Fred

Fred is my 16-year-old cat. I got her from my friend's grandfather after he died, because no one else in the family could take her. The grandfather gave her the name Fred because originally he thought she was a boy. I kept the name, not wanting to confuse her after having that name for nine years, saying it was short for Fredericka. Hey, it works. :)
I've had Freddie for seven years now. She has her own personality, as does every cat I think, where she likes to pretend to be aloof until there are a number of laps for her to choose from in the living room. Then she generally has to visit each one, especially after one person stops petting her. She's an indoor cat who is very curious about the outside world, but whenever she's accidentally gotten out into it, she's had no idea what to do. There have been a couple of times where she was closed out of the apartment by accident (here and at my first apartment, both places of which were only in a hallway, not actually outside) and after only a minute or two of limited exploration, she started meowing as if she was just tossed into a jungle.
We then decided to bring her out onto our back porch a couple of times while we were out there to keep an eye on her. She just stood in one spot at first, but eventually she started sniffing around the trash cans and then around the outside of the deck. Now, any time the door is open the slightest bit, she'll nose it open and escape out onto the back. Of course, the door has never been closed behind her, so I'm not sure how brave she would be, not being able to get back into the place which holds her food.
She also used to enjoy scratching up my furniture when I first got her, showing no interest in the scratching posts I bought. Finally, I tried one of those corrugated cardboard boxes that lay flat on the floor. Bingo. She loves it so much that she'll still lay on it from time to time (and thank goodness for that!). I don't think my recliner could've handled any more abuse.
Unfortunately, now that she's older, she's starting to get those older pet ailments. I took her to the vet to update her shots, and the vet discovered she had lost a couple of pounds and had a fairly significant heart murmur. After a number of tests they determined it was hyperthyroidism that had caused the weight loss which, in turn, caused the heart murmur. I was very surprised, because I hadn't noticed any significant changes in her behavior. There were a couple of days that happened months ago, where she was spending a lot of time underneath "her bed" in the guest bedroom. But once I brought her into the living room and blocked off that one spot that was difficult to get to, she started being social again, and has been ever since.
So we put her on methimazole and watched for any adverse reaction to the new medication. First there was some vomiting, which I fixed by switching her to a wet food only diet (her teeth were already in fairly poor condition anyway, so eating the softer food seemed to help). She seemed to be a bit more spry, jumping from the recliner to the couch and back again, climbing to the very top of the chair seemingly just because she could. But then I noticed more and more as I pet her, I could feel her bony frame more than her skin or fur (of which she still has PLENTY, and not just on her body but all over the apartment!). And that's when the rash appeared.
First it was just a couple of red dots above one eye. But then it became more and more dots, over both eyes, and then on her ear. And of course, they were itchy, which caused Fred to scratch out the fur around the rash.
That's when I called the vet yet again. At her appointment on Thursday the vet said to take her off the medication to allow the rash to heal (there was nothing to give her for that, because of her advanced age). And instead of giving her the generic medication, which the vet said often causes the most problems in pets, we'll start her on a smaller dose of the name brand, Tapizole. Hopefully we'll have better results with that.
Freddie is the first pet of mine to have this kind of medical condition that involves actual medication and multiple doctor visits. I had a mouse when I was in eighth grade, who lived for three years with no issues (well, except for his death of course). Then I had a turtle for five years who died a few months ago. We had no idea how old he was so I think he simply passed from old age. Even our family dog, Muffin, who I grew up with and who had problems as she got older, was a pet that my parents took care of most of the time. I wasn't the one who had to take her to be put down.
The only thing that keeps me hopeful about Freddie's health is that she doesn't seem to know she's sick. As I said, she still eats just fine and is fairly spry for a cat her age (although her gracefulness has definitely declined). She is still pretty amusing when she gets all ready to jump from one piece of furniture to the next and lands on all fours, boom, right on the floor. That's when she walks away, tail held high, as if to say, "I meant to do that."
Even when I checked on her rash she would turn her head or lightly bat my hand away, probably wondering why the heck I was fussing over her face.
My sister had a cat that lived into her 20s, and while I don't want Freddie to suffer in really old age, I do want her older years to be just as enjoyable as her younger ones. I just hope I don't have to make any tough decisions about her health during them.