Tarzan our ex feral who came in from the cold a year or so ago, is on the way out.
He had a abscess behind his ear back in January, caused by being attacked by another cat. That healed and he recovered, and was back to his old self. We have worked out, by talking with near neighbours, that he is at least 16 years old.
He comes and sits indoors with us in the evenings, but invariably goes out at night, even when its cold. He disappears for a couple of days at a time occasionally, which is expected, given it life experience. He comes back when he is hungry though.
He last came in on Tuesday evening, and not been back, even for food since then. He came in about 8 pm last night (Saturday) looking almost skeletal, and had very laboured breathing and a very croaky voice. He sat on my lap for an hour last night, which he has never done before, then went back outside. He refused anything we offered him to eat.
This morning he was hiding under a vehicle, still breathing heavily. We tried to coax him out and offered he favourite beef mince to no avail. SWMBO crawled under the van and tried to grab him (he will not be picked up) but he wriggled away and shot off into the woods beside the house.
If he comes back, and we can catch him, we will take him to the vets. I think we are prepared for the outcome, but this will be very stressful and frightening for him. It will be a betrayal of trust too. Didn't want his last experience to be this.
Very wise and kind words from @premmington .
You have obviously cared for Tarzan extremely well over the years and allowed him to reach 16.
It’s always hard to say goodbye to a friend, I think he has already said his by sitting on your lap.
