I've lost two cats to kidney failure. With the first one, she showed no signs whatsoever of being ill until suddenly one day she stopped eating, and growled quietly when we touched her belly. So we took her straight to the vet, and they made blood tests and found out that her kidneys were almost non-functional. The vet said that she (the cat) might possibly get another month or two of life but would probably be in pain and not at all be well. So the sweetest, cuddliest, most affectionate cat ever was taken from us with almost no warning, at the age of ten. I get tears in my eyes thinking about it now, though it was almost four years ago. Her sister lasted another year and a half, and got special food and was quite well until she, too, had a kidney failure.

I am so sorry for those who are facing the mortality of their pets.