I first wrote in this blog about 2 years ago. It was also the last time until today. I meant to keep up, but recovery from caring for my parents took longer than I expected. What brought me here today is the probable loss of Toonces the Cat. He came to me after my parents had to move to a nursing home, in late June of 2010. My parents lived there less than 6 months before their deaths, one day apart.
Toonces was a grumpy old man. He was 12 when he came to live with me in June of 2010. He had been living a life of food & sleeping in hidden places. He was not a happy cat & all I knew of him was that he was nasty & he bit. He was also quite overweight. But I agreed to take him so my mother would move to the nursing home.
He spent his first month sitting at the top of the stairs. He was afraid to come into the living room. He would skulk in occasionally but leave just as fast. Gradually he became braver & finally found his way to my chair to sit on my lap. He became quite a love - a perfect cat for a knitter, really, because he was loving & affectionate & was not interested in my yarn, although he did like to lick the plastic covering my patterns. We developed quite a routine.
He would join me at my computer table in my office. I was surprised he could just so high. Eventually I had to put a chair next to the table because, as he got a little older, he could not jump quite so high. He found a new use for my yarn winder which is attached to my computer table. He made it his personal face scratcher. And he would purr & purr & purr while I was at my computer. He also liked it when I printed documents because they were warm and he would sit on them.
He loved sitting in my lap & I loved that also. I was especially fond when he would lay his head sideways on my chest & let me scratch his cheek or stroke his ears. This is the best part of having a cat. I would fall asleep on my recliner & he would sleep with me. Last winter, when I would leave my chair he would jump right up into it & would not leave. In the summer he slept at the top of the stairs - probably the coolest place in the house. I placed a memory foam bathmat there for him & he made it his own.
This winter he did not exclusively sleep in my chair when I was gone. He had discovered many other places. Just recently I moved my couch to the window so he would have a nice place to sleep & enjoy the sun. He found the perfect spot & often I would come out & there he was, king of the living room.
He is a smart cat. A handsome cat with beautiful gray fur.
And while I was writing this the vet called & I left to say goodbye. I got there too late. He died about 1am today. He was fine at 6pm, on my computer desk purring like mad. He was purring so much I almost called my daughter so she could hear him. I fed him & gave him fresh water & then he came to see me eat. Then about 8:30 pm while I was watching tv I heard a noise, turned off the sound & didn't like the noise. He was lying on his side on his memory foam mat, gagging & trying to lift his head. There was something really wrong. I called my friend Porter who has 3 current cats & she advised me to call the emergency animal hospital. She even got me the number. Then she came over with her cat carrier & took me to the clinic. Toonces got sick at 8:30 pm on 11/28/12 & we were there by 9pm. The vet examined him & said she thought he had thrown a blood clot. She was very caring but very direct & said when this happens, cats generally don't live long, especially older cats. Maybe not through the night.
After consulting with her & my friend, I decided not to do many tests, but to leave him there to see how he did overnight. His front paws were so cold. I gave him love & kisses & petted him & told him I loved him & said goodbye. They placed him in an incubator to warm him up & I kissed him again. Then I went home.
I cried & researched the disorder & called my daughter, the cat lover, & cried some more. And did some more research. Then I decided to write about this wonderful cat. The call came just after 1am.
He was a wonderful cat. He became my buddy, my pal, and was such a love. I will miss him so.
