A Week Without My Oscar.

[ChaoticEva]

On January 26th, we lost our beloved cat, Oscar. We found him already gone on the floor early morning. He was 17 years old. He had stage 4 kidney failure, grade 5 on 6 heart murmur, IBD and hyperthyroidism. The day before, he was doing ok. He came to cuddle and we had some nice moments. There are things I feel like I should of seen. Maybe we could of saved him. He was an amazing cat with so much love to give. When I would put my boots on to go to work, he would rub against my hands. He would greet us every time we walked into the house.
I wish I would of cuddled with him more. Given him more attention, more love and more of his favorite foods. He passed suddenly and from what my vet said, he didn't suffer.
We miss him so much, but we know he's pain free now and watching over us.
Rest in peace my sweet old man.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oscar, baby, honey you fought the good fight. RIP sweetheart, you're now in a wondrous place where the sun always shines, and peace and calm flow like water.

 

[Tobermory]

I am so sorry for your loss of your little guy, your sweet-looking boy Oscar. At 17 he clearly had a wonderful life with you. It sounds as if he went gently.

 

[1 bruce 1]

On January 26th, we lost our beloved cat, Oscar. We found him already gone on the floor early morning. He was 17 years old. He had stage 4 kidney failure, grade 5 on 6 heart murmur, IBD and hyperthyroidism. The day before, he was doing ok. He came to cuddle and we had some nice moments. There are things I feel like I should of seen. Maybe we could of saved him. He was an amazing cat with so much love to give. When I would put my boots on to go to work, he would rub against my hands. He would greet us every time we walked into the house.
I wish I would of cuddled with him more. Given him more attention, more love and more of his favorite foods. He passed suddenly and from what my vet said, he didn't suffer.
We miss him so much, but we know he's pain free now and watching over us.
Rest in peace my sweet old man.

I know that pain.
17 years young, stage 4 kidney failure, a heart murmur that (at 5/6 grade, to me) points to the potential for heart failure, IBD, and hyperthyroidism...
I doubt these problems all surfaced to this degree a week before he passed. They had probably been going on for awhile? If he's fought all those problems for so long, you don't need to wonder if you could have saved him because to me you already did. If he had some health problems, and you did all you could to make sure he was a happy, comfortable guy, then you saved him.
As bad as it hurts, sometimes we have to accept that they're "fine", until they're not. If he passed at home and the vet said he didn't suffer, that's how I'd like to go myself....at home, no pain, no suffering.
If you would have spent every waking moment you had at home cuddling him, if you're like me you would be saying "I wish I would have taken time off work to cuddle him more." We can't be satisfied with ourselves at this stage, and that's OK.
Point is, Oscar had a great, long life, great longevity, and had his health problems that you obviously took care of in any way possible. It might take awhile for you to accept this but it's true.
The hard part is the heart issue with the kidney failure. The medicine and food and anything that will help the kidneys seems to do bad for the heart, but the things that help the heart are usually hard on the kidneys. It's a crap situation. At that stage we can only do what is best for them. Which you did, because if you didn't, you wouldn't have shared.
You've done nothing wrong and everything right, at least in my eyes. Don't be so hard on yourself, and if you can, give yourself a little bit of credit for loving this guy and taking excellent care of him. Stay well my friend..

 

[Maria Bayote]

Somebody is chopping onions at this very early hour

When I was a kid I had a cat named Oscar. This post brought a lot of bittersweet memories.

Rest in peace, sweet old Oscar. Go and run around on an endless field of grass and flowers. You are free from physical pain now. You gave your family so much love and happy memories. You will be missed forever.

 

[Antonio65]

What a gorgeous and proud-looking cat Oscar was!

As 1 bruce 1 said, you gave him much more years of life than he'd have had without your help, and of this Oscar will always be grateful to you.
He left without noise, without giving you bother, while you were sleeping.

