Hi,
I've been a cat lover for the past 17 years, but I have to admit this year I came dangerously close to never wanting (or trusting myself) with another cat again. In July of 2014 I lost my beloved 16 year old Buddy, a Maine Coon mix who I had since he was a kitten. A couple of months later I decided it was time to move on and brought home an 8 year old shelter cat named Teddy as well as a purebred Maine Coon kitten named BearPaw to join 14 year old Bonkers and 7 year old Louie in my home. We were one big happy family until November when tragedy struck and BearPaw was diagnosed with the dreaded and deadly FIP. We said goodbye to our little kitten in December. One has to move on, and I assumed the rest of my boys would be okay, since FIP typically does not strike cats 3 years or older. Then in January, the unthinkable happened and our 8 year old Teddy was diagnosed with FIP and had to be euthanized in February. Those were terribly unhappy days, but I took comfort in the constant attention my 15 year old devoted pal Bonkers gave me. His comforting love would not last long, however. One month ago Bonkers was diagnosed with lymphoma and rapidly deteriorated to the point we had to say yet another goodbye.
After this year, I struggle a lot with questions about my abilities as a cat owner and things I could have done to give my boys longer lives. I'm finally coming to peace with Buddy's and Bonkers' passings, as they had both led happy and relatively long lives to 15+ years. The FIP, however -- that one haunts me. I have a particular interest in finding out more about causes and potential cures of that wretched disease that claims 99.99% of all lives it touches.
I'm also interested in photo memorials for beloved pets, as they are a way our friends can be immortalized in cyberspace.
Rena
I've been a cat lover for the past 17 years, but I have to admit this year I came dangerously close to never wanting (or trusting myself) with another cat again. In July of 2014 I lost my beloved 16 year old Buddy, a Maine Coon mix who I had since he was a kitten. A couple of months later I decided it was time to move on and brought home an 8 year old shelter cat named Teddy as well as a purebred Maine Coon kitten named BearPaw to join 14 year old Bonkers and 7 year old Louie in my home. We were one big happy family until November when tragedy struck and BearPaw was diagnosed with the dreaded and deadly FIP. We said goodbye to our little kitten in December. One has to move on, and I assumed the rest of my boys would be okay, since FIP typically does not strike cats 3 years or older. Then in January, the unthinkable happened and our 8 year old Teddy was diagnosed with FIP and had to be euthanized in February. Those were terribly unhappy days, but I took comfort in the constant attention my 15 year old devoted pal Bonkers gave me. His comforting love would not last long, however. One month ago Bonkers was diagnosed with lymphoma and rapidly deteriorated to the point we had to say yet another goodbye.
After this year, I struggle a lot with questions about my abilities as a cat owner and things I could have done to give my boys longer lives. I'm finally coming to peace with Buddy's and Bonkers' passings, as they had both led happy and relatively long lives to 15+ years. The FIP, however -- that one haunts me. I have a particular interest in finding out more about causes and potential cures of that wretched disease that claims 99.99% of all lives it touches.
I'm also interested in photo memorials for beloved pets, as they are a way our friends can be immortalized in cyberspace.
Rena