We had the little guy for almost 15 years, since before I started high school, and he was always such a good, but strange, cat. He hated being held, but always had to be in the room with everyone. He never really appreciated traditional cat toys, but instead preferred hair ties and a black Beanie Baby cat that he stole from me when I was younger and carried around with him every where he went. He would even try to "feed" his black toy kitten. He loved to play with bubbles in the sink but was terrified of bubbles in the air. He was also terrified of plastic bags, the washing machine, vacuum cleaners, other cats, most people and a million other things. He didn't show his love by begging to be petted, but rather by following people from room to room and sneaking into bed at night.
Unfortunately, while I was home in August, I noticed that he had lost quite a bit of weight. When I asked my parents about it they said he had been coughing a lot and breathing weirdly lately and he hadn't been eating as much as usual. We took him to the vet and were told that Rusty had asthma and needed a shot every 6 weeks, but that otherwise he would be fine and start eating again.
However, a week and a half ago my parents told me he had been getting worse and had lost more weight so back to the vet he went, and after a ton of tests and more problems, they discovered he had to tumors surrounding his heart. They were told that if he didn't start eating soon they would have to make the decision to put him down. As you can imagine it was with trembling hands that I called yesterday, fearing the worst, and unfortunately he wasn't improving and they had to have him put down rather than slowly die, suffering.
They took his ashes home and buried him next to the birdbath (that I didn't even know they had!) with his little black kitty.
I'm devastated that I didn't get to see him again and I'm going to miss the little furball so much. He was my first real pet (before that it was always hamsters and fish) and he was truly loved and an important part of the family.
The cat at my parent's house (to distinguish it from the kitten I have here now) passed away last year around this time. He was only 9, but had a tumor on his tongue so couldn't eat or clean himself. He died at home though before they could decide to put him down or not. It was really hard for me, even if the last time I had seen him was months before and he ran away from me (he didn't like people much either!). I'm so sorry for you, I know how sad it can be. :-(
ReplyDeleteMy parents put down our family cat last spring. He was 17 I think, and had been in different stages of kidney failure for over a year. When I saw him last Christmas, he was so frail and mangey, arthritis-ridden, throwing up all over the place.. it was a pretty sad sight.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been home since but i'm sure it's not the same without him.
Anyway, I'm really sorry for your loss, I know how hard it can be. I think what you wrote about him was really nice and that he must have really appreciated being a part of your family. Big virtual hugs!
Andromeda and Amber,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments, I really appreciate it! And I feel a little better knowing I'm not completely crazy for being so sad about my cat dying!