Goodbye my sweet kitty

[bill14224]

Angel became my little pal pretty quickly.  I didn't even want a cat but she was on her way to the pound and she wasn't in good shape so I decided to take her because I'm a sucker.  She was a tiny black tiger cat with a white bib and feet and a sweet face, only 5 or 6 lbs full-grown.  I had her almost three years.  It took two weeks for me to get her to come out from under the couch.  Once she did she never went back.  She never gained much weight but she was much healthier with me.  Her eyes, coat, and general health got way better within weeks of my making sure she got good care.

She died two days ago.  She was almost 17 and she was just too weak and sick.  FIP isn't curable and it hits hard and fast.  She was jumping off the furniture just last month.  For the past week she could barely crawl.  I just picked-up her ashes from the pet cemetery.

She was an ideal pet; affectionate, pretty vocal but only when you asked her questions, pretty smart, and no bad habits.  She would sit right here in my lap while I was reading or typing on my laptop in my recliner.  I don't think I understood how much she meant to me until she fell ill.  Now I'm here typing again.  She's not purring in my lap or trying to get between me and the screen and I'm fighting back tears.

Having said that, I've had an almost unbroken string of good luck ever since she came into my life.  I'm going to miss her very much.  In fact, I already do.  She was so sweet in every way.  So innocent, so timid, so loving, once she learned she can trust you.  She never tried to bite or scratch.  I never heard her hiss, not once.  She was perfect.

[DoD#i]

Condolences. In some ways it's worse than people.

More cats under the ground than above it here, and it never gets any easier.

Good on ya for taking in a non-kitten and giving her nearly 3 decent years.

[bill14224]

Condolences. In some ways it's worse than people.

More cats under the ground than above it here, and it never gets any easier.

Good on ya for taking in a non-kitten and giving her nearly 3 decent years.

Thanks DoD, it means a lot.  I grew-up with many cats.  We had as many as 12 at one time, usually more like 5.  Nonetheless, I've buried a few dozen cats and it never gets easy.  I'm such a sap when it comes to cats.  They just get into my soul then I'm crushed when they die, especially this one.  This was a special cat, the kind of cat even dog lovers could like.

[Caffeine]

My cat is my little buddy.  I got him as an adult cat at the shelter 11 years ago.   He was 3 or 4 years old, and he "chose" me.  I see signs that he is getting older (like me) and I know he won't be around forever. 

He's fairly vocal when I get home from work.   If I've been away for more than a couple of days, he is VERY vocal when I return.  He's always friendly with strangers, and he likes to play rough, like a dog.   I think he must have been around dogs or kids with his original owners.

I've lost cats and dogs before.   They become such a part of your life, and the way they just give unconditional acceptance can sometimes make them better than human company.   I feel your pain.

[The Buddha]

I didn't even know there were mice till the neighbors got cats. BTW I have seen them try to kill birds but fail, so I am getting less bugged with them. I love wild birds, had to stop feeding them since the cats moved in next door. However I am begining to not dislike em that much of late.
Anyway what is FIP ?
Sorry about your loss.
Cool.
Buddha.

[bill14224]

Thanks everyone.  I'm feeling better but it still hurts.  That little cat meant so much and the fact I didn't fully appreciate her until almost the end is making me feel pretty guilty despite the fact I gave Angel a lot of love the whole time I had her.

FIP is Feline Immune Peritonitis.  It works basically like this but it's to this day not well understood by medical scientists who are a million times smarter than Nancy Pelosi.  Today there is no cure nor is there any meaningful treatment.  Steroids can stretch it out a little by suppressing immune resonse and increasing energy and appetite, but only by days.

Most cats carry a harmless virus their whole lives, causing no symptoms and triggering no immune response.  Sometimes it mutates and turns into what amounts to kitty AIDS and can happen at any time in a cat's life.  That's what happened to Angel.  If the virus mutates into the dreaded strain, it triggers an immune response.  Increased white cells to devour the viral predator, but not so fast.  This mutated virus takes over white cells rather than being devoured by them, and replicates, causing organ shut-down within weeks.  The immune response actually helps it to spread.  How evil Mother Nature can be.  Once the mutation happens, your happy cat will die in 4 to 6 weeks, period.  Angel's heart and lungs were very good, no murmurs, no wheezing.  They were the last to go.  I listened to them stop.

