Buff went to the vets.

[charmax]

Not such good news about Buff. The vet said he was old and had quite a slow heart rate as well as slightly swollen lymph glands and "noisy lungs" hence the cough I took him for. All these symptoms coupled with what facts we know about his history led her to suspect one of the immune diseases was possibly the root cause of his problems. She tested him for leukaemia and FIV (feline AIDS). I was able to take him home and she gave me some antibiotics to give him to see if they help with any infection. The blood results came back as positive for FIV. Her advise was to have him euthanized within the next few days because he could pose a risk to other cats. I will minimise his contact with neighbourhood cats and make sure my other two don't eat off the same bowl as him and things like that but I am not ready to let go of my ugly/beautiful Buff just yet. My duty as a pet owner will of course mean that I will have to do what is right by Buff in the end but for now I will give him the antibiotics, put him on a high protein diet and minimise  any stress. I  believe I will know when the time is right to have Buff put down but that time isn't just yet. It is definitely depressing news but I will have to try to treat him as normal and try not to look at him as dead cat walking. As long as he still has a decent quality of life I am happy to carry on. I won't let him suffer, we love him to bits. ♥