posted on August 11, 2007 10:08:19 PM new
Thank you everyone for your heartfelt concern, specially Tom & Ralphie who have both been so good to me. I am so touched by your concern.
It's very nice to be able to come here & be comforted by people who really care & even just to talk to others who have pets & understand how I feel.
I'm sorry I haven't answered sooner. I've been at the hospital everyday & come home so drained I just couldn't bring myself to post.
I also wanted to post some good news, but never could.
Cheryl, that is absolutely heartbreaking about Brutus. I actually feel your brother's pain. Just three with so many years ahead of him. Things like this make me want to scream....Why.
My 17 year old cat, Simon was admitted to University of Penn Vet Hosp ICU unit last Monday. I had taken him to my vet on Thursday & again on Monday, big mistake, he wasn't getting any better so I went to Penn where I should have gone in the first place.
After much testing he was diagnosed as having sepsis, unknown origin & no one ever found out where it started.
He has had a transfusion, ultrasound, cat scan, brain scan, cardiology, dental, internal medicine, kidney & infectious disease consult. All negative.
He was attached to a BP & heart monitor & had a three way subclavian IV inserted which gave him continuous glucose, antibiotics & nutrition. He also had an oxygen cone over his face to help him breath. He had two doctors attending him, Dorothy Black & Ann Weinheimer & a vet nurses. All they could do was treat him symptomatically because they could not find the source of his infection. I was with him for hours everyday & after the first day I don't know if he knew I was there or not. He seemed comfortable & the doctors never gave up trying to save him.
Everyday I looked for some small sign that he was getting better & on Thursday he pushed his Oxygen mask off which gave me so much hope that he was starting to respond & fight back, but other than that a sign never came.
Simon was a wild stray cat that I trapped seventeen years ago along with his mother, two brothers & four probably six week old kittens that were the newest part of the family. I placed the four kittens in good homes & kept the other four cats & Simon was the last of them, they are all gone now. Simon was blind in one eye because some dirty bastard shot his eye out with a pellet gun, can you imagine how much he suffered.
His eye was healed when I found him & there was nothing that could be done, he would always be blind in his right eye.
His mother had skin cancer on her ear & the doctor xrayed her before surgery to see if she had cancer elsewhere, she didn't, but he found 52 buckshot pellets in her body, he removed all he could. I was told by someone who lived next to the dirty bastard that shot him that he was going to throw gasoline on the cats & burn them to death.
I bless the day that I found these cats & I loved them all so much, I was so lucky & happy to have them. It took almost two years to tame them because they were so traumatized & eventually they all turned out to be wonderful pets.
I still have four other cats & a dog, all strays that I love dearly & I don't know how I'm going to go through this five more times, but I will & I will be with each of them & do everything I can to save them.
I'm heartbroken for everyone here that had, loved & lost a pet because I know how you suffer when you lose them.
Simon died on Friday at 10:50 AM & it hurts sooooo much because I don't know why he left me.
posted on August 12, 2007 05:46:54 AM new
McJane: (((((hugs))))) I'm so sorry to hear about Simon! We can probably all feel your pain. My beloved Summer had to be put to sleep the day after Christmas and I'm still hurting over that. Take comfort in knowing that Simon did not cross over the bridge alone and he will be there to help other beloved pets cross over when their time comes. All our pets are frolicking and playing someplace far better than here and all their pain and maladies are gone. We'll surely all meet up again someday.
posted on August 12, 2007 06:57:43 AM new
Well Ralphie, you have me in tears. Jane, so sorry about Simon. You did your best to make him well. The pain eases each day and the memories are always there. I lost my terrier, Nina last August to cancer and will never forget her. I agree with Cheryl, they are waiting in a great place to be rejoined with us. neva
posted on August 12, 2007 08:11:28 AM new
From one animal lover to another:
McJane, I can feel your pain. We still cry when we talk about our dogs, Victoria who died 30 years ago at 10 years old and Eloise who we lost 12 years ago when she was 13. We are now in a roller coaster ride with our Lacy who just had surgery for an adrenal tumor.
Think about the 17 years of good memories you have of Simon and all the positve things you brought to each others lives.
I hope the other pets will help you deal with the loss.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on August 12, 2007 08:17:48 AM new
McJane: I am so sorry to hear about Simon. One thing that you can console yourself with is that after a terrible beginning to his life, he had many years of love and happiness with you. He was an old man at 17, and it is wonderful that you took him in and gave him such a better life.
It is so hard to lose a pet, I have lost so many, and I never forget them, they all had their own personalities, and no other ever replaces them. I hope you will find comfort in the fact that you had so many great years with your friend.
posted on August 12, 2007 08:49:49 AM new
I'm so sorry to hear about Simon.
But he left you knowing that he was loved. You gave him a wonderful life and added many years to what otherwise could have been a short and difficult life. For that you can be proud.
posted on August 12, 2007 10:10:44 AM new
Sorry for your loss. As a cat owner over the years, I know what you're feeling. Simon had a long life and I'm sure he was loved as much as we loved our cats.
You would do honor to his memory by adopting another cat in need of a loving home.
He left you because it was his time. I'm sure that he appreciated the life that you gave him. In time, you'll remember mostly the good moments, and missing him won't be as acute.
posted on August 12, 2007 01:31:30 PM new
So sorry for your loss McJane . Simon had a very hard start out in life but knew nothing but love at the end. Something you did and I like the rest truly believe you will meet again in a better place one day.
posted on August 12, 2007 01:43:06 PM new
Jane--I am so sorry about Simon. I have 4 cats and a dog and know that the day will come when they start leaving me. One is 13 but so far she is healthy. I also foster kittens for one of the agencies and we have lost a lot of kittens this year for some reason and even though they are not mine I still cry when I lose one. I will keep you in my prayers. Joyce
posted on August 12, 2007 10:18:50 PM new
McJane, I'm awfully sorry to hear about Simon. My condolences. It's sooo hard to lose a loved one, even one covered with fur.
_____________________
There is more to life than increasing its speed. --Mahatma Gandhi
posted on August 12, 2007 11:49:28 PM new
Mcjane, sorry for your loss. I know your pain. My Kiki is 10 years old and I worry about him if he sneezes. We had to have out beloved schnauzer put to sleep about 5 years ago and it still hurts to think about it worrying if we did right thing for her yes for us no but it is no easier to accept even when they pass from old age or complications of old age.
I hope your pain eases with time and the knowledge you have other pets that need you too.
************** I married my wife for her looks, but Not the one she gives me lately!
posted on August 13, 2007 06:45:07 AM new
I am so sorry about Simon, you gave him a wonderful long life and I am so sure he loved you as much as you loved him. May he rest in peace.
posted on August 13, 2007 07:19:59 AM new
mcjane, I add my thoughts and prayers for you. Simon was a lucky guy to have you as a friend in this life. So many animals do not have that "luck". How we care for our animals says so much about us as people.
My husband and I are struggling right now with our Babe. He is a 10 year old mixed breed that is now blind in both eyes, his arthritis is so bad in his back legs we have to help him stand and walk. But still he "looks" up at both of us and smiles that wonderful smile of his... we are in love. It is not easy.
I married my wife for her looks, but Not the one she gives me lately!