I know that shock well, it happened to me only 6 months ago, to wake up and find your beloved furry friend gone.
I didn't want to believe it, I hoped I was still dreaming, but unfortunately it was true.

RIP Oscar, you fought several enemies bravely, you have won the Medal of Valor and it'll shine up there, at the Bridge, where all the brave cats are.

 

[Leomc123]

sorry for your loss Oscar loved you no matter what, and you loved him and that is all that matters, in this sadness.

 

[Mia6]

Oh my, Oscar was a handsome, sweet guy and I am so very sorry. It hurts so very much when we lose our babies. He is at the Bridge now with so many of our babies, he is in good hands.

Hugs,

Mia

 

[di and bob]

Your sweet Oscar had seventeen years of everything he wanted, a wonderful home and love. That he was able to die at home, surrounded by the love of those he loved so very much, and able to spare his family the pain of his own end, speaks much. He was, and forever will be, such a good, sweet boy.
Grief always comes with all those should haves could haves, because there is no such thing as a perfect world, and all of us are a long way from perfection ourselves because we are human. It is much too easy to go back into our past and reflect on all our shortcomings, but because they are a part of our past they can never be changed. Hopefully we take what we have learned and use it to make our futures a better place, to be able to look in the mirror and like what we see.
Your sweet boy would be the last one to want you so unhappy. He fought hard to stay alive, to give you every last ounce of love his frail little body was capable of until the very end. He is at peace knowing he left behind one that will allow him to live on in spirit, to continue his legacy of love by passing that love onto others, allowing it to grow and spread, to be added on to, not be hidden in a cold, dark, grieving heart. His love for life, despite all his problems, needs to be a lesson for us all, to give us hope that the joy of being alive can persevere, even knowing that none of us are guaranteed a tomorrow. to live each and every day as fully as we can....
Your bond of love with Oscar can never be taken from you. "Death cannot take that which never dies", and you know your love for him is forever. He will forever be as close as your thoughts and prayers, he shared your life journey for a little while and though he now follows a new path, it will always parallel your own.
So get through this pain of grief by taking one day at a time. Let time dull the sharp edges, and heal that broken heart. Let others who understand your pain help you by sharing that grief, a burden shared is a burden halved. And know in your heart that Oscar is nearby and always will be, the 'essence' of that sweet boy will surround you and give you strength.....
My heart goes out to you, I know how much this hurts. My thoughts and prayers are with you in this difficult time, try not to dwell on his death, but be thankful for his life.......RIP dear Oscar. You will never be forgotten, you will forever have a secure place in a loving heart. May the good Lord bless and keep you, until you meet again!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Rest you gentle, Oscar, dream you deep. Your pawprints are on someone's heart forever.

We always think that there was something else...something more. But, OH, my darlin, at his age, and with his issues, what more could have been done? No, he shrugged off his heavy coat of flesh and fur that could no longer support his great heart and loving spirit, and stepped from this Adventure into his Next Great Adventure as easily as walking through a door. Now, he dances on sunlight, young and healthy and free. He dances in a place where eternity is the blink of an eye (and only a thought away from us), and although he would have loved to say "goodbye" to you, he knows that in the fullness of time, you, too, will shrug off your own heavy coat and dance with him in joyous reunion.

 

[ChaoticEva]

Thank you all for these lovely messages. Reading them makes me cry. Even though it's almost been 2 weeks without my Oscar, it's still painful and I still think of him often. It crazy how he came into our lives. How we were about to leave the rescue empty handed, but he reached out with his little paw and touched my arm. And that was it. I fell in love and had to take him. He had been at that rescue for 4 years. He was an amazing cat, so much love to give and such a pain in the ass. But we loved him (still do) and we miss him.

 

[les26]

I am sorry for your loss, he was a sweetheart. Thank God that he reached for you and you took him, he had a wonderful life with you and you will see him again someday and it will be wonderful.

"Their last breath on Earth is their first breath in Heaven"

I hope that your heart heals a bit more each day, God Bless......