Quote:
Originally Posted by kindlekitten
Bast has called one of her own home. farewell Maa-Lii
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I've had to go through that.
My late cat Dizzy suffered kidney failure. The problem with that in cats is that by the time the cat shows symptoms, it's too late to treat it. The vet said "You can do things like force fluids into him to flush his system and keep him alive for another 6 months, but I don't think that's a good life for him
or you." I agreed, and had him euthanized. It was years ago, and I still miss him. Seven years old is way too young for that.
Our late cat Bugsy the Part Time Cat was a somewhat different story. He got his name because he was more or less the floor cat for several floors of my building, spending part of his time with an assortment of tenents.. He had a nominal owner, but made the rounds getting attention and handouts. He wasn't a mooch, however: handouts were payment for services rendered, as he was an expert mouser, and I live in an older building that has them. He was neutered, but not till well after puberty, so he retained typical tomcat behavior, including prowling the neighborhood and getting into fights with other cats, until he got on in years and started losing them.
He seemed to decide we were his people, and stayed with us when not making his rounds. He'd bring us catches to show off his prowess. Sometimes they were still alive, and would occasionally get away from him. He didn't normally eat them, but would when that happened and he caught them again, in an apparent mood of "You won't get away
this time, you little @#$%&! I'm gonna
eat you!" He once left a mouse carcass on Kat's pillow. She was unmoved by my protests that "Hey, you're his
person! He
loves you! If he had two dead mice, he'd give you one. In fact, he
did!"
Our neighbor across the hall had a delicate neutered male Siamese named Maxie. Maxie was dainty, pretty, and extravagantly stupid. He'd been observed to retreat in confusion from a mouse. He and Bugsy were friends, and I could only describe the relationship as "They're a gay couple, and Bugsy is the top and Maxie is the bottom." Maxie needed regular discipline from his top, and would do things to provoke it. One afternoon Bugsy was napping on our bed. We left the door ajar for the cat, and Maxie wandered in, looking for Bugsy. He hopped up on the bed, pasdded over to where Bugsy was sleeping, and yowled loudly. Bugsy levitated about two feet. He then frog-marched Maxie into the hall by the scruff of his neck and proceeded to mount him, while Maxie yowled and frantically tried to lick Bugsy. Then they broke apart, with Maxie staggering off like he'd just been screwed bowlegged, Bugsy with a look of "Guess I showed
that bottom!", and both suddenly started licking little pink erections. This happened again every half hour or so for the rest of the afternoon, as Bugsy recalled again just how his bottom had misbehaved
this time. Maxie actually acted like a cat for about 20 minutes after a session of discipline.
Bugsy developed a growth on his belly. The vet said, "If he were a younger cat, I'd open him up and look, but he's about 14 and it's risky. Feed him his favorite treats, give him lots of affection, and when he declines too far, bring him in." We did so, but he did not go gentle into this good might. A week before being euthanized, he caught and ate his last mouse.
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Dennis