Just you and me now, Bud...
She was a fighter till the end. Fuzzum always was a scrappy little princess of a cat.
She was brought into my home as a dumpster refugee. She was a beautiful mostly-black calico with rather long, lush fur - a beautiful girl, with a beautiful disposition. She took to strangers as another curiosity, and accepted lovin's from just about anyone. She chirped more than meowed. She was my oddball who loved the smell of toothpaste (when she was younger, she sometimes tried to crawl INTO my mouth to get it), would bite my fingers if they had catnip on them, and also went nuts over the smell of bleach. (There were a couple of other very weird things about her that are TMI for this journal!)
One of my fondest memories about her was back in about 1996 or 97. I was living alone in a small townhouse, a rather oldish building, and the bathroom had ceramic tile on the floors and walls and a porcelain tub. One morning, taking a shower, I was singing, and you can imagine the sound in that room with all that tile. I think I was singing Chain Reaction, and next thing I know I hear Fuzzum whining with concern on the other side of the curtain. She actually looked around the end of the curtain to make sure I was ok, and kept whining as long as I kept singing - and I took the hint that she didn't like my voice. I guess my singing voice wasn't what she wanted to hear that day....I'm so going to miss her. It's already weird to get out of the shower and not have her pacing her long-haired body around my wet legs - she thought I needed fur.
The sub-Q fluids had been going rather well over the past week or so - Fuzzum not only tolerated them, but could be found in the bathroom waiting for me in the evenings, so she knew they helped. Wednesday I didn't get to the vet in time, and ran out, so I picked up the new bag Thursday and came home to administer them at lunch time. At dinner that night she came back to the dish for 2nds and 3rds, but each was still only a small amount. I drew the line at force-feedings, but I had tried the suggested 1/2 Pepcid to help her nausea. Fuzz didn't appreciate it, though, and after several days of trying to do this alone and getting scratched (and aggravated), I decided that wasn't the way for a dignified kitty to spend the end of her days. Either way, her condition was terminal, it was just a matter of how much time there was left, which was dependent upon whether she would eat, which she did less and less of. (I did try a homeopathic supplement, but she detested it, and since it was made from fish oil, it made her smell like a fish market that hadn't been cleaned in some time because of course she got it on her fur. Even the blankets where she layed still smell like fish, and they've been washed twice.) By Friday night into Saturday, she ate less gravy and walked away from kitten food. Sunday she was so weak, she couldn't even get up to use the litter box. She did change rooms a few times, but she swayed and wobbled, and I felt I had let it go on too long.
On Saturday and Sunday night, we had some cuddle time. Sunday afternoon she finally slept some, resting her forehead on my hand, at least until I had to move. Sunday night, she stretched out lengthwise on my chest, put one paw on each side of my neck, and touched my face gently - I think she was saying "I love you mom - I know you tried." Then she got up and tried to eat again, but couldn't bring herself to take a bite - and I knew it was time.
Back in April, this was the cat that even the vet thought looked fine. She wanted blood work on Bud, not Fuzzum. This isn't supposed to be happening!
Poor Bud - he's a loner now. I'm debating getting him a kitten to keep him company, but though he's still pretty spunky, I'm afraid a kitten would either drive him nuts or make him feel he's being replaced. On the other hand, I'm afraid he'll become depressed spending all of his days alone here in the house. I don't quite know what to do with that situation yet.
::sigh:: Last year's Christmas videos showed 4 cats. Now I have one. I think Bud's happy having me all to himself, until I have to leave for work.
Fuzzum, I hope you have bleached sheets to roll in and fields of catnip to chew on. I hope I will see you and your adopted sisters again someday. I miss *all* of my girls terribly.
She was brought into my home as a dumpster refugee. She was a beautiful mostly-black calico with rather long, lush fur - a beautiful girl, with a beautiful disposition. She took to strangers as another curiosity, and accepted lovin's from just about anyone. She chirped more than meowed. She was my oddball who loved the smell of toothpaste (when she was younger, she sometimes tried to crawl INTO my mouth to get it), would bite my fingers if they had catnip on them, and also went nuts over the smell of bleach. (There were a couple of other very weird things about her that are TMI for this journal!)
One of my fondest memories about her was back in about 1996 or 97. I was living alone in a small townhouse, a rather oldish building, and the bathroom had ceramic tile on the floors and walls and a porcelain tub. One morning, taking a shower, I was singing, and you can imagine the sound in that room with all that tile. I think I was singing Chain Reaction, and next thing I know I hear Fuzzum whining with concern on the other side of the curtain. She actually looked around the end of the curtain to make sure I was ok, and kept whining as long as I kept singing - and I took the hint that she didn't like my voice. I guess my singing voice wasn't what she wanted to hear that day....I'm so going to miss her. It's already weird to get out of the shower and not have her pacing her long-haired body around my wet legs - she thought I needed fur.
The sub-Q fluids had been going rather well over the past week or so - Fuzzum not only tolerated them, but could be found in the bathroom waiting for me in the evenings, so she knew they helped. Wednesday I didn't get to the vet in time, and ran out, so I picked up the new bag Thursday and came home to administer them at lunch time. At dinner that night she came back to the dish for 2nds and 3rds, but each was still only a small amount. I drew the line at force-feedings, but I had tried the suggested 1/2 Pepcid to help her nausea. Fuzz didn't appreciate it, though, and after several days of trying to do this alone and getting scratched (and aggravated), I decided that wasn't the way for a dignified kitty to spend the end of her days. Either way, her condition was terminal, it was just a matter of how much time there was left, which was dependent upon whether she would eat, which she did less and less of. (I did try a homeopathic supplement, but she detested it, and since it was made from fish oil, it made her smell like a fish market that hadn't been cleaned in some time because of course she got it on her fur. Even the blankets where she layed still smell like fish, and they've been washed twice.) By Friday night into Saturday, she ate less gravy and walked away from kitten food. Sunday she was so weak, she couldn't even get up to use the litter box. She did change rooms a few times, but she swayed and wobbled, and I felt I had let it go on too long.
On Saturday and Sunday night, we had some cuddle time. Sunday afternoon she finally slept some, resting her forehead on my hand, at least until I had to move. Sunday night, she stretched out lengthwise on my chest, put one paw on each side of my neck, and touched my face gently - I think she was saying "I love you mom - I know you tried." Then she got up and tried to eat again, but couldn't bring herself to take a bite - and I knew it was time.
Back in April, this was the cat that even the vet thought looked fine. She wanted blood work on Bud, not Fuzzum. This isn't supposed to be happening!
Poor Bud - he's a loner now. I'm debating getting him a kitten to keep him company, but though he's still pretty spunky, I'm afraid a kitten would either drive him nuts or make him feel he's being replaced. On the other hand, I'm afraid he'll become depressed spending all of his days alone here in the house. I don't quite know what to do with that situation yet.
::sigh:: Last year's Christmas videos showed 4 cats. Now I have one. I think Bud's happy having me all to himself, until I have to leave for work.
Fuzzum, I hope you have bleached sheets to roll in and fields of catnip to chew on. I hope I will see you and your adopted sisters again someday. I miss *all* of my girls terribly.