Me & My Kitty

Hey all! I joined this sight so that I can talk about my kitty. He is 14 1/2 years old...and as big a baby as ever. Anyway, my vet keeps giving him months to live, and each time he beats the odds! However, I know that cannot happen forever, and when his time finally comes...I'm gonna be devastated. I figured that on this sight I can read your stories and share some of my own, and then maybe I won't take it as hard.

I got my kitty on May 1, 2000. I was 12 (7 days away from 13!) years old and so happy to finally live in a house where we could have non caged pets. My Dad managed a Linen plant at the time, and as you can imagine, a building full of clean warm linen is a huge attractant for many cats. Smokey's mama was no exception, and he was born in the plant. A few weeks later, she got hit by one of the trucks, and so my Dad rounded up her kittens and brought one home to me. At three weeks old he was so tiny, and not at all weened. I fed him with mother's milk and an eye dropper every two hours. Needless to say, I became his Mama and he my baby boy.

I love the fact that my kitty and I have essentially grown up together, and he has moved with me in every apartment I've had since moving out of my parent's house. It's going to be very lonely when he isn't around longer. So what's wrong with him? I should probably share, huh? He has liver disease and hip dysplasia. The liver disease is pretty much under control at this point, and has been for a couple of years now. It's the hip dysplasia that will ultimately be the issue- one wrong jump and he could break his back resulting in having to be put to sleep. I have stairs everywhere to help him out, but sometimes he opts for the quickest way on/off things and refuses to use them. Typical cat, but it drives me crazy!

Thanks for letting me share, here is a picture of the two of us!!



Heather

@HeatherNichelle -- hi and welcome to TCS!

your smokey is a very good looking boy! it sounds like you're managing smokey's medical issues as well as possible. my snick (short for snickel, my little girl) is 14 years old too, born on august 1st, 2000. snick has several serious medical issues that we manage too.

there are many members here, with a wide range of experience with cats. so the odds are very good that someone has experience with any medical issue related to cats that may come up, and will be glad to share their knowledge and experience.

He's a beautiful boy and so lucky to have you to take care of him.

Welcome to The Cat Site.

I really love the way you wrote about you and your kitty growing up together and moving to each new apartment together. When my daughter was born in 2005 I had 2 dogs Angel and Summer. A few years a go Angel got very sick v and we had to put her down so we rescued our dog Callie. W e still have Callie. Last year Summer got sick and we had to put her down as well. Anna has never been that attached to the dogs and did not have a  real rough time when Angel and Summer passed . I finally gave in to her request for a Kitty and now we have 3 cats and our dog Callie. Anna is a cat person. She loves her cats and often says when she grows up she is going to take at least 1 if not all 3 with her.   The hardest part of owning a pet is loosing your pet. I have lost 6 dogs as an adult and as a child I loss 2 dogs. Even though it is very hard when a beloved pet dies we always have room in our heart for another. As for me I never say to myself after a loss I will never go throughout that again I always rescue another dog and now cat as well. 

Thank you all for the warm welcomes and support. I really appreciate it!!

Cal- I was very much like your daughter. I always had a special bond with our other family pets, but Smokey was always MINE. My parents and siblings always referred to him as Heather's cat, and I got the final say on anything that happened with him. When I moved out for college, I had to live one year in a dorm room and could not take him. When I came back into town on weekends, I would rush home and see him before I even bothered seeing my family! My Sophomore year of college I moved into an apartment. Pets were not allowed, and so I still didn't take him. One weekend I came home and he was SO SKINNY that I freaked out on my mom because I could not believe she had not noticed or taken him to the vet. I decided then that he was coming back with me that night and he has been with me since. Now the opposite will occur- my parents will come over and instantly go looking for Smokey, only acknowledging me after they have had some cuddles. I say if your Anna wants to take them (and you can bear to part with them) then she totally should. I don't regret the responsibility at all!

Heather

Smokey is beautiful, and you both share such a wonderful story.  My kitties, Max and Phoebe, are going on 16 but in many ways they still act like kittens, and so far they're very healthy.  My wife and I are thankful for every day we have with them!

He looks like a sweetie.

I just lost my shadow back in July, she was 14. This is cold consolation, but after losing a number of pets it's easier when you have time because you get to say and do all the things you regret not being able to do when they're gone. I hope you get a lot more time with him. 

Brendan- I know what you mean about acting like a kitten! He wants to play ALL the time, but cannot because of the hip dysplasia. A couple months ago, I bought him a new toy and he loved it so much that he played with it for hours! It was such a fun day.... and then he couldn't walk for a week after that. I literally thought that I was going to have to put him down, but my vet talked me through it and he's back to his normal self. Needless to say, I felt like such a terrible Mama (and that toy stays hidden & played with very rarely!).

Ganesh- My condolences on your Shadow! I would agree with you that it is easier with time to say goodbye. Right now he is asleep on my lap while I am watching the Royals Game. It's these little moments that I am gonna miss most. Thank you for the kind words!

Heather

I think you and your cat are very lucky to have one another. I also grew up with a cat. I found him by a road when I was 2. My parents let me keep him and we were always together. He passed on 2 years ago at the wise old age of 21.

Thanks Jamy! 21 years, huh? You, my friend are very lucky too! You went through so many stages of your life together...from toddler to child, from child to teen, and teen to adult. I bet you have so many amazing stories that you could probably write a best seller that is the cat version of 'Marley & Me"....and I bet you still miss your kitty dearly. Do you have new babies now? And if so, how difficult was it to start over?

I do have new babies. It was the hardest thing ever when I lost David. But I'm one of those that can't have just one cat, so I had MANY others throughout the years and I've seen many get hit by cars (which is why we moved to a huge farm) and it helped me to deal that David died of old age.

And on another note, he was tired. He developed the feline equivalent of an age spot right in the middle of his forehed. By the time he got it, he was too old for anesthesia so he lived with it for another 9 years. It eventually grew to be a large ball sitting on his face. My poor baby looked like an elephant nosed walrus.

Oh, poor David! I am sure that was painful for him, but your description is so funny! I laughed so hard my roommate came out of her room and asked to be let in on the joke. I wish that I could have more kitties, but my apartment has a 2 pet rule and she has a dog. Besides that, between school, work, and church, I am not sure that I have time for a second one. When he passes, I think I am probably going to go to the animal shelter and adopt the oldest cat they have there.

Actually, I assumed it was painful for him too. But after visiting 5 different vets who all said the same thing (that it was painless), I was forced into believing when the 5th vet stabbed it with a needle and got absolutely no reaction from him. Not even blood. As it got bigger, we would occasionally lift it up and he would look around like he was seeing everything for the first time, whuch he kinda was because the ball laid over half of his right eye.

I tend to find random kittens when I exercise. And I'm pretty quick. The mama cat I have now followed one of my former cats home, follwed him inside and never left.

This was David at age 20.

I'm glad it wasn't painful since there was nothing they could do to remove it. Your David seems precious, I wish that I could see him a little better (the picture is very small), but I am so glad that you shared it! I like to joke and say that I was born with a 6th sense because if there is a cat within 100 ft of me- I'm gonna spot it. I tend to find them everywhere and since I am not lucky enough to take them home myself, I am constantly looking for homes for them. So far I've found homes for them all, but it gets tricky! Your lucky to have such space where you can have as many babies as you please (and that they all get along!)