Twelve Years

This is a tough post to make. I don't know where to start. Maybe the beginning.

Twelve years ago, my husband at the time called and asked me to come to his workplace. When I got there, he showed me three little kittens. A white one, a silver calico and a striped tabby. Of course they're all adorable! I'm a cat lover. I chose to take the white one, but my ex said he wanted to take all three of them. OH! That was a surprise! He was the one who always seemed to complain about spending and I reminded him of the expenses of a new kitten, but he was adamant about taking on all three. Me, being the cat lady that I am, wasn't going to argue with him, lol. 

So, home they all came. Initially referred to as "The Three Amigos", even though one of them was an Amiga, 😁 they quickly adapted to their new home. Kittens are so much fun! They still needed names, though. That evening, after dinner, they were playing in the box they came home in and we decided to name them. The white kitten was easy. He became Casper, as in, 

🎵Casper, the friendly ghost. The friendly ghost was he!🎵, 

which he ended up loving and I would frequently sing it to him. 

The striped kitten was a little on the clumsy side as he tried to keep up with Casper. He became George, as in Brendan Fraser's 

"George, George, George of the Jungle, watch out for that treeee!". 

It really fit him good!

The last kitten, the little silver calico was the most difficult to pick a name for. I had never seen a calico like her and, honestly, I thought she was a little on the ugly side at first. AT FIRST. So, after much thought, she became Fiona, as in the Princess/Ogre from the Shrek series. She has become a wonderful companion and I tend to call for her in a sing-song kind of way, 

🎵Fi-fi-ona🎵. 

She responds well to her name. 

This blog will be mostly about Casper. He became the favorite, sorry kitties. You are very much loved, too. I'll talk about you in a bit.

Casper is very inquisitive and adventurous. Sometimes getting himself into trouble. The worst trouble came when he was about three months old. All three were scheduled for a procedure. I was getting ready to take them. It was early morning. The kittens were hungry and thirsty as food and water had been withheld after midnight. They were running and jumping all over the place. Little furry pogo sticks, lol. I love kittens! 

I decided to empty my bladder one more time before we left. As I lifted the lid, SPLASH!! Casper was going to jump on the toilet seat, but instead ended up IN the toilet! Thank God the water was clean! I quickly grabbed him and dried him off. I honestly think we're talking seconds between the splash and me snatching him out as he was barely wet! Needless to say, he actually took a minute to look and make sure the lid was down from then on...

Their procedure all went off without a hitch - or so we thought. That night, my ex called for me to come to the livingroom. He said Casper was coughing. I checked him out and couldn't find a cause for the cough, so I decided to just keep an eye on him. A few hours later, he called for me again. He said it seemed like Casper was gasping for air. We decided to take him to the emergency clinic at the north end of the next town over.

After what seemed like forever and a ridiculous amount of time spent outlining the cost of each and every step, I was beyond frustrated and crying and yelling, "I don't care about the cost! Just help him, he's dying! Give him a shot of Lasix to get the water out of his lungs!" And finally, after letting us know about the cost of Lasix and me again yelling, "I don't care about the cost! Just help him, he's dying!", they gave him a shot and wrote a prescription for an antibiotic, we were on our way back home. With Casper. It was a sleepless night, but he made it. And after a couple of days on the antibiotic, he was back to his normal kitten self. Thank God! 🙏

Fast forward ten years, Casper has been a healthy cat. Growing, playing, sleeping, doing all things C.A.T... Until he was around ten and urinary crystals started to form. Poor kitty. He was in so much pain, but we got through it and I kept him on Iams for Urinary Tract Health and we never had anymore problems with that.

TWELVE YEARS OLD 

Both of my cats are considered "senior" now. Well, if you count me too, that's three of us. One day a few weeks ago, Casper was sick to his stomach, but it seemed to pass, even though nothing seemed to come of it. I decided to keep an eye on him. It's not unusual for a cat to cough up a fur ball or two.

Casper seemed to be doing alright. He was eating and drinking like normal, anticipating the ice cubes I would put in his water bowl every morning. 

From time to time, he would let me put him on my talking scale. He would sit ever so still until he'd hear, "Your weight is XX.x pounds". Once she stopped talking, he knew he could get off the scale. One day I was surprised to hear that he was 16lbs. Which was actually normal for him, but several months before, he had gained and was up to 19lbs. So, when he had lost those three extra pounds, I really didn't think anything about it, but vowed to keep an eye on him for any symptoms that might be concerning. 

Everything went fast shortly after that. He seemed to be sleeping under my bed more than usual and he didn't seem to be eating like he had been. One morning as he was walking towards me, I caught a visual of him that I hadn't seen before. The distinction between his rib cage and his back end was surprising! He looked too skinny!

I didn't know where to go. The vet we had always used had retired and after a while, the practice was taken over by someone else who, later on, had sold the practice and the building was empty. 

I found this Clinic in town who, as it turns out, was not a full service veterinarian, but was kind enough to take a look at him. He was severely dehydrated, and down to 13lbs now, so they drew some blood and gave him a bag of fluids. The vet was extremely worried about him. As was I. She reminded me again that they weren't a full service clinic and she wasn't able to hospitalize him and I honestly couldn't afford to have him hospitalized any way. I hate money! But, that's a story for another time. So I brought him home. 

The Vet Clinic called back the next day. Casper's bloodwork showed that he was in severe kidney failure. There was no turning back at this point. He was getting weaker, although he never complained. He would meow at me, as if reminding me he was still there and not to forget the ice cubes in his water bowl.

<sigh> My stomach burns at this part. It was time. I held Casper and choked back tears. I told him how much I loved him and what a good kitty he had been. One of the girls from the Vet Clinic came by and picked him up. I had struggled greatly, trying not to fall the other day as I was leaving their facility, walking back to my car, between the kennel and my oxygen tank, so they offered to pick up Casper on their way into work the next day. They were truly a blessing. And I am so grateful for all they did to help Casper. 

My buddy Casper has moved on to "Rainbow Bridge", where he has been restored to health and vigor. I miss him more than words can say. I know he's in a better place, but my heart is grieving him. I love you so very much, Casper, my friendly ghost. Fiona and I will always hold your memory close to our hearts. Until we meet again, my buddy.