My beloved cat Figaro is doing very poorly, and I'm sobbing and can't stop and feel like a real wimp to say nothing of a poor example for my kids but I love this cat so.
thank you was just shy of 3 when we got Figs. thank you picked him out and named him (can you tell "Pinocchio" was the video of the day then?). Figs was about 2 months old when we got him - all black except white feet, tuxedo shirt, and whiskers. Skinny thing, but tall even then. Such a good cat from the start.
A week after we got him, I found out I was preggo with- Wee, and got all that well-intentioned advice about cats smothering babies. I have to admit that Figs did sleep on one of my kids' heads but he slept there like he was this big cat hat. I would walk in in the mornings and there Boo would be, just grinning away, with Figaro gently curled around the top of his head. It was the cutest thing. I almost think Figs was guarding Boo, as he was having some medical problems at the time.
Figs was pure feline. The first time he brought me a gift (live bird), I was just horrified. But he was a hunter, and darn good at it. He used to wait for a door to be opened and then he'd scoot right outside. husband spent so many nights those years in WA searching for our cat. I would worry that Figs was going to get run over and husband, being the good man that he is, would get the bowl of cat food and roam all over the neighborhood, rattling the food in the bowl and calling Figs' name.
We got a tortoise shell cat a couple years later, Furball. She and Figs would just tear after each other all over our house. We called them the kamikaze kitties. Up the couch, across the love seat, around the rec. room, then back again. It was a riot.
We moved to CA in '96. The cats did just fine with the move until... one day Figs headed out an opened door and didn't come back. We were living up in the Sierra foothills, had only been there a couple of weeks, and with each passing day that he was gone, I was sure he had lost his way or been eaten by a wild critter. I was devastated, and husband was seriously in the dog house because he'd been the one who'd accidently let Figs out. Over 2 weeks later, I heard a meowing at our back door and sure enough, old Figs had come home. I'd give a limb or two to know what he'd been doing those 2 weeks. He'd lost a ton of weight but other than that seemed to be okay. We wonder if he'd gotten trapped in someone's weekend home garage or something - wherever he was, it cured him of his wanderlust. I think he's wandered outside twice since then.
Figs didn't really meow. He had a deep sound he made, almost like a baby lion roar. Oh, and his purr - I swear he had an engine in him. He would rub up against us until we let him sit in our laps and then just purr and rumble and vibrate. I've never heard a purr like his. He used to drive husband and me crazy because he'd sit by the shower waiting for us to get out and then rub himself against our legs, leaving tons of black fur. It was a daily routine for him.
At his prime, he was just huge - over 23 pounds, not much of it excess fat. Just this big fluffy black thing. When we moved into this house, he wandered it for days, doing his lion roar. I think it was because there had been a dog here before and he wanted to make sure that the house knew that *he* was the king now.
He's been a pretty tolerant cat. He survived thank you. Furball left us in CA, but when we got Elsie and Soda 7 years ago, he would put up with their kitten play until he couldn't take it any longer and then he would give them a smack on the head (claws in). He and Soda ended up becoming pretty close - they would spoon and groom each other.
He's been declining the last 2 years or so. Gradual weight loss, not much energy. I think his joints have been aching too. But still our Figs. Last spring he got the wandering meows - would walk from room to room, stop, meow a few times, then go to another room and repeat. Vet said it's kind of a cat Alzheimer's. He stopped grooming himself about then too. Got a nasty tooth infection the beginning of the summer but rallied a bit with- the antibiotics.
We've been giving him special food to try to keep him strong and he is still eating, but I realized yesterday that I hadn't seen him get up since the weekend. I had a gotten a special cat pad for him that is supposed to absorb his body heat and reflect it - thought it would help his joints. We've been bringing his food to him for a while now but he would still get up to go to the cat box... but no more. He seems to only be peeing now.
I cleaned him up last night, got a new fluffy blanket for him to lay on, and I slept next to him all night.
I'm horribly conflicted about putting an animal down - always have been. Figs doesn't seem to be uncomfortable and ... this cat is older than 2 of my kids. He's the first animal who has owned me, heart and soul, and while the rational side of me says death is part of life, I'm just heartbroken that his time has come. This beloved cat has provided so much joy and comfort though the years. I want to do right by him.
So... I guess I'll buck up and be an adult about this. Will call the vet this morning so she can take a look at him. I need to try to find thank you too, since Figs has been "his" cat. We had already talked about what thank you's wishes are - he doesn't want Figs to suffer. He's expressed the wish to be here but... I don't know if that's possible. difficult child issues.
I'm sorry for rambling so much but I just needed to share this with someone. husband, while being a good man, is rather unemotional about all this. It kinda ticks me off... not really, I've been with- the man 22 years now, I get how he works, but... I don't know.
