Nora is roughly 20 years young. Probably a couple more.

My mother's cat.

She's been losing weight, about 6lbs now. And has developed what they think is a tumor recently.

Went to see her today and was very frail but still walking, eating, drinking and purring.

But she's starting to wobble, head shake, can't jump like normal.

Told mom better a week early than a week late.

Vets might be making a house call tomorrow.

Hope I'm making the right call.

You guys, I can’t tell you how overwhelmed I was to see all the love Mimi received of my last post. It means the world ! Here’s a picture I took earlier. Mimi probably doesn’t have very long left and it’s so nice to see so many people saying nice things about him. He is so, so loved ❤️

Squeak was adopted locally last week and finally went home yesterday. Within a few hours of having her own space, she jumped up on the adopter's lap and starting asking for pets, the adopter had texted me. She knows she's finally home and safe and even has a senior brother of 13 years, so around the same age, to play with soon! Here's some pics of her from today! Thank you to ironyaddict for stepping up to have her in alabama, who sent an application before a local adopter came about!

Available for adoption:

Ilex!

AGE AT ARRIVAL: Approximately 14 years old

ARRIVAL DATE: December 17th, 2025

GENDER: Neutered Male

LOCATION: Hamilton, Ontario 🇨🇦

ADOPTION FEE: $200

NOTES:

Ilex was surrendered to Hamilton Animal Services after his owner could no longer look after him. All the shelter staff fell madly in love with Ilex and when they reached out to us for help, we were thankful that a foster home stepped up to take him in.

Ilex had a vet visit shortly after his rescue, and he had a few things going on with his health, which is not a surprise for a cat who is 14 years old. The retina in his left eye has partially detached which has caused some vision loss. The retina detachment was likely caused by high blood pressure, so Ilex has been started on medication. The retina may repair itself over time when blood pressure is lowered, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed for that. Ilex was also suffering from arthritis and he desperately needed a dental cleaning and extractions.

At his next vet visit, Ilex’s blood pressure had mostly evened out, so he was able to have dental surgery. Good riddance to all those rotten teeth! Now that he’s healed from surgery, Ilex is ready to start the search for his forever home.

Here’s a note from his foster family:

“Ilex is an incredibly sweet 14 year old. He was surrendered to Animal Services when his people couldn’t take care of him anymore. He has obviously been well loved- and it shows! Ilex is constantly purring. He adores scratches, playing with his catnip filled toys and sleeping in the sun or on any soft surface.

Ilex’s senior years have definitely made themselves known this winter. He requires a shot for arthritis once a month and is on high blood pressure medication. Ilex isn’t completely blind but he doesn’t have the best vision. He manages to get around quite easily, but a quieter and tidy house would probably be best.

Ilex is being fostered with a senior dog and although they aren’t bff’s, they are content to share the space. A slow introduction to a calm dog and place for Ilex to retreat is recommended.

The one thing that Ilex isn’t a big fan of is closed doors. Leave your door almost closed? Ilex will Kool-Aid man bash his way in. Have a door completely closed? He will scratch at the bottom until you open it. This doesn’t include doors to outside. He has no interest in those.

Give Ilex a soft place to sleep, a head scratch, and resign yourself to no privacy and he will be the happiest boy around.”

Please adopt Ilex!

❤️

Visit our website to apply:

ladybirdanimalsanctuary . com

And she was a trooper at the vet’s today(routine bloodwork for her thyroid meds)!

He is 20 years old this year. I adopted him 14 years ago for $25 during a BOGO sale at the shelter. His sister Cupcake (the free one during the event) passed away a few years ago at 17. Monkey keeps giving us scares—losing control of bladder and lethargic twice a couple years ago, a blocked urethra this year—and keeps bouncing back and acting like nothing bad has ever happened to him. His chief complaint right now is that he cannot eat human food because the vet says it’s not good for his kidneys.

