R.I.P. Pumpkin the cat

[ynkeesfn82]

We had to have our cat Pumpkin down this morning.  :'( She had kidney and thyroid issues along with a heart murmur. She started acting strange last night. We brought her to the vet first thing this morning and they couldn't do anything more for her. She had been part of The Bramhall Household since March 2004. This is a picture of her from 2014.

[TheFugitive]

So sad!  Sorry for your loss.

I am on grim reaper watch for the 19 year old cat in my house.
He was my daughter's best buddy when she was little (let her carry him around the house
like a rag doll).  She grew up, got a job and moved to Toledo.  By that time she decided he
was in no shape to move, so Dad is now the custodian.

He is missing at least half of his teeth, and he no longer grooms himself so I have to keep
brushing out big clumps of his fur.  He appears to be deaf, and if you feed him he will forget
that you did 10 minutes later and be back in your face meowing again.

Despite all that, I hope I look half as good when I'm 100.

[ynkeesfn82]

Is there some kind of defect that causes Tortoise Shell cats to have thyroid issues? When I showed a picture of Pumpkin to my friend Gavin at work last night he told me he had a Tortoise Shell cat when he was younger and she too had thyroid issues.

P.S. I forgot to mention in my original post that the vet thinks Pumpkin had a stroke and that's likely what caused her to start acting strangely Thursday night.