As far as I can tell, this is the last one of these that I did. I'm not sure whether any of the old crew are even still around here in between now and then (especially AlienLXIX, who helped me pick Saber's name), Hot & Spicy has come and gone and then come back again, but another forum arose to take it's place and I kinda stopped checking in when I no longer had a computer I could load SFC onto. I know this is necro posting, but I'm not sure anyone even remembers this series of posts without the reference available by lifting this post from the dead.
The years since this last story have been fruitful, but altogether lonely. I came to learn that Saber's two sisters, who I played with at the barn where Saber was born, had gone to a single home and died in a house fire. A couple years after I wrote this last kitten chronicle my dad, who had been scared to death by Saber falling down a floor and landing right beside his desk in a horrible racket and scaring the bejeezus out of him as well as who would flick his little kitty balls when Saber would stand on his keyboard while he was at said computer passed away. A couple years after that, despite it being a tumultuous relationship, I moved in with my then girlfriend. I changed jobs from one that was killing me with the stress and mistreatment from managers to one that has been monotonous and unimaginative, but dependable and satisfying with a manager who I really value and look forward to working for. The relationship turned even more sour, and I moved out to my own house, then after months of more on again off again, we broke up and since 2016 I have been in this house alone with Saber and his little whore Hidey.
Hidey has never stopped being a handful. She did lose weight eventually, but it has been a constant struggle to keep it off as she eats EVERYTHING within reach. She even spent last summer as an outdoor cat because of her issues with litter box training, but I brought her back in and locked her in a room in the basement and still doesn't want to use the litter box.
Saber this whole time has been my rock. He honestly developed into a cat that didn't do cutesy youtube meme kinds of things. Every day when I came home from work, he was there at the door to greet me regardless of where we lived or what was going on. Every night he would curl up as I sat at my desk, either working or playing, and he even got in the habit of just sitting on my lap at the computer, sometimes turning around to rise up on his hind legs to touch his nose to mine, sometimes half crawling up onto the desk to scoop his head under my hand to steal attention away from the mouse, but generally just sitting on my lap purring and snuggling actively there.
He's gotten out a few times at the new house, but comes back quickly, and enjoyed getting out and following me around the yard to barbecue or inspect the day lillies on the front of the house. He gets into a few things here or there, but there is over 2,000 square feet now to satisfy his need to explore. He developed a habit of sitting properly beside me when I was at the dinner table and begging for food. This goes especially for roast turkey, baked salmon or any food of Filipino origin.
The last few years, Saber has gotten into the habit of pawing at the covers until I lift them, especially during naps, and he would curl up snuggled tightly at my side for hours. Any guest who comes to my home, his habit has been to greet them, then dance around them until they let him lead him around the house so he can offer a full tour of his domicile. He became an immovable lump whenever I go into the living room to watch TV and lean back on the recliner.
When I have been sick, Saber has long had the habit if staying by my side, doing everything in his kitty powers to nurse me back to health. Sitting here alone at the house, he would come to me and look at me, then stare up at me until I talked to him and then he would stare and tip his head to the side like a human would if they were actively listening to you. If I stopped talking, he would keep prying until I started again, and the sound of me talking would wake him from naps and he would come and sit with me until that conversation was over.
Last summer, he began losing weight. Eventually, we determined it was a hyperthyroid disorder, and that was a rough go when my sister saw to his new medications while I was out of town and gave him a sum of thirty days of doses in the space of less than three days. He rebounded, starting gaining weight again, and then it started to come off again, and it was determined that he had a kidney disease, but he adored his new prescription food and devoured it handily, quickly adding weight again as his numbers went back into alignment.
Last week, he came into the sun room and spent several minutes walking in circles as if confused while I was prepping for a conference call in the middle of working from home during this COVID scare. When I finally looked at him, both of his pupils were fully dilated and itsoon became apparent that he couldn't see. The vet informed me high blood pressure had led to his retinas detaching, but with medication it could be managed and they would heal. I've never been a fan of blood pressure medications, and I'm less of a fan of chasing the dragon of one drug to fix one problem, which throws another bodily function out of whack, which then requires another medication, which then throws another bodily function out of whack, ad infinitum. But he was blind and going to say that way unless we got his blood pressure under control, and thankfully, within a few days his vision did return, and life started to go back to normal.
In the followup email on Friday, the doctor was optimistic that all was well and he was progressing.
He didn't eat the entire weekend.
By Monday, I reported this change first thing in the morning before they opened, but thanks to COVID restrictions the vet had no room to take him in again until the next day. When I did bring him in on Tuesday, they reported that his blood pressure was "lovely" and his eyesight was nearly back to normal. The bad news was that his kidneys had failed and he was no longer producing red blood cells.
Yesterday, Wednesday, we spent the day here together, and I checked on him regularly through the morning as he moved between the reading room, the bathroom and his kennel in the kitchen. Occasionally I brought him to the sun room to sit on a heating pat since I noticed he was hanging out by the heating vent in the reading room. At lunch time, he was walking rather stiffly and would go to his food bowl or water dish and stare for a long moment, then go to lie down.
By mid afternoon, he was staggering and his rear legs giving out and he would only be able to walk to the next room before stopping and lying down.
I made dinner, and watched him while it baked, then realized that he couldn't walk across the room any longer. Once I was finished swallowing my dinner, I wrapped him up in towels and a heating pad and brought him to the living room where we sat and watched TV until he insisted on crawling away, and he needed assistance to get down to the floor, where he lay until I picked him up again and brought him to bed, however, he refused to lie down, so I put a heating pad in his kennel, a baby blanket over it and he immediately dragged his mostly limp body into the kennel where he stayed, next to my bed, the remainder of the night.
When I woke up at 1:49 am to use the bathroom, he looked up at me. I petted him and told him I loved him.
He died a short while later.
He was scheduled for euthanasia tomorrow afternoon.
I have had many pets in my life and always an affinity for animals. A house without a dog or a cat is just a house, not a home, but among the many pets I have had, this one is the only one I have had that has hung on my every action or word and shown such unwavering dedication. Despite my lifetime of experiences with animals and pets, I had no idea an animal, especially a cat, could be so warm, caring and dedicated despite my many, many flaws. As I sit here, thinking back to my first moments with him, playing while sitting on the floor in a barn in a no name township in Minnesota and that first drive away from said barn to take him to his new home where he cried and wailed at being taken from his mother and siblings, until he curled up on my lap and slept so soundly that I could carry him in one hand into the house without him even waking up, I realize that whatever I have done for him pales in comparison to all he has done for me through the years. My cat is a better person that I am. I've never even met a dog that is as faithful and steadfast as Saber has been to me.
Here ends the kitten chronicles.
http://www.dynaverse.net/forum/index.php/topic,163357654.msg1122586962.html#msg1122586962http://www.dynaverse.net/forum/index.php/topic,163342659.msg1122388392.html#msg1122388392http://www.dynaverse.net/forum/index.php/topic,163343326.msg1122397103.html#msg1122397103http://www.dynaverse.net/forum/index.php/topic,163344613.msg1122416260.html#msg1122416260http://www.dynaverse.net/forum/index.php/topic,163345196.msg1122425150.html#msg1122425150http://www.dynaverse.net/forum/index.php/topic,163350343.msg1122496841.html#msg1122496841
Topic: The Continuing Kitten Chronicles:“He raped you?!?!” “Well… yeah…at first maybe.. (Read 8819 times)