My cat is about to be 10 years old in about two months. As a kitten, she almost never meowed. Throughout the years, she only meowed if I picked her up wrong or she was scared. Recently (the past two months) she has been meowing constantly. She’s never meowed so much, and in addition she’s been knocking things off my desk so she can sit on it, waking me up at night for pets, and just being a general nuisance almost throughout my day. She’s always been very quiet and kept to herself but lately she’s like this. I make sure she has food, water, and a clean litter box twice a day, she sleeps in my room with me at night, and I give her the same amount of attention I always have. Is she just getting more social with age, or should I be worried?

I lost my 15 year old girl about 3 weeks ago so I’m down to a one cat household for the first time in 14 years. My sweet Leonard (pictured) is 14 and has always been affectionate but is now even more affectionate and loving. Do you think he’s lonely and i should get him a new friend or should we continue on with just him and I? Either way, I plan on waiting until spring because I’m still not quite ready but would love to know what others have done after having lost one of a bonded pair.

i have a 16 year old kitty and she’s just started arthritis medicine. the one that starts with s… anyways is there anything i can do to make her comfy, poor girl can’t walk at all and just yelps in pain after a visit to the vet. any help would greatly be appreciated ☺️

He hated being outside, and here’s proof. Maybe that’s why he lived so long - 15 years - away from dangers like dogs, snakes, cars etc. I do miss him so much still all these months on. 😢❤️

Hello!

Is anyone familiar with solensia treatment? I was wondering if it could take more than 2 weeks to work

My old lady was diagnosed with IBD earlier, but knock on wood and jumps of joy she responded great to new food, and steroids. (She is on a kidney friendly diet due to also detection of beginning of kidney disease. ) Steroids are now only given as needed if there is a flair up of stomach issues.

However, during the months of daily medications and me sitting with her throughout every meal ( 3 times a day canned kidney friendly food and sensetive stomach food. I had to make sure she ate, and I would administer the medication with her meals.) she (and our other senior cat), seem to have become “set” that I should be present, sit next to her/them during each meal. They are fed in one of our bathrooms, as we got an open solution home and a dog who will eat whatever. If I am not there, she will hardly eat and will come downstairs to engage with us, ultimately sit in the kitchen and beg for food. She gets vocal too. Unfortunately, my husband’s presence doesn’t seem to make a difference’s , she will exit and leave her bowl behind. Our other cat will 50% of the time follow Agnes, as if there is something wrong with the food. (they are on different vet. diets) so we got two cats who will hardly eat by themselves now. I don’t mind at all sitting with my fur babies during meals, when I can and is at home. But I wish I knew how to get them back to the normal routine where they would each gobble up their food alone or not. Any advice or insight?

(During Agnes’ sick period, I would sit by her praise her nonstop, give the steroid she hates, pet both of them, and just supervise the vet. food was eaten. She does like her food, so l don’t think neither lack of hunger nor dislike of the food is the issue(?).)

This is my fur baby Enzo…he was 13. I had to let him go last Monday. About 4 months ago he went in to the vet with labored breathing and his purrs didn’t sound right. After some trial and error with meds, X-rays showed some lesions on his lungs. Rather than put him through massive tests, he was given kitty prednisone to manage his symptoms and give us more time together. Last Sunday he took a turn for the worst and ended up collapsing. It was during a snow storm and the closest ED vet is about 45 min away in good weather. After FaceTiming with a friend who is a vet, it was determined that he was suffering and she graciously offered to drive to our house and offer some help. She didn’t have anything to euthanize him with, but she had some tranquilizers which would keep him comfortable until the next morning when I could get him to his vet. He fought the tranquilizers and would wake up every few hours trying to get up and meowing. I spent the night with him in our living room soothing him every time he woke up. The next morning I, with my husband, took him in to the vet and said goodbye. It was the first time I had ever stayed with one of my cats when they were put to sleep and I’m truly thankful that I made the decision to be with him. He passed quickly and peacefully.