If you could hold a good thought for my much loved cat, I'd appreciate it. He's really just been the best of the best.
thank you was just shy of 3 when we got Figs. thank you picked him out and named him (can you tell "Pinocchio" was the video of the day then?). Figs was about 2 months old when we got him - all black except white feet, tuxedo shirt, and whiskers. Skinny thing, but tall even then. Such a good cat from the start.
A week after we got him, I found out I was preggo with- Wee, and got all that well-intentioned advice about cats smothering babies. I have to admit that Figs did sleep on one of my kids' heads but he slept there like he was this big cat hat. I would walk in in the mornings and there Boo would be, just grinning away, with Figaro gently curled around the top of his head. It was the cutest thing. I almost think Figs was guarding Boo, as he was having some medical problems at the time.
Figs was pure feline. The first time he brought me a gift (live bird), I was just horrified. But he was a hunter, and darn good at it. He used to wait for a door to be opened and then he'd scoot right outside. husband spent so many nights those years in WA searching for our cat. I would worry that Figs was going to get run over and husband, being the good man that he is, would get the bowl of cat food and roam all over the neighborhood, rattling the food in the bowl and calling Figs' name.
We got a tortoise shell cat a couple years later, Furball. She and Figs would just tear after each other all over our house. We called them the kamikaze kitties. Up the couch, across the love seat, around the rec. room, then back again. It was a riot.
We moved to CA in '96. The cats did just fine with the move until... one day Figs headed out an opened door and didn't come back. We were living up in the Sierra foothills, had only been there a couple of weeks, and with each passing day that he was gone, I was sure he had lost his way or been eaten by a wild critter. I was devastated, and husband was seriously in the dog house because he'd been the one who'd accidently let Figs out. Over 2 weeks later, I heard a meowing at our back door and sure enough, old Figs had come home. I'd give a limb or two to know what he'd been doing those 2 weeks. He'd lost a ton of weight but other than that seemed to be okay. We wonder if he'd gotten trapped in someone's weekend home garage or something - wherever he was, it cured him of his wanderlust. I think he's wandered outside twice since then.
Figs didn't really meow. He had a deep sound he made, almost like a baby lion roar. Oh, and his purr - I swear he had an engine in him. He would rub up against us until we let him sit in our laps and then just purr and rumble and vibrate. I've never heard a purr like his. He used to drive husband and me crazy because he'd sit by the shower waiting for us to get out and then rub himself against our legs, leaving tons of black fur. It was a daily routine for him.
At his prime, he was just huge - over 23 pounds, not much of it excess fat. Just this big fluffy black thing. When we moved into this house, he wandered it for days, doing his lion roar. I think it was because there had been a dog here before and he wanted to make sure that the house knew that *he* was the king now.
He's been a pretty tolerant cat. He survived thank you. Furball left us in CA, but when we got Elsie and Soda 7 years ago, he would put up with their kitten play until he couldn't take it any longer and then he would give them a smack on the head (claws in). He and Soda ended up becoming pretty close - they would spoon and groom each other.
He's been declining the last 2 years or so. Gradual weight loss, not much energy. I think his joints have been aching too. But still our Figs. Last spring he got the wandering meows - would walk from room to room, stop, meow a few times, then go to another room and repeat. Vet said it's kind of a cat Alzheimer's. He stopped grooming himself about then too. Got a nasty tooth infection the beginning of the summer but rallied a bit with- the antibiotics.
We've been giving him special food to try to keep him strong and he is still eating, but I realized yesterday that I hadn't seen him get up since the weekend. I had a gotten a special cat pad for him that is supposed to absorb his body heat and reflect it - thought it would help his joints. We've been bringing his food to him for a while now but he would still get up to go to the cat box... but no more. He seems to only be peeing now.
I cleaned him up last night, got a new fluffy blanket for him to lay on, and I slept next to him all night.
I'm horribly conflicted about putting an animal down - always have been. Figs doesn't seem to be uncomfortable and ... this cat is older than 2 of my kids. He's the first animal who has owned me, heart and soul, and while the rational side of me says death is part of life, I'm just heartbroken that his time has come. This beloved cat has provided so much joy and comfort though the years. I want to do right by him.
So... I guess I'll buck up and be an adult about this. Will call the vet this morning so she can take a look at him. I need to try to find thank you too, since Figs has been "his" cat. We had already talked about what thank you's wishes are - he doesn't want Figs to suffer. He's expressed the wish to be here but... I don't know if that's possible. difficult child issues.
I'm sorry for rambling so much but I just needed to share this with someone. husband, while being a good man, is rather unemotional about all this. It kinda ticks me off... not really, I've been with- the man 22 years now, I get how he works, but... I don't know.
If you could hold a good thought for my much loved cat, I'd appreciate it. He's really just been the best of the best.
