MOSES . . . my beloved cat
Long story short, I had to have my beloved kitty Moses put down today. I am upset beyond words, I am heartbroken. He has been a constant companion to me and my husband for the past six years. When we got him, he was rescued from a home where all the animals (maybe 100) were removed. A friend adopted him, but within a few weeks found she couldn't keep him. Offered him to us and away we went. I christened him Moses from an old Joshua Kadison song (I couldn't see calling him Howie for the rest of his life). He so looked like a Moses, regal. . . proud. . . sure of himself. He was missing teeth, we never knew how old he was. To us, he was our baby. But, he already had the start of cataracts. . . so he couldn't have been too young. On the otherhand, he never acted old either.
He woke up early this morning crying as he tried to use the litter box. And it was the same all day. He even cried when he wasn't using it. And he was acting strange. Usually he followed me from room to room. When I cooked he would be at my feet, when I was on the computer, he would be at my feet, when we watched TV at night, he would snuggle in wackdaddys lap or mine. He cuddled when one of us would take a nap. . . and he slept with us in our bed every night. I'd say, Moses, let's go to bed and off he would go. At 5:30 when my husband got home from work, he would greet him at the door. Many times he would be at the door before I would be. What a good boy. . . what a special cat. He loved having company, the more the merrier. He loved other animals. He loved kids, he loved people. Birds he wanted to eat. Everything else he thought were there to visit with him. His tail would wag when he saw another cat out in our yard. I'd feed a stray or two and he would just watch and wag. As I said, best cat in the universe. Best pet I've had in my life. . . and I've had many. I guess maybe he rivaled the dog I grew up with as a child. I shall miss him for a very long time. And I think I'll cry for a very long time too.
I guess I got so carried away with my story I forgot to mention why I had to put him down. After my husband got home tonight (Wednesday) he too noticed how strange Moses was acting. So we took him to the vet. We were lucky to get him in. It was 5:30 p.m. and they were closing at 6. I only live down the street so we were there in less than ten minutes. Immediately upon examination, the vet said he had a enlarged bladder and either had a bladder infection or kidney stones. Took an X-ray. .. it was stones. Next step, some pain meds, some antibiotics, temp. X-ray showed the kidney stones. That was the worst of the two possibiities. He started to explain the situation, but I told him I already knew because my daughters cat had the same problem two years ago. After spending close to $3000 (and her husband had been out of work for over a year), I took out a care core credit card for them. They kept the cat at the hospital for two or three days. . . we brought him home, he never passed urine, had to bring him back after another day and have him put down. Vet explained the same thing was probable with Moses. . . so only $400 later, I decided that I couldn't lay out $3K with no hope. I rescued Moses, gave him six wonderful years and he returned the favor. What more could I do. We kissed him goodbye, cried our eyes out, and did it. Those stones were so big. . . he'd never have passed them on his own. As the vet explained the various scenerios, the $$$$$ kept adding up. He even went so far as to say that a treatment for a cat who gets kidney stones, they give them a sex-change operation to facilitate passing of the kidney stones in the future. Girls have shorter wider uretheas. . . who the hell knew. So here we are now without our wonderful boy. . . and it is tough.
He woke up early this morning crying as he tried to use the litter box. And it was the same all day. He even cried when he wasn't using it. And he was acting strange. Usually he followed me from room to room. When I cooked he would be at my feet, when I was on the computer, he would be at my feet, when we watched TV at night, he would snuggle in wackdaddys lap or mine. He cuddled when one of us would take a nap. . . and he slept with us in our bed every night. I'd say, Moses, let's go to bed and off he would go. At 5:30 when my husband got home from work, he would greet him at the door. Many times he would be at the door before I would be. What a good boy. . . what a special cat. He loved having company, the more the merrier. He loved other animals. He loved kids, he loved people. Birds he wanted to eat. Everything else he thought were there to visit with him. His tail would wag when he saw another cat out in our yard. I'd feed a stray or two and he would just watch and wag. As I said, best cat in the universe. Best pet I've had in my life. . . and I've had many. I guess maybe he rivaled the dog I grew up with as a child. I shall miss him for a very long time. And I think I'll cry for a very long time too.
I guess I got so carried away with my story I forgot to mention why I had to put him down. After my husband got home tonight (Wednesday) he too noticed how strange Moses was acting. So we took him to the vet. We were lucky to get him in. It was 5:30 p.m. and they were closing at 6. I only live down the street so we were there in less than ten minutes. Immediately upon examination, the vet said he had a enlarged bladder and either had a bladder infection or kidney stones. Took an X-ray. .. it was stones. Next step, some pain meds, some antibiotics, temp. X-ray showed the kidney stones. That was the worst of the two possibiities. He started to explain the situation, but I told him I already knew because my daughters cat had the same problem two years ago. After spending close to $3000 (and her husband had been out of work for over a year), I took out a care core credit card for them. They kept the cat at the hospital for two or three days. . . we brought him home, he never passed urine, had to bring him back after another day and have him put down. Vet explained the same thing was probable with Moses. . . so only $400 later, I decided that I couldn't lay out $3K with no hope. I rescued Moses, gave him six wonderful years and he returned the favor. What more could I do. We kissed him goodbye, cried our eyes out, and did it. Those stones were so big. . . he'd never have passed them on his own. As the vet explained the various scenerios, the $$$$$ kept adding up. He even went so far as to say that a treatment for a cat who gets kidney stones, they give them a sex-change operation to facilitate passing of the kidney stones in the future. Girls have shorter wider uretheas. . . who the hell knew. So here we are now without our wonderful boy. . . and it is tough.