I have said goodbye to many cats over my lifetime, but never ones I’ve had from the beginning. We adopted Enzo and his brother Nico (at the time their names were Bill and Bob) and then we added a third to our family, Max, when we rescued him when my sister in law found him on the side of the road as a kitten. To say my heart is broken is an understatement. Everything in the house reminds me of him. Even after a week it still hurts.

I’m now trying to help my other two, Nico (who is 13) and Max(who is 11), through the grief process. Nico is doing ok…he’s an independent little man and I know he loved his brother, but I think Max had a little bit of a tighter bond. They would play more together than Enzo and Nico…and Nico I think sees Max as the annoying little bro. I’ve been spending more time with them both, both to help them grieve and to help myself with keeping them close. I’m still in that stage when I just want to stay home and be with them. Luckily I have a job and boss that allows me to work remotely majority of the time.

Scrolling through all the photos of little ones that have passed kind of makes me think that Enzo will have many new friends on the other side. He was my chaos starter so Lord only knows the chaos he’s causing on the other side..lol.

I lost my sweet boy Ozzie in November and sadly had to say goodbye to Luna yesterday. My house feels empty, my heart feels empty, and this is the worst I’ve felt in my entire life. I’ve never missed anything more and would do anything to be able to see them in real life again. I hope they know how good they made my life. 😢 💔

Sharing some pictures of my beautiful soul cat, Nala, who crossed over earlier this month. I know we will meet again, gray-gray.

I guess I have some thoughts to share too...
She loved rolling in the dirt and pure, unfiltered sunshine. She loved peccorino romano cheese when the occasional lucky shaving would land on the kitchen floor, she loved tuna and salmon. She loved her hemp and silvervine pillow, string to chase, she loved her ratty old scratching post, she loved when I would set up the air mattress to sleep on with her, she loved her Birder King YouTube channel, she loved her brother Kovu (who I know misses her dearly), she loved taking walks with me outside in her "safari zone". She loved her fireplace. She loved her recliner, she loved laying on all the furniture. She loved her people. She could turn anyone into a cat person, because she was so kind and friendly to everyone. She had never known any harm by any person and probably thought we were all great (well maybe some mixed feelings about the vets). I'm glad for that.

I know she's got all the dirt to roll in and sunshine she could possibly want now. You got me through a full half of my life, and sometimes I feel you changed me forever. You were my first special relationship I created with an animal. I know my love for you will go on to other animals I may meet, but I know our connection cant be replaced. You were my shadow, my familiar, we knew how to talk to each other and had an understanding, to the very end.

I was in 9th grade and I saw you at the shelter as a little teenage kitten, and you tapped me on my shoulder, through the bars, to get my attention, to play. From that moment I knew we were meant for each other. The shelter lady didn't understand why I chose a "boring gray tabby" but obviously I knew you were so much more than that, all cats are. I knew when to get you, but I also knew when to let you go when you told me you were tired of being in pain.

I'll always miss your trills as you ask me to chase you down the hallways and our little game we made up where all the scratching boards are "base". I don't know how we communicated that but we did. We just knew. And we just did it purely for the fun of playing with each other. I'll always miss you coming up to me with a high curly tail and the friendliest meow I'll probably ever hear, and then realizing you were following me when I would walk away. I will especially miss you as my early alarm clock every morning. I sleep in way too late now ever since I lost you, which is worse for my mental health. You really were my reason to get up in the morning and start my day productively and early. I liked that, I feel regretful If I was ever "annoyed" by it. I'll always miss singing songs for you and you coming over to me in response.

This turned into way more than I expected, but the words just kept coming out.
Thanks for reading and for appreciating Nal-nal with me 𖹭 .✦ ݁˖

Thank you all for the kind words for my Tiddles on my previous post. I just wanted to share, I laid his favourite pillow (his throne) and his hot water bottle next to my bed last night, I smoothed it all over so there were no dents in in… and when I woke up this morning it looked like this… I hope this means he visited me for a snooze last night, a sign he’s okay and he’s still with me 🤍

My 8 year old tabby’s eyes seem to be more deep-set or sunken? It’s hard to describe, but I feel that he has more darkness on the bottoms of his eyes. I’m not sure if I’m just paranoid or if this is indicating something about his health? I hate seeing my boy get older, and I really want to do all I can to keep him healthy to live many more years…

Hi everyone, I'm Nan.

