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Long story short....
I can't quit crying. I thought that I could handle this when it happened but I guess I am not as strong as I thought I was.
I have had this cat for almost 9 years now. I took her in when no one wanted her and I fought for her when my first wife tried to take her away from me. I also had to fight with my current wife in order to keep her. She was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I can remember the way that she always purred when I was around. She was so noisy with her purring that sometimes she would keep me awake at night.
Anyways, she was quite the tough one too. I once saw her pounce on a squirrel and use her back claws to open up its stomach (her front claws were gone when I first adopted her). You couldn't keep this cat in the house during the day but every night when I pulled in the driveway she would come running across the yard to greet me and come inside for the evening. She would leave me gifts of small animal heads on the front porch just to let me know how much she loved me. I can't believe that she's gone.
When I came home on Wednesday I heard her fighting with a cat in the bushes in front of our house. When I realized it was her I kicked into the bushes to get the other cat away from her. My cat went running into the garage licking her wounds and I just laughed at her. This was not the first time this particular cat had eaten her lunch but she always came back for more. She would normally sulk about it for a day or two and then bounce back to normal. However, this time when she came inside she seemed a little worse off than normal. I watched her try to jump up on top of our T.V. armoire (almost a 6 foot vertical - which she almost always managed) but she came up short and fell to the floor hard.
I didn't see her until the next morning and she was favoring the leg that she fell on. Also, the other cats and my wifes little dog were acting strange around her. I assumed that she was going to be o.k. but I put her in one of our spare bedrooms to keep a closer eye on her. I read about what I could give her to make any wounds etc feel better and proceeded to give her some infant formula ibuprofen.
I was going out of town Friday morning so I left my wife in charge of keeping an eye on my precious kitty. When I called to check on her over the weekend my wife was telling me how much better she seemed to be feeling and that she had been back out among the other animals with no problems. I was relieved and told her to give her a kiss for me. When I called my wife Saturday night she said that my cat had managed to sneak into the attic while my wife was in the garage and that she couldn't get her to come back down. I told her not to worry and that it was no big deal.
Unfortunately, when I got back into town tonight my cat was still in the attic and I couldn't get her to come to me. I finally managed to get her near a vent in the soffit overhang and pulled her out from the back of the house. She had a strange odor and there was a sore on the inside of her leg. I rushed her to the emergency clinic around 1 am and they told me not to worry, this type of thing happens more than I would think etc.
Well, I got a phone call about 1/2 an hour later telling me that it was very bad and extremely unexpected. The cut/bite she recieved had gotten infected and the muscles in her lower leg were rotting. I freaked out and told them that I would be right there. When I got there she was hooked up to the anesthetia machines and was lying there quietly. I lost it again but managed to pull myself halfway together when the vet came in.
He told me that he was going to see how far the visible damage was and that he could most likely amputate the leg without any problems. The only drawback was that if the infection had spread beyond the hip region that the operation would only add about 3-4 days to her life. I told him that I was only going to hope for the best and that I was not leaving until he got started. When I left everything seemed to be going well. I watched him shave her up to her belly and the tissue appeared to be o.k. The assistant told me that I would have to pick her up the next few mornings and take her to her regular vet and then bring her back at night so that she would have constant care for the next couple of days. I left with high hopes.
However, I just got the phone call about an hour ago. The doctor informed me that when he opened her up that he could see her infection had spread beyond the hip area and that my only option was to choose euthanasia. I have been pondering everything ever since.
I feel so terrible that I went out of town. I am worried that I wasn't concerned enough and that I caused her this pain. I worry that I made her suffer through this because I was naive and left her to heal alone. I can't imagine how bad she wanted to talk to me and tell me what was wrong. The only problem is that she was purring like always and acted happy when I left her at the vet just a few hours ago. I wish I could have only come home a day early. I can't get her out of my every thought. She was my everything. I am picking her up at 7 to bring her home to her resting place but it is going to be one of the hardest things I have ever done alone.
