memorablemeanders.blogspot.com

Monday, November 26, 2012

A sad homecoming







 Tigger, three months ago, still looking fit and healthy...

We arrived home in Marquard late on Saturday afternoon. After unloading our luggage and saying goodbye to Angus and family, we greeted the excited dogs out on the patio. Coming indoors I saw Felix and Chip on the pool table but bent down to greet Tigger who always sleeps on a plaid blanket on a dining chair under the table. I was shocked to see the deterioration in my 16 1/2 year-old ginger cat since we'd left home three months ago. Emily had told me a week ago that he was struggling to eat solid food and she was tempting him with morsels of tinned pilchards and fish juice washed down with warm diluted cow's milk. But now he had gummy eyes and a black rim around his mouth. When I stroked his back, all I felt was skin and jutting bones. I cleaned his eyes and mouth and brought him morsels of fish and warm milk which he ate.

Later on he staggered into our bedroom and clawed his way up my side of the bed. There he kept nudging me purring all the time. I fetched his plaid blanket and draped it over the end of our bed and placed a bowl of water in the corner of the room. We all fell asleep but later I woke and found he was not on the bed any longer. I checked through the house and eventually found him in my bathroom cupboard sleeping on a pile of fluffy towels. He got up when he saw me, meowed and had a long drink of water. Then he went back inside the cupboard and fell asleep.

On Sunday morning, Grant checked on him in the cupboard and said he had a black rim around his mouth again. I washed him again but he kept trying to claw my hand away from his face. I decided to phone our vet in a town about 60km away to see if they had an emergency service on Sundays. They do and made told us to come in immediately.

I made a comfortable bed of blankets and towels at my feet in the car and carried my dear old cat out in another large towel. Although I placed him on the floor, we hadn't gone 10km when Tigger sat up and tried to climb up onto the seat. I picked him up, still wrapped in the towel, set him on my lap where he tried to take an interest in the passing countryside. All the while I chatted to him about what a beautiful and spirited little kitten he was. He also never caught birds, lizards, mice or anything that cats normally hunt.

We duly arrived at the vet 's office where he and his receptionist showed us into the surgery. He weighed Tigger who tipped the scales at 1.8kg! His normal weight until about six months ago was 5kg. A quick look at the old cat, and his prognosis was not good. He said that Tigger's kidneys had failed; that is why he had bleeding ulcers in his mouth. He never suggested anything but when I said I felt we'd made that decision that pet-owners hate to make, he explained how he did it. He first administered a sedative and then would inject straight into the heart until it stopped. He asked if I'd like to leave the cat but I asked if I could stay with him. (Gran, who cannot handle any of this, stayed in the reception area) While we waited for the sedative to take effect, I stroked Tigger and told him he'd soon be seeing his old friend, Mandu (our West African cat) and also Magnus our Scottie with whom Tigger had grown up in the nineties.

Finally the vet administered "the" injection and within a few minutes Tigger sighed once and was gone.

He is buried under the orange tree in our garden and will remain in our hearts forever. 

Rest In Peace, dearest old Tigger.

13 comments:

  1. OH Jo, That made me cry.. Bless your hearts. I know you are grieving. Tigger was just waiting for Mama to get home... I'm sure he was ready to go to Cat Heaven to be with Mandu....

    God Bless You. I'm so sorry.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, Jo, I am so sorry!! It's SO hard to lose a beloved pet, but at least now he won't suffer any more!! I've had to do this more times than I want to remember! My thoughts are with you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am sorry you had to make this choice, yet glad you had a brief reunion.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RIP Tigger.

    Dear Jo, I read your loving and poignant post with reminescences of when my own dear cat had to be put down in much the same way. I was out of town when she had to be put down. My brother, whom my cat loved, was with her and stroked her as she took her last breath. Maybe Tigger will not only find Mandu but my own dear, Princess. Hugs. xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. So sorry about Tigger. I'm glad you were able to get home for him.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a sad, sad post. I am so sorry Jo. We lost our Siamese to kidney failure. I am glad you were there to help him across the big divide, he was obviously awaiting your return.

    (((Hugs))) . . . Arija

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jo, I am sorry for your loss. I am sure Tigger will be missed.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It is a sad time when you have to make such a decision but it is better than watching them suffer. Funnily enough we can't put humans out of their misery. It was good that Tigger hung on until you got home. I bet the rest of the pets were pleased to see you. My sympathy is with you and Grant.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So sad Jo, at least he got to spend some time with you at the end. Now he knows you did not abandon him.

    ReplyDelete
  10. so sorry dear heart,,,,,
    been there too..... too many times...
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am so sorry for you ! I know how you feel I went through this 3 times. You took the right decision, it was time to let him go. It seems to me as if he waited for you to say good bye !
    He had a good and long life. That's also very important !

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh Jo.... Bless your hearts....
    ((((Hug))))

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm crying... I'm so sorry for the lost of your beautiful cat.
    Your story also reminded me of when my 13 year old cat died... It's so sad when they time comes.
    But now he is in cat heaven enjoying a healthy body again!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your feedback. Jo