Lost Cat

[SCUBA Chick]

Ooooo, I missed this post as I haven't been on here for a day or two.....

So very pleased to hear that all is well again Porg....

We have 2 cats and would be hearbroken if one of them went missing...like you say they are part of the family....

Scuabchick

[Fiji Dave]

I missed this too, really glad to hear that it all turned out well in the end though.

We used to have two cats at home, Cookie, the eldest was about 14 yrs old and unfortunately got through his nine lives in fairly drastic fashion. He was abandoned by his mother down at the fishing pool where my dad used to fish not long after he was born. When he was about 7 he was hit by a car one night, he managed to get back to the house with a broken leg and some spinal damage that meant his tail no longer worked, it just hung limp behind him all the time. His kidneys also took a severe blow and for several days it was touch and go as to whether he'd survive. He had to have a catheter fitted and we needed to 'empty' him several times a day.....if you think giving a cat a pill is bad, try this, it's so so so much worse. The vet gave him a deadline and said that if he didn't try to use his litter tray on his own by day 4 then it would mean his kidneys had packed up entirely and there was nothing that could be done for him. Luckily he seemed to pick up and he then spent a few weeks hobbling round with his back leg in plaster. Cats walk REALLY funny with a leg in plaster!
That was 7 yrs ago and his tail never recovered. The vets said they could amputate it, but as it was still alive, just paralysed they said there was no need, unless it became infected. Strangely, if he got scared or angry then his tail would still go all bushy as cats tails do...it just looked a bit like someone had stuck a badger on his arse!
Unfortunately though his kidneys never really recovered completely. He was on special food from the vets for the next 7 years. Then a few months back he started to take a turn for the worse, he stopped eating and the weight fell off him. The vets diagnosed a tumour in his mouth and kidney failure, and the prognosis wasn't good. We had the choice of putting him through a lot of sugery for the tumour, but with his kidneys the way they were he only had a few weeks left. So we took the decision to let him have a little dignity in his last few days, spending it at home rather than drugged up in the vets.

I'll not forget having to drive him to the vets the last time when he had to be put to sleep. He sat so still, so quiet in the footwell of the car. Very, very upsetting. He's buried down in the garden near one of his favourite spots where he used to chase and catch rabbits.

I know a lot of people that say "how can you get upset, it's only a cat" well, that cat had lived with us for 14 yrs, and was very much a member of the family.

[Helen F H]

Having seen so many people go through that I know how much it hurts. A relationship with a cat is a very special thing, quite unlike a dog. Scuba our little bugger, hates being picked up and wriggles until you put her down. Last night she just sat still all the way home.
Older cats do tend to suffer with their kidneys - they tend to be fat until they get to around 12 years old then lose it all suddenly. This always seemed to be put down to kidney failure when i was there. You made the right decision about the treatment, long and painful, plus it takes away the one thing cats seem to enjoy the most - their freedom.
When the time comes i will get ours done at home. Bugger how expensive it is (and it is expensive!).

All i would say is get your animals insured. Makes RTA's, Kidney problems etc a whole lot easier to deal with.

[Fiji Dave]

[quote=Porg]Scuba our little bugger, hates being picked up and wriggles until you put her down. QUOTE]


Our other cat, Barney, is just like that. Pick her up (yes, her, and she's called Barney....we didn't know she was a she until after we'd picked a name!).. pick her up and she puts all four feet on your chest and pushes away, you can hold her, but not close and not for long. The only way to hold her for any length of time is to stroke her ears while you hold her. Then she seems quite happy being held. She's a strange one!

[Snash]

Originally Posted by Porg

Having seen so many people go through that I know how much it hurts. A relationship with a cat is a very special thing,

All i would say is get your animals insured. Makes RTA's, Kidney problems etc a whole lot easier to deal with.

You are right about cats.

The following paste below is the Epilogue from a novel called "Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola" by Kinky Friedman who was the lead singer of that well known Country & Western band "Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys" and is now a crime writing novelist.

I just hope that what he says in the penultitmate paragraph comes true....


