Today I got home from what turned out to be a three week trip - I got stuck in Boston for a couple of days with the blizzard. I worked on getting unpacked, and when I took a load of laundry in the house I checked on my old cat, Nick. I was shocked to see he had deteriorated quite a bit in the 3 weeks since I'd been gone. I scooped him up and ran him to the vet. It was the dreaded one way trip. Either kidney failure or cancer most likely. He has been a skinny old cat (with completely normal lab values) for the last 2-3 years, weighing 7 lbs. He was last weighed in June and had seemed pretty much the same until the last few weeks. Today he weighed 5.2 lbs and was quite dehydrated. Sigh...certainly not what I expected today. If I was going to be home, I'd consider trying subQ fluids or other therapy, but I leave again in a week. My parents hadn't even noticed a problem, so I couldn't leave him with them, only to get worse or die on his own. We had our private moments and I held him as he crossed to the Bridge with promises of endless catnip, strings to chase, chicken and cheese.
I adopted Nick in 1999, 12/22, from Petsmart. I had recently lost my 16 year old Persian and happened to stop and look at the kitties. Nick was a gorgeous long haired, black smoke Manx with deep green eyes. I had to beg to bring him home - they were holding adoptions until after Christmas. I was single, no guest expected at the house, and it wasn't a present, just for me...they relented and let me bring him home. And I named him St. Nick. He was 7 years old, but I don't know if he'd just turned 7 or was almost 8. I used his gotcha day as his birthday. Which means he was somewhere between 18-19 years old today. He's been with me a long time. We've traveled cross country several times, he saw me through much of my residency and all that has happened since then. Nick was my Aristocat - very distinguished and quiet. Very soft purr, the rare meow when he really had something to say. It was hard to see him get so old, but he still purred when I petted him and scratched his ears. Today he purred when they put the IV in...he was tired and ready.
I pick the boys up from Daphneyland tomorrow, so I took advantage of the quite afternoon saying "good bye" to Nick. He liked to watch the hounds, and they gave him sniffs when he was on his perch. I wonder if they'll notice the perch is empty tomorrow....
Good Bye, Nick. Thank you for sharing all these years with me.
Synthia, Zuma, Kahuna, Fred
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