Well....

We are not there yet (that place we all know about with aging pets but don't like to talk about), but the last few weeks have been a bit troubling for us....and our girl, Gracie. A continued loss of weight for our feline baby has resulted with a loss of about 15% of body weight in the last 4 weeks....not ideal for a lady of 16 years of age.

After a battery of tests, multiple trips to the vet, changing vets, more vet appointments, we have ruled out alot of things, including blood abnormalities, high thyroid, or kidney problems. Apart from a low thyroid reading and a thickening of her intestinal walls, there is nothing else that we can point to which is resulting in the weight loss and lack of appetite.

And when I say, lack of appetite, I mean....we are making daily trips to the vet and pet store to try to find ANYTHING that she will eat. Pretty concerning. After our 4th vet visit in 4 weeks, we are now on steroids and will have a check-up in two weeks to see where we go from here. Admittedly, the vet is silent on this point right now, but it probably includes more bloodwork and possibly exploratory surgery. But hey...we are getting ahead of ourselves here.

Current Shugie Lynn (aka Gracie) stats:

Weight on 5/5/09 - 3.4 kilograms (7.5 pounds)

Weight on 6/1/09 - 3.1 kilograms (6.83 pounds)

Weight on 6/6/09 - 2.95 kilo grams (6.5 pounds)

For now, oral medication twice a day, lots of meals (as many as we can get her to eat), and lots of love are in store for the Shugie Lynn. For those of you with canine and/or feline family members, I know you know how we are feeling right now.

Keep you posted.