Regards

Simon


Epilogue:


"On January 4, 1993, the cat in this book and the books that preceded it was put to sleep in Kerrville, Texas, by Dr. W. H. Hoegemeyer and myself. Cuddles was fourteen years old, a respectable age. She was as close to me as any human being I have ever know.



"Cuddles and I spent many years together, both in New York, where I first found her as a little kitten on the street in Chinatown, and later on the ranch in Texas. She was always with me, on the table, on the bed, by the fireplace, beside the typewriter, on top of my suitcase when I returned from a trip.



"I dug Cuddles' grave with a silver spade, in the little garden by the stream behind the old green trailer where both of us lived in summertime. Her burial shroud was my old New York sweatshirt and in the grave with her is a can of tuna and a cigar.



"A few days ago I received a sympathy note from Bill Hoegenmeyer, the veterinarian. It opened with a verse by Irving Townsend: "We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle..."



"Now, as I write this, on a gray winter day by the fireside, I can almost feel her light tread, moving from my head and my heart down through my fingertips to the keys of this typewriter. People may surprise you with unexpected kindness. Dogs have a depth of loyalty that often we seem unworthy of. But the love of a cat is a blessing, a privilege in this world.



"They say when you die and go to heaven all the dogs and cats you've ever had in your life come running to meet you.



"Until that day, rest in peace, Cuddles."



Kinky Friedman
Medina, Texas
February 5, 1993

[Woz]

I have a great cat called Doyng Doyng (that's what happens when you let a 2 year old name your cat). Not much chance of him wandering too far as he is about the laziest animal on the planet and tends to wander between the food bowl, various sunny spots and the next door neighbours garden where he craps. Which is great as they have very long grass and 2 really annoying yappy dogs.
Has a relationship with our dog which borders on the weird- the dog will run up to him wagging her tail and the cat does the worst ever fighting you have seen attempting to scratch the dogs nose while not being bothered to get up off his arse. Then if they both find a sunny spot, you'll find the cat curled up between the dogs legs while they are both snoozing. Ahhhhhhhhhh...

[Foggy]

We've had a number of cats. The record for the longest abscence was about 8 months....no idea where it went, but it came running up to my wife in a park on the otherside of Horsham (not a small town!).

The worst was when a very dehydrated very thin cat returned after about a week or so-----suspect he got shut in a shed and drank something he shoudn't have.

The funniest was the crying child from the house down the street, asking if I'd seen her cat...."no, how long has it been missing"......its only just run off. "is it the one over there by the buddliea?"..no, "is it the one under the lilac?"...no, "is it that one in the shrubs by the pond?".....yes. Cat gives me a disgusted look for disturbing its rest, cat gives child a look of downright terror and then makes a run for its freedom.

Glad yours has returned. May I suggest that you have a long chat with it about crossing roads etc, the dangers of strangers etc, make sure it memorises its address, leaves you a note if its going out or gives you a call or something....well it works for children!


Paul

[turbanator]

Originally Posted by Foggy

The funniest was the crying child from the house down the street, asking if I'd seen her cat...."no, how long has it been missing"......its only just run off. "is it the one over there by the buddliea?"..no, "is it the one under the lilac?"...no, "is it that one in the shrubs by the pond?".....yes. Cat gives me a disgusted look for disturbing its rest, cat gives child a look of downright terror and then makes a run for its freedom.

Paul

I had a similar story when one of our budgies escaped.
Wife and I were walking up and down road calling for her, local woman saw us and asked what we were looking for, then said, "There's one in the tree over there, - what colour is yours?" - don't know how many she'd seen

r
Paul

[ian.smyth]

Glad to here you got your little bundle of fur back

[SCUBA Chick]

Originally Posted by Snash

"They say when you die and go to heaven all the dogs and cats you've ever had in your life come running to meet you.

Ssshhhhhhh, you'll set me off in a minute....
I can't bear to think of having to say goodbye to my 2 boys (p.s If you search for scubanut my 'boris' cat is his avator!!!)

Scubachick