Lost My Ginger Pal

[raymac46]

Our cat passed away today. He was only 9 but he developed neurological issues and steadily went downhill. He was falling over, unresponsive and crawling away to hide in the corner to die. We mercifully had him sleep away in our arms at the vet. Here is the way we want to remember him.

 

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by raymac46

[Corrine]

I'm so sorry.  He was beautiful!  Our pets become part of the family and it is always difficult to lose them. 

[sunrat]

Sad to hear that Ray. I lost my Kitty at 10YO to cancer. Still see flashes of ghost kitty in my house occasionally.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

It's never easy to deal with this. I know. I've done it enough in my life. My Patches and Precious both died with my arms around them in 2016. I lost my Li'l Black Kitty in 2018. That's not to mention all the outside kitties that I've fed and taken care of since 1998 out there in my backyard. It's difficult to lose those we love, but it happens.

 

Remember the good times, Ray. Always remember the good times!

[sunrat]

Always with you.

[raymac46]

Quote

Remember the good times, Ray. Always remember the good times!

We certainly do - he was a four-footed, orange bundle of love. But he lost what made him the elegant beast he was. No way for a cat to live. We had to do what was best no matter how hard it was. Not the first time for us either.

[abarbarian]

22 hours ago, raymac46 said:

Our cat passed away today.

 

Sorry for your loss. You were very brave to be there at his last moments. As Eric said remember the good times.

[raymac46]

We've done it before. Never easy, but your pet relies on you for love and support his whole life through so you can't abandon him to strangers at the end.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

8 hours ago, sunrat said:

Always with you.

 

Yes, they are, @sunrat. VERY TRUE!

 

 

2 hours ago, raymac46 said:

you can't abandon him

 

Yes, and that SO whizzes me off when I see it happen. The current batch of outside cats that I'm feeding these days (four of them) were victims of abandonment. People pack up and move and just leave the cats behind. In the case of my neighbor across the street, she passed away in January and her asshat brother, with whom she was sharing the house (thanks to their mother joining them for life by leaving the house to both of them), just tossed all four of her much-loved babies out into the yard a few days after she died. I birch at him constantly (in person or sending  texts on the phone) to remind him to feed his sister's cats. He's a drunk, so most of the time, he doesn't bother to even go outside; never mind actually feed the cats or check that they have fresh water. It's sad, but at least the cats aren't starving or thirsty. There's always foodies and water on my front porch for them.

 

 

[raymac46]

When I said abandon to strangers I meant to the vet and his staff. Our vet is one of the kindest and most compassionate men I've met, but I would never leave a beloved pet in his hands without being there to cuddle the pet at the end.

That said, abandonment of healthy cats - especially kittens - is a big issue where I live. The weather here is by no means as kind to a hungry animal as it would be in Tampa.

 

These guys were dumped by some idiot in my area.

[sunrat]

All vets I have encountered have been wonderfully kind and compassionate. I think it's part of the job description.

When I had to have my Kitty put to sleep, a mate accompanied me for moral support and I nursed her in the final moments. You never would have seen two grown men cry so much. It brings a little tear to my eyes now just writing and remembering.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

3 hours ago, raymac46 said:

Our vet is one of the kindest and most compassionate men I've met

 

You're lucky!

 

18 minutes ago, sunrat said:

All vets I have encountered have been wonderfully kind and compassionate.

 

I can't quite say I've had the same experiences. I've run across too many over the years who have learned that people REALLY love their pets and that makes them easy "marks". When I've run across them, I've very quickly moved on to another. I haven't had a primary vet for my kitties for many years now. I've been using a 24 hour Animal Hospital instead. I like them very much because my cats were often like children, they'd get ill at 2AM. It was very easy (no traffic at all) to drive them up there at that time. The clinic usually wasn't too busy, either. The staff and the vets there ALL love their work and the little animals. That impressed me greatly on the first and all other visits throughout the years.

[raymac46]

When we moved to Almonte I had to look for a new vet. We had decent enough service at our first animal clinic but then the two kindest most gentle vets set up their own practice so we followed them. They have attracted a couple of other really kind vets to join them. A great group and we are glad to be their clients especially at a time like this.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

When I brought Precious (5 days old) home from the back parking lot at the Sears Service Center, and two days later, mom got the little calico she found in the "flyer" newspaper, Patches (about 10 weeks old), we needed some vet help to check them both out. Mom found a vet that actually did house calls. He showed up the next day and mom and I were both very impressed with him. I actually used him as my primary vet the first couple years I had Patches and Precious, but he moved somewhere out of this city and that was the end of that. Actually, this is also when I started going to the 24 hour clinic I mention above.

 

Me with Patches (larger kitten) and Precious about 5 days after we got them...

 

 

I miss these girls, and my Li'l Black Kitty, every darn day! They are all three buried in my backyard right outside of my bedroom window. Each died just a month or so before their 18th birthdays. I lost my mother shortly after we got Patches and Precious. It was so wonderful to have them here when I came home from work every day. The house was alive with them. It would have been a much more gloomier time for me had they not been here. I often tell folks that when my mother died, those two cats were the very best thing she ever could have left me.

 

Patches and Precious as adult kitties...

 

 

___

 

Er... sorry for hijacking your thread, Ray. Your experience just reminds me so much of my own. Happy memories!!!

[Corrine]

1 hour ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

Er... sorry for hijacking your thread, Ray. Your experience just reminds me so much of my own. Happy memories!!!

Indeed, reading about Ray's loss brings back memories of Tasha & Buddy, both adopted from friends who could no longer keep them.  Tasha was a Norwegian Forest Cat and Buddy was a handsome black & white:

 

Here they are in a favorite spot with Bailey, also adopted from a friend who could no longer keep him:

[raymac46]

Thanks guys. Your fond memories help me feel better. I miss Oates like crazy but not in the state he was in this past few days. Best to remember the wonderful affectionate guy we had for nearly 9 years.

[ebrke]

Condolences, Ray, he looks like he must have been a lovely cat.You certainly did the right thing. It's the only thing we can do for them when their time comes. I've had to have many cats put down over my long life, and I've always been with them at the end. Last time I took my cat's favorite afghan with us and let him cuddle in it. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss.

[xrobwx71]

Sorry for your loss. 

[abarbarian]

Darn now you got me thinking of Mr Spooks who mysteriously disappeared.

 

Spooks playing

 

 

 

Spooks after playing

 

 

Spooks investigating new home territory.

 

 

I miss his company very much.

[ebrke]

I remember you posting about him years ago. Sorry he's no longer with you.