Here it is, about 1 am eastern time, Chistmas morning. If Sparky makes
it to daylight I'll be surprised.

After having his kidneys flushed at the vet Monday and Tuesday, he
seemed in about the same shape as when I took him in. Quiet, but alert.
The vet said to stop the Tapazole.

Wednesday was another story. He became very quiet and would only eat and
drink what I force fed him with a syringe. This I did every couple
hours. Also gave him Nutri-Cal, a high calorie supplement, along with a
high potency vitamin supplement. Also an appetite stimulant which seems
to have done nothing.

Just checked him a couple minutes ago and he's hanging on, but that's
about all.

He is either 15 or 16 and I guess that's not bad for a cat. Over the
years he has had problems with urinary tract infections that always
cleared up after giving him vitamin C, as the vet told me. Perhaps that
took a toll on his kidneys.

Now it's time for the "what ifs" and the guilt. For example, a couple
weeks ago I took Sparky to his regular vet because he seemed to be
losing weight and didn't have much of an apetite. The vet said Sparky's
teeth were sore and he gave me an antibiotic to give Sparky for 10 days.
During that 10 days his kidney's were most likely getting worse,
although he stayed alert, etc.

It wasn't until last week that I realized it was more than his teeth.
His hind legs were getting weak. He could no longer jump up in my lap
while I was using the computer. That could be a nuisence at times, but
it's something I'll miss.

I think it was Friday I took him to another vet who had seen him once
before. He thought it was still Sparky's thyroid so told me to increase
the Tapazole to 3 a day.

Monday I called this vet and told him Sparky was not looking good and he
told me to bring him right in, no appointment needed. He tested Sparky's
kidney function and said his numbers were sky high and that I should
bring him right back in for a flushing. This was done on Monday and
Tuesday.

The vet did say he couldn't say how bad the kidney's were or how
effective the flushing would be, but I knew if I didn't at least try
that I'd always wonder if it would have helped.

Back to the "if". I wonder if the first vet had given Sparky a test and
found his kidneys were bad, if that would have made a difference. As it
was, I was giving him an antibiotic for sore teeth, and in the meantime
his kidney's were getting worse each day.

Sparky was a stray kitten that followed my mother and neice home when
they went for a short walk down the road. Two kittens came out of the
bushes at the side of the road and followed them home. I kept Sparky and
someone down the street took the other kitten.

He had a good life and will be missed.

JWR