Well, it's possible that she has learned that the fluids will make her feel better. My cat did.

I see that you looked at my posting elsewhere about my kitty dying. She did. It's hard for me to accept that. But I am dealing with it.

But our first step when they saw an obstructed duct on the ultrasound was to try a course of antibiotics and sub-q fluids. I was willing to do almost anything, as long as Ingrid would go along with it. Even in her weakened state, that sweet and trusting but stubborn little cat would *NOT* go for any oral meds. Period. She made that clear.

The fluids eased Ingrid's discomfort considerably, but antibiotics are basically useless against cancer. As I mentioned, I'm still having difficulty reconciling myself to her absence--at 17+ years, she didn't make much racket but darn it, she was an important, reassuring presence in my life--but they couldn't tell for certain that it even *was* cancer until they had a look inside her tummy on the operating table. And from what they found, it would have been cruel to prolong her life. If we had done that, Ingrid would have had very little ahead of her except pain and suffering. I miss her really, really badly, but we were *NOT* going to go the science project route of seeing how long we could keep her alive. She would have been miserable. I couldn't do that to her.

But all the same, I'm glad we tried the injections & fluids, I'm glad that Ingrid had no objections to my doing that, I'm glad that she trusted me deeply enough to go along with that attempt to save her, I'm glad that the juice made her feel better (if only temporarily), and I'm glad that when the time came, I made the right decision as far as sparing Ingrid any agony. I couldn't put her through that.

I hope it is a long time before you have to consider making such a decision. I knew that the day would probably eventually come--and 6520 days is a pretty long life for a cat--and in going back over it (as I have done many, many times, because that's just how my head works), I can warn you in advance that even if you are certain you have done the right thing, it will hurt a whole lot for a long time. My friends have been very kind, and they tell me that it's okay, that the pain I feel is natural, because I loved Ingrid. Still do.

But beforehand, even if I didn't want to think about it and I really couldn't discuss it without embarrassing myself (which is why I did most of that on the phone), the goal I had to keep in mind was what was best for Ingrid. That's all that really mattered.