Mother Nature sucks, and those who worship her are too ignorant for words.

Buddah, you would have loved Leon, a cat we had when I was a kid.  Leon was a mighty hunter.  If you lived anywhere near him there would be no rodents within 300 yards of where he lived.  He would deliver crunched remains to your doorstep, waiting for your acceptance.  Not just at our door, but our neighbors too.  Leon was something else.  Mice, moles, rats, pheasants, rabbits, turkeys, skunks, porcupines, 90 lb labs, he kicked all their asses.  Leon was utterly unafraid, and his proficiency was amazing.  He would often leave 5 or 10 kills at your doorstep in a single night, snouts all lined-up.  It's been 35 years and I've never seen another like Leon the mighty hunter.  That's right, even dogs were afraid of him.  He was the ultimate ass-kicker but he'd sleep in your lap and lick your hand.

[Toogoofy317]

I'm sooo sorry for your loss. A few months ago I lost my little buddy Ricky. We picked him up from the nursing home where my best friend's mom was at. He was sooo small and just wanted to eat. He was a scared little guy and had a limp. But, when we brought him home I was feeling quite ill myself and crashed on the couch somehow he made it up there and laid on my chest. He never did that with anyone else. After about two months we thought we were turning a corner he was just learning how to play. Poor guy didn't even know how to play but you could tell he was so grateful for what he got. Then his belly started swelling we took him in Feline leukemia and Aids. I couldn't go to the vet with my best friend I didn't have the heart to take him knowing he wouldn't come back with me. We brought him home and wrapped him in his favorite blankie and his cat nip mouse. I had never felt such a loss. I mean I was an EMT for 6 years death was pretty normal for me but this ripped my heart out, stomped on it, and rubbed salt in it. RIP little Ricky I know you are running now and having a blast in heaven.

We still have Akasha which is our six-toed black freak. Man that is a cat that can play. When we first got her she would play with the string toy until her paws bled so we would have to put the toys in the closet. Now she knows the toys won't go away but she will still put the stick and string toy in her mouth like a little dog and put it at your feet when she is ready to play. And oh the Fresh Nip she really is a nip head. Reminds me of Shrek 2 when Puss gets busted with the Niip " It's not mine" Akasha is about four years old and was rescued before going to the pound. When I'm feeling Ill she will lay at my feet. She is not a lapcat so her laying next to you is an honor. Unless, it is 0400 she will get on your chest and nibble on your neck. Hence, her name Akasha from the vampire movie "The Queen of the damned".

Where I live now we also have a kitty his name is Butterscotch and he is such a lapcat everytime I go to play my PS3 he takes that as his cue for him to play too. He will hop in my lap and start hitting the game pad and start yelling like he is playing. You can hear him through the bluetooth when he gets going and my clan cracks up everytime they here him going nuts with the controller. Then he has this leopard that he carries around the house and he starts going nuts about and and it sounds like the leopard is killing him vs him tearing up the toy.
I will always be a cat fan they grow on you and I can't imagine a life without one.

Again my condolnces bill hopefully there will be a new pal in your future!

Mary

[ineedanap]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss Bill. 

I know how hard it can be to lose a pet.  I hope it gets easier for you soon. 

[tt_four]

Very sorry to hear about your cat. My wife recently lost her 19 year old cat that she's had since she was just a couple years old. I've been dreading that day for a long time because she was already pretty old by the time I even met my wife, I knew it was going to be hard. I have a pretty hard time when I lose one, and yet we're never going to be able to stop bringing them home. I at least have self control, so right now we've got 2 dogs and 3 cats, but my wife knows that's the limit so she hasn't tried to sneak any more in. Even with that many animals, all it takes is one to be gone at the vet for a night or two to make your house feel completely empty. At least I know that losing the ones we've lost before helps us appriciate all the time we get with the ones we have now. Our dogs are only 3 and 4, and I definitely don't take any of it for granted, especially Hobbes, because he's a pit bull and only 1 out of every 600 born manages to find a good permanent home, so I take extra pride in knowing he's got the best life a dog could have.

I hope it gets easier for you.

[natedawg120]

Sorry about the loss Bill.  It never gets easier, just remember her life not the end and things will look up.