Baby Philo

myboys15

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This post is about my sister's cat.


Last night around 12:30am my sister got up to use the bathroom. A few minutes later he husband got up too. Baby Philo was doing his usual dance around her husbands feet. Baby Philo got back into bed snuggled up with my sister, let out a cry and died. He was 7 years old. No warning, no symptoms, just a cry and he was gone. Her husband tried to do CPR, but it did not work. He leaves behind a 21 year old sister, a 7 year old brother and a large goofy 3 year old dog.

We are a family of furbabies so this is not the first time we experienced a death in the family.

My sister found Baby Philo in September of 2000. He was about 4 weeks old. She bottle fed him, helped him pee and poo, and raised him like he was her baby. She had just adopted a stay 2 month before, so now she had 2 boys only 2 months apart in age. He was the smallest little thing and then he became the biggest cat in the family. His tail was so long, I called him a lemur. If you went into the bathroom he would jump on the counter to get brushed. Actually he would be goofy in the sink until you brushed him. He would drool in my sisters hair and try to make a home in long hair, just like when he was a baby.

I still can not understand why he is gone. It is so sad and tragic. I consoled my sister for 2 hours last night. I reassured her that she was not to blame. It happened too sudden and there was nothing more that she could have done. I did not say and would never say that a trip to the dr could have prevented this, maybe. Her boy Boe was put to rest after a 5 year battle with feline sarcoma. She feels that the vet let her down. Boe had so much cancer and tissue removed that he had a permanent hole in his back. He lived for a year with a bandage around his shoulders and back. She does not trust vets or immunization, so she did not have her Baby Philo to a vet in over 4 years. I am not blaming her. I am writing this so that if other mommies have not taken their furbabies to the vet, to do it NOW! There are so many possibilities as to what could have cause Baby Philo's death and perhaps a visit to the vet could have helped him.

Baby Philo we will miss you and love you. I will miss your goofy sink time and your Baxter (dog) will miss kissing you.
 

rosiemac

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I'm so sorry for your sisters loss
To bottle feed him so young like she did would have made the bond with him even stronger
It's a shame she had a bad experience with the vet though


Play happily at the bridge Philo, from what i've read about you your going to be missed badly


________________________________________
 

kalikat

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That's so sad. I know how you are all feeling now. I lost my precious Border Collie after nearly 15 yrs., in February. She was the daughter I never had.
RIP Baby Philo.
 

tab

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that is a tragic tale. my heart goes out to your sister and her family.

RIP baby philo.
 

katz4life

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So sorry to hear about Philo
May sweet Philo rest in peace
 

mews2much

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So sorry about your Sisters Cat. My Dads Dog died the same way. He let her out to pee and she screamed and died. She never even left the porch. We think it was Heart Attack.
 

mrblanche

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We had a cat about that age that died fairly suddenly. The vet felt that it was probably some sort of stroke, but there was no way to be sure.

Our cats normally live well into their mid to late teens, so to have one die at 6 years was a real shock.
 
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myboys15

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Thank you all so much for your condolences. For him to be taken so suddenly is hardest. I spent all day yesterday and I am still at my sisters now helping her deal. It has not been easy. She refused to bury him. He died at 12:45 am and we finally got her to literally let go of him at 6:30pm. I am not sure if this is the place to talk about this but, it is horrible. To have to force my sister to bury her boy. To see her in so much pain, hurting and for her to think that he was purring when she was petting him. Dear God he was as hard as a rock and she was not letting go. At the funeral she asked me "are you sure he was not breathing?" I am so lost as to help her. She needs to grieve, but oh my the anguish is haunting.

I asked her if I could cut some fur off of Baby Philo to make a little "rememberence" picture. I did that when I lost my boy. Unfortunately, she does not have many pictures of Baby Philo, so she is hurting from that also.

What a nightmare she is going through. Thank you all for letting me vent. Please take pictures of your babies, take them to a vet..no one should ever have to live with this guilt. My sister made an appt to take her other boy to the vet. I am going with her today.

Bless you Baby Philo
you gave us so much happiness with your goofy ways.
 

catsknowme

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Condolences to you all at this tragic loss of Philo! I understand how difficult this is for all of you. At my brother's funeral, my mom told my sister to "just wake him up and let's go home now", which made things even difficult for my sis. Also, it was my brother's wish to be cremated and his ashes scattered over the Sierra, but none of us, esp. his widow, could bear the thought of cremation, so he was buried instead. These sudden losses are so difficult and can really catch us off-guard.
I am so glad that you are there for your sister during this difficult time. You are all in my prayers and thoughts tonight. Susan
 
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myboys15

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Attachment 12976

Baby philo telling his friend to back off

Attachment 12977

My sisters 3 babies eating dinner. The cat on the left is 20 years old and the grey one was also 7.

Thank you Susan for your story. I am sorry to read about your brother.

I wish that I could give my sister a picture of him.

 

laureen227

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when my first cat, Medley, died [i was probably about your sister's age at the time] i was with her. she'd been sick, but when she died i carried her into the kitchen, where my parents were. when i first carried her in, i was sure she was dead... then i thought i saw breathing. my dad got a stethoscope to listen, just to be certain. it helped me realize i had been right in the first place.
it's never easy when one of our little ones leaves us. maybe your sister would be comforted by some of the bridge poems & stories.
the rainbow bridge
choices
 

don don

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I wish I could have held my little boy and so I know how hard it must have been for her to let go. The pain she is suffering is real and dreadful, but it will ease ever so slowly for her. The emptiness will be the hardest, but eventually even that will ease. At least she has other furry bundles to hold onto. That will help too.
Rest in Peace Baby Philo and have fun playing with my Baby G.
 
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