#hobgoblin

hobby was not diabetic when he had his bloodwork done last year, so the diabetes had gone undetected. the vet thought whatever had triggered his seizures (possibly an infection/inflammation or a mass in his brain) also triggered the DKA. even with stabilization, which would have meant a multiple day and upwards of $10,000 hospital stay, there was a chance he wouldn't have survived and his prognosis was poor. he loved to eat and didn't like the vet or injections, and twice daily insulin injections and constant vet care would have been prohibitively expensive and not doable for me or pleasant for him. he would have hated a diabetic cat's life and there was a chance whatever was causing the seizures was also incurable.

it was such a difficult decision to make to have him euthanized at home because he was only six, and i still question from time to time whether i should have just tried antibiotics, but ultimately because he was already in DKA and would have needed stabilization no matter what, it was the right one. he was also FIV+ so his defenses were already weak. also when we drove home from the hospital there was an actual flash flood.

he stayed with me all night, purring away. the at home euthanasia people were really great and i got to hold him and pet him and tell him i loved him and thanked him for being my sweet little hobby all night. i got to hold him the whole time he was going, and he stayed calm in my lap. he got all the treats and chicken and churus he wanted.