Merlin cat has joined his sister, Ford
Our big cat, Merlin, went on to join his sister early Thursday morning. We lost Ford just 17 days ago and to lose her brother so soon is breaking our hearts.
Merlin and Ford were littermates. Merlin was the first-born, which is appropriate, as he was always adventurous. When our friends put the kittens on the kitchen table to show them to us, Merlin promptly started scrambling across the table. He didn't even have his eyes open yet, and he wanted to explore the world.
Merlin had a big "M" marking on his forward. Our friends had another cat named "Gandalf," so they kept the mage theme and thought "Merlin" was the right name to go with his markings.
I picked Merlin, and Ford picked Marie. Marie took them to keep her company, as we weren't yet living together at the time. At first they looked alike, but Merlin grew larger than his sister.
When I moved in Merlin saw me as an interloper. He was jealous that I was taking some of Marie's attention. He'd let me know who was in charge by randomly coming up to me when I was on the floor watching TV to bite my hand. He wouldn't break the skin, but wanted to express dominance. We later reached an understanding and got along better.
When Marie got home from work Merlin would great her at the door. He'd sit with her on her lap or on the couch next to her while she read or watched TV. He didn't talk as much as his sister, but would give us each little "Mrmhps" as greetings. We also called him "Merfin" for the sound he'd make.
Merlin loved to play with the birdie-on-a-stick. We'd take turns casting the birdie in front of each cat. Merlin would do back flips and leap in the air to catch the birdie. He also loved his little blue foam ball. One time I saw the ball was across the room and said, "Merlin, get the ball." He promptly walked over, retrieved the ball in his teeth, and brought it to me. He must have decided not to set a precedent that he'd take commands though, as he never did it again. Either that or he didn't want us to know he understood English.
He also loved his little yellow stuffed fishie. We'd put catnap on it and he'd roll around with it. Even without the catnap he'd often hold it or sleep with it.
Merlin had his quirks: We used to keep Marie's bike in our bedroom and Merlin loved to lick the spokes. We never figured out why, as the bike hadn't been outside in years, and there should have been nothing on the spokes to interest a cat. Whenever there was a thunderstorm he'd get amorous and attack Ford. They were both fixed and Ford wasn't really receptive, so she'd smack him. We don't know what it was about thunderstorms that set him off. A year or so ago he started taking showers. He'd go into the shower stall and ask us to turn on the water. He'd then stand under the water, lick a little from the floor, and usually plop down on the tile. When we'd turn off the water he'd sit there for a minute or two, then leave and groom his wet fur back into shape.
Merlin loved to eat. He was an omnivore cat. He especially loved bread products. We had to keep our bread and hamburger buns in the only "Merlin free zone" on top of the file cabinet as he'd jump on the kitchen counter to nibble through the plastic to get the tasty bread. He also loved chocolate chip cookies. He'd jump on the table, steal a cookie in his mouth, and then jump down to eat it in solitude. He also tried apples and potatoes. We saw him knock a potato off the counter, pounce on it when it started to roll, and then take a big bite to kill his "prey."
He was a large cat. We put him on many diets, with mixed success. At his heaviest he was 20 pounds, but was thinner the last few years. When he wanted breakfast he'd come in the bedroom and whack the clock with his paw until we woke up or he knocked it off the table.
Merlin's mottos were, "Be adventurous. Try new things. Enjoy your food."
Merlin was fairly healthy most of his life. He did have allergies, and had a problem with lip ulcers for a while, but those were both successfully treated. He developed mega colon a few years ago, but was on daily meds that kept it under control. Surprisingly, considering how much he ate, he never developed diabetes.
We took Merlin in for a checkup about a month ago. His kidney values were a little high, but not alarmingly so. The vet said we'd want to monitor them, and, in the meantime, see if he could lose a little weight. When Ford died a week or so later Merlin's appetite dropped off. We thought he was mourning. He may have been, but it may have also been a sign of the kidney disease.
He was very weak on Wednesday and we took him to the emergency vet Wednesday night. He had severe kidney disease and one kidney was completely non-functional. Unfortunately, he also had cardiac problems and, as we learned with Ford, you can't usually treat both kidney disease and heart disease in cats at the same time. We took him home and had almost 24 hours with him. We cuddled him and he purred and snuggled us. When he started having trouble breathing we took him to the vet and let him go. He was comfortable and calm at the end, which is all we could ask.
We miss them both terribly.
Merlin
