Just got off the phone with the vet. We went over a list of things that could be responsible for Josie's episode this weekend, which included syncope, epilepsy, and stroke. The most likely culprit, given her age (15) and otherwise perfect health - focal seizure. We've got an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. He wants to check her out and do a blood panel to check for any infections. We, obviously, will treat her if she's got an infection and, if she's clear, we'll do nothing but keep watching her to see if it happens again. If it does happen again, then we'll start talking about seizure medications.

I'll also be taking Zoe in for an exam tomorrow. As you may recall, she has kidney disease. Her kidneys are half the size they should be and she's dropped a scary amount of weight over the past few years. We've been trying to get her on prescription kidney-friendly cat food, but all of the brands we've tried have given her diarrhea that I can't even begin to describe. She hasn't recovered from the latest bout quite as quickly or as well as I would have liked, so we're going to check her intestinal bacterial levels to see if anything wonky is going on there. We're also going to try to plan B for her kidney issues, which, I believe is daily medication for the remainder of her life.

We're moving into that "frequent and expensive vet bills" stage of our cats' lives. They're getting up there in age (Josie is and Zoe will be 15 this year), so it's not a huge surprise. It's what happens when pets get older. However, if my reaction Saturday night was any indication, I know I'm totally unprepared for the end with them. When the time comes, I am not going to do well at all. Not. At. All.