That sucked. Prayers for Basta, please.

[kyrielle]

To those I vanished on, my apologies. Basta's breathing was not-right, so we took her to the emergency vet, which I hadn't exactly expected to be doing tonight. We were there maybe 3 hours and it felt like forever. She had fluid on her lungs, which is usually either heart disease or cancer, according to the vet. They put her on oxygen, then drew off the fluid. Based on how it looks, he thinks it is heart disease - which is good; that's the treatable one, of the two. Basta's 21. I wouldn't put her through the treatments for the cancer, but the heart disease is much more probable that we can extend her life comfortably. That's only a guess at this point, the workup on that won't come back until Monday, I believe. She's staying overnight on oxygen while they monitor her (and then wean her off the oxygen), and see how fast the fluid starts to build up again. He'll check some other stuff (kidney function, for example) that affects treatment for heart problems.

She's 21. It's not like it's a total shock that something would come up. And yet it is, because she seemed relatively healthy so recently. I'm just glad it doesn't look (tentatively, based on his impressions) like cancer. I was so very, very afraid that it would. And I think losing this cat, who spent so much time with my mother in her last days, that way, would hurt even more than simply losing her will when that happens.

Think good thoughts for her, please.