This is probably going to be long, but I just need to get this out.
In the fall of 1999, I was just about to move into a new apartment when I decided to get a friend for my cat, Mayhem. In the search for the perfect companion for both him and me, I came across a very scared, very shy, very badly beaten and tortured 5 month old orange tabby cat. He was lovingly rescued by my vet at a laundromat where he saw the neighborhood kids beating this poor kitten with sticks, putting him in a dryer... all sorts of horrible things. This little man looked like he needed a friend in the worst way.. and he got two... myself, and Mayhem... and eventually, many more.
I called him Azrael (from the smurfs). That little boy must have known I was there to help him because he trusted me instantly. It took him almost a year and a half before he would even let my mother touch him, but he would spend every moment he could sitting on my shoulder and licking my face. (Pretty sure he took off a few layers of skin here and there too
) What a love... an absolute love. And a poly cat too! I always loved sitting on the bathroom floor with him watching him drink water out of his paws... using the extra toe like a thumb.
Not long ago, I made plans to move out of state and asked my mother to watch my Az, Mayhem, and Jack (who came a year after Az) while I house hunted. I found a huge place with plenty of room for my whole zoo, with ginormous windows that I know Az would just love to sleep in and watch the world go by. I put in an offer on the house so very excited to get my kitties back...
And then today I got a call from my mom that Az is sick. She got him to the vet asap (same vet that originally rescued him, so it's a vet I trust). They said he had a urinary blockage... that they could fix it with a catheter and fluids... that he would have to stay over two nights... but he would be ok.
Ok, that's fine. I felt horrible for the poor little man, but his prognosis was good, so no reason to worry, right? He'll be ok!
About an hour later, I get a second call... They put him under a light anasthetic so they could insert the catheter and he went into cardiac arrest (I think they said something about a potassium buildup from the blockage causing the cardiac arrest, but I'm getting my info second hand so I may have that wrong) They had to perform CPR and rush him down to the emergency animal hospital because they said cats who go into cardiac arrest once generally go into cardiac arrest again... and they wanted to make sure he was somewhere that had a full overnight staff in case something happened.
Just got another call... they did get the catheter in him before he went into cardiac arrest... they had to have him on oxygen... a small part of one of his lungs collapsed, so his breathing is very labored... they said theyre not sure if he aspirated when he vomited or if it was from the chest compressions, but they gave him antibiotics so he wouldnt get pneumonia. He's currently on IVs and just barely stable. Right now they're just hoping he survives the trip to the emergency hospital.
This just isn't fair! My poor little man had to go through such torture in the beginning of his life that he just doesn't deserve this happening to him now. And I hate myself that I'm 1200 miles away and can't be there for him and all I can do is sit here and cry. I hate wondering if he's ever gonna see his 7th birthday... if he's ever gonna see the big house with the windows I picked out just for him to sleep in.... if I'm ever going to see him again. My little man doesn't deserve this. He's overcome too much in his short life to be taken out by something like this...
And on a selfish note, I just lost Mayhem to congestive heart failure a few months ago (he was born with aortic stenosis), I can't go through this again this soon!
So please, hug your cats for me. Hug your dogs for me. Hug everyone for me. ... because I can't be there to hug my little man myself.
In the fall of 1999, I was just about to move into a new apartment when I decided to get a friend for my cat, Mayhem. In the search for the perfect companion for both him and me, I came across a very scared, very shy, very badly beaten and tortured 5 month old orange tabby cat. He was lovingly rescued by my vet at a laundromat where he saw the neighborhood kids beating this poor kitten with sticks, putting him in a dryer... all sorts of horrible things. This little man looked like he needed a friend in the worst way.. and he got two... myself, and Mayhem... and eventually, many more.
I called him Azrael (from the smurfs). That little boy must have known I was there to help him because he trusted me instantly. It took him almost a year and a half before he would even let my mother touch him, but he would spend every moment he could sitting on my shoulder and licking my face. (Pretty sure he took off a few layers of skin here and there too
Not long ago, I made plans to move out of state and asked my mother to watch my Az, Mayhem, and Jack (who came a year after Az) while I house hunted. I found a huge place with plenty of room for my whole zoo, with ginormous windows that I know Az would just love to sleep in and watch the world go by. I put in an offer on the house so very excited to get my kitties back...
And then today I got a call from my mom that Az is sick. She got him to the vet asap (same vet that originally rescued him, so it's a vet I trust). They said he had a urinary blockage... that they could fix it with a catheter and fluids... that he would have to stay over two nights... but he would be ok.
Ok, that's fine. I felt horrible for the poor little man, but his prognosis was good, so no reason to worry, right? He'll be ok!
About an hour later, I get a second call... They put him under a light anasthetic so they could insert the catheter and he went into cardiac arrest (I think they said something about a potassium buildup from the blockage causing the cardiac arrest, but I'm getting my info second hand so I may have that wrong) They had to perform CPR and rush him down to the emergency animal hospital because they said cats who go into cardiac arrest once generally go into cardiac arrest again... and they wanted to make sure he was somewhere that had a full overnight staff in case something happened.
Just got another call... they did get the catheter in him before he went into cardiac arrest... they had to have him on oxygen... a small part of one of his lungs collapsed, so his breathing is very labored... they said theyre not sure if he aspirated when he vomited or if it was from the chest compressions, but they gave him antibiotics so he wouldnt get pneumonia. He's currently on IVs and just barely stable. Right now they're just hoping he survives the trip to the emergency hospital.
This just isn't fair! My poor little man had to go through such torture in the beginning of his life that he just doesn't deserve this happening to him now. And I hate myself that I'm 1200 miles away and can't be there for him and all I can do is sit here and cry. I hate wondering if he's ever gonna see his 7th birthday... if he's ever gonna see the big house with the windows I picked out just for him to sleep in.... if I'm ever going to see him again. My little man doesn't deserve this. He's overcome too much in his short life to be taken out by something like this...
And on a selfish note, I just lost Mayhem to congestive heart failure a few months ago (he was born with aortic stenosis), I can't go through this again this soon!
So please, hug your cats for me. Hug your dogs for me. Hug everyone for me. ... because I can't be there to hug my little man myself.