyed at losing a cat. Now I could understand being sad over losing a dog and especially a hunting dog that had been a guys companion and partner in the field for many years . . . but not some d*mned cat.

Now I understand.

I'm sorry to hear of your lady's loss. And, I hope she gets through this time well - until she's ready later for another animal companion. Dogs & cats do become like members of our family.