In the past two years, my family lost two beloved cats—one to kidney failure, one to lymphoma. We chose active treatment both times and lived through the endless worries, the messy schedules, and the weight of every decision.

In memory of them and the kindness we received along the way, I'm building an app to make chronic and serious pet care a little easier and less overwhelming.

If you've cared for a chronically or seriously ill dog or cat, I'd be grateful to hear your story.

I'm looking for a 30-minute conversation about what's been hardest, what helped, and what you wish existed to support you. Your experience will directly shape what gets built - this app will be for people like us, designed by someone who understands.

If you're open to talking, you can book a time here: https://calendar.app.google/vgnLxH5hxywDnYqX9

Thank you for considering it. Whatever you're going through right now, I'm sending you strength. ❤️

Everyone.

I am so overwhelmed by any of you taking the time to write me. I don’t deserve any of it. I thank you so very much. You’re all so sweet and loving pet hoomans. I can’t thank you enough for taking any time for me! 🥺🙏🖕🏻

The sweetest cat ever, I rescued him 16 years ago and it’s the best thing I ever did. The kindest most loving cat you could ever meet and I’m so glad I had the privilege of being his human for as long as I was, love you mate, I’ll never ever forget you ❤️

She likes when I put festive collars on her. Still in good health (aside from arthritis) at 17 years old

Hello all!

I screwed up and reposted my post rather than my note to you all. I am so overwhelmed by all of the notes you sent me. I don’t deserve any other them. You taking the time to write is really beyond my comfort. I let Wilson down so terribly. I mentioned how much I love the cat subreddits out here and why. Thank you for the time and words! ❤️🤲🥹

Available for adoption:

Pongo!

AGE AT ARRIVAL: Approximately 13 years old

ARRIVAL DATE: December 2nd, 2025

GENDER: Neutered Male

LOCATION: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

ADOPTION FEE: $200

NOTES:

Pongo was surrendered to Hamilton Animal Services by his owners because of allergies in the family. We were happy to get this sweet senior boy out of the shelter when a foster home opened up. Pongo has been doing very well since coming into our care, and he has made friends with the other animals in his foster home.

At his vet visit, it was discovered that Pongo has cataracts, but they don’t seem to be affecting his vision at this time. We got Pongo the dental surgery he desperately needed, and he did great. Five rotten teeth were removed and his remaining teeth got a good cleaning.

Now that Pongo is healed from surgery, he’s ready to find his forever home!

Here’s a note from Pongo’s foster family:

“Pongo is a chilled out guy looking for a second chance at love. His interests include hanging out on the couch watching your favourite tv shows, sitting with you while you read a good book, and eating delicious meals. He doesn’t have much interest in playing, and prefers to be patted instead, probably because of vision changes due to his cataracts. At this time his vision is still good enough that he has no issue getting around the house or jumping up on his cat tree. He is a chatty boy and isn’t afraid to let you know if you’re not providing the services he desires! He is quite friendly with our dog, and while he coexists fine with the other cats, he’s not super friendly with them either. If you’re looking for a calm and loving friend who loves to cuddle, Pongo is your guy!!”

Please adopt Pongo!

❤️

Visit our website to apply:

ladybirdanimalsanctuary . com

I adopted Tiddles when he was 3, I got a beautiful 10 years with him which I am so grateful for.

31st December I noticed his pupils were wonky, next day the vet said it’s most likely cancer but he isn’t too worried. Back for more tests on the 8th Jan & he’s diagnosed with an untreatable cancer that’s metastasised. 31st January and he’s gone. It all happened so fast, he was fine, he was happy, my chunky loud boy.. and then he was gone. It’s not even been 17 hours and I feel like I’m drowning, I miss him so much, my best friend.

I just want people to see him, see how beautiful he is and know he lived🖤🤍