My heart is aching. Cinnabar cougar is at peace now. He had stopped eating last Wednesday. Thursday I administered some fluids I had on hand and Friday called the vets to discover that three out of three vets we use were not working that day and Dr. Adney was not scheduled to return until Tuesday. We drove to town and purchased more fluids and administered them with medicines and B-complex shot in hopes it would reactivate his appetite. 

Saturday morning he showed momentary interest in breakfast then dropped it and later buried it. I knew in my heart he was very ill, though his eyes were bright and his spirit strong. I spent a lot of time with Cinni that weekend, sitting beside him; his head lay on my lap, stroking his fur and telling him how much he was loved.  He purred and talked to me. Monday I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Adney for first thing Tuesday morning and we loaded him into the transport cage that evening. We told him we would get him help. And I blocked out the thought that we might not.

Tuesday morning we awoke to a beautiful fall morning after a light rain the night before. The 70 miles drive to Hot Springs revealed that fall colors are finally peaking out. The morning sky was beautiful blue and the clouds had silver linings. It was a beautiful day to be alive.

Cinnabar's examination revealed that his abdomen was filled with fluid and initial slide examination indicated it was not infectious in nature. Many of the cells however, were abnormal. His plasma was yellow; a sure sign of Biliruben and the BUN was also above normal. Prognosis was not hopeful and considering his age, and his previous back injury, we made the decision to forgo further tests and treatments.

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