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Today I said good-bye....
to my dear friend of 18 years. Sadly, I made the tough decision to have my senior cat, Figaroe, put to sleep today.
I rescued Figaroe 18 years ago from a cat hoarding situation in my community. I came across an elderly couple that had over 40 cats/kittens at their house. It was a horrible situation. They agreed to allow me to adopt two kittens and while there I spied this adorable black and white kitten who was full of life romping in their front yard. I asked if I could adopt him and Mrs. G immediately said "NO!" A few days later I returned to pick up the two kittens I had selected when Mrs. G met me at the gate cradling a kitten in her hands. She thrust this kitten at me and said "here you can have this one" , it was the kitten I had asked about just days earlier. However, he was in terrible shape - eyes matted shut with green discharge, mucus streaming from his nostrils and yet he managed to purr when I took him. After much nursing he grew into a beautiful cat who made me laugh every chance he could. I told people he was a clown dressed in a cat suit. Figaroe fit right into my household guiding all the newbies I would adopt over the years.
His love of eating just about killed him several years ago when he knocked my dog's pill box to the floor and ate several 100mg chew able Rimadyl tablets. I immediately called my vet/best friend who told me "you're f**cked". The outlook was not good. We hooked him up to IV fluids and worked to flush his system. Figaroe responded well and a couple of days later he was back home entertaining me. The years rolled by and we all grew a little older. Figaroe was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and had an allergic reaction to the tapazole we were treating his thyroid disease with. He, however, responded well to the radioactive iodine treatment and again he returned home to assume his niche. He than became hypothyroid and we worked to find his dose of thyroid medicine. A few more years rolled by and he developed IBD - minor compared to his past issues.
A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with renal failure and we worked to find the right treatment to preserve his failing kidneys. Recently he began howling day and night we attributed to "kitty Alzheimer's" but now I think it was the sinister mass growing in his intestines. Last night was a bad night for my buddy so I curled up on the floor with him in office he finally settled down and fell asleep on my pillow. I had that sinking feeling. I dropped him off at the clinic on the way to work and my best friend/vet was not optimistic. She x-rayed him and called to tell me there was a large mass in his descending colon. So this afternoon DH and I said our good-byes, hugged him, kissed him and let him cross the Rainbow Bridge.
My heart breaks, my soul cries and yet I know how blessed I was to be able to have this tiny black and white kitten worm his way into my heart 18 years ago. I know how blessed I was to be able to share 18 wonderful years with Figaroe purring in my lap. He will be missed. Thank you Fig for all the joy you brought me, go in peace my friend your buddies were there to greet you at the bridge this afternoon.
