Just like I don’t do checkups for me, I don’t do them for my cats. The sick need doctoring, not the healthy.
This cat’s pesonality was totally changed by his initial and what for him were traumatic ordeals with the vet, as kind as she was. Previously, he had been sociable and gregarious around strangers. I even regularly took him to an old folks home to visit this one lady I knew, who loved cats and missed having them.
After he became ill at age 2, and had been prodded and poked and given an ultrasound, he became so afraid of strangers that he would run and hide when the doorbell rang. Thankfully he never needed a vet again. Just his daily herbal elixir, which he took like it was a treat. He died suddenly at home one evening after a full, normal and active day, at age 14. I hope that I go in similar fashion when it’s my time. It was unexpected. We were nursing his best buddy with cancer at the time, and expected him to go first. He died 2 weeks later. They are buried side by side in the back yard jungle.
How tragic for you to have lost your two friends at pretty much the same time. While they can never be replaced, we can get new furry friends in time. I’m a dog person and I still miss every dog I ever had that died long before I was ready to have him or her gone. But I love my new furfriends and marvel at how distinct each personality is from every one who came before, though the loyalty and love they give has been the one constant with them all.