I am torn into pieces thinking about what life is going to be without her. At least I will always have this thread to keep her in my memories...
R.I.P. my lovely Frankie :bawl:
? - 30 January 2006
I can't quit crying. I thought that I could handle this when it happened but I guess I am not as strong as I thought I was.
I have had this cat for almost 9 years now. I took her in when no one wanted her and I fought for her when my first wife tried to take her away from me. I also had to fight with my current wife in order to keep her. She was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I can remember the way that she always purred when I was around. She was so noisy with her purring that sometimes she would keep me awake at night.
Anyways, she was quite the tough one too. I once saw her pounce on a squirrel and use her back claws to open up its stomach (her front claws were gone when I first adopted her). You couldn't keep this cat in the house during the day but every night when I pulled in the driveway she would come running across the yard to greet me and come inside for the evening. She would leave me gifts of small animal heads on the front porch just to let me know how much she loved me. I can't believe that she's gone.
When I came home on Wednesday I heard her fighting with a cat in the bushes in front of our house. When I realized it was her I kicked into the bushes to get the other cat away from her. My cat went running into the garage licking her wounds and I just laughed at her. This was not the first time this particular cat had eaten her lunch but she always came back for more. She would normally sulk about it for a day or two and then bounce back to normal. However, this time when she came inside she seemed a little worse off than normal. I watched her try to jump up on top of our T.V. armoire (almost a 6 foot vertical - which she almost always managed) but she came up short and fell to the floor hard.
I didn't see her until the next morning and she was favoring the leg that she fell on. Also, the other cats and my wifes little dog were acting strange around her. I assumed that she was going to be o.k. but I put her in one of our spare bedrooms to keep a closer eye on her. I read about what I could give her to make any wounds etc feel better and proceeded to give her some infant formula ibuprofen.
I was going out of town Friday morning so I left my wife in charge of keeping an eye on my precious kitty. When I called to check on her over the weekend my wife was telling me how much better she seemed to be feeling and that she had been back out among the other animals with no problems. I was relieved and told her to give her a kiss for me. When I called my wife Saturday night she said that my cat had managed to sneak into the attic while my wife was in the garage and that she couldn't get her to come back down. I told her not to worry and that it was no big deal.
Unfortunately, when I got back into town tonight my cat was still in the attic and I couldn't get her to come to me. I finally managed to get her near a vent in the soffit overhang and pulled her out from the back of the house. She had a strange odor and there was a sore on the inside of her leg. I rushed her to the emergency clinic around 1 am and they told me not to worry, this type of thing happens more than I would think etc.
Well, I got a phone call about 1/2 an hour later telling me that it was very bad and extremely unexpected. The cut/bite she recieved had gotten infected and the muscles in her lower leg were rotting. I freaked out and told them that I would be right there. When I got there she was hooked up to the anesthetia machines and was lying there quietly. I lost it again but managed to pull myself halfway together when the vet came in.
He told me that he was going to see how far the visible damage was and that he could most likely amputate the leg without any problems. The only drawback was that if the infection had spread beyond the hip region that the operation would only add about 3-4 days to her life. I told him that I was only going to hope for the best and that I was not leaving until he got started. When I left everything seemed to be going well. I watched him shave her up to her belly and the tissue appeared to be o.k. The assistant told me that I would have to pick her up the next few mornings and take her to her regular vet and then bring her back at night so that she would have constant care for the next couple of days. I left with high hopes.
However, I just got the phone call about an hour ago. The doctor informed me that when he opened her up that he could see her infection had spread beyond the hip area and that my only option was to choose euthanasia. I have been pondering everything ever since.
I feel so terrible that I went out of town. I am worried that I wasn't concerned enough and that I caused her this pain. I worry that I made her suffer through this because I was naive and left her to heal alone. I can't imagine how bad she wanted to talk to me and tell me what was wrong. The only problem is that she was purring like always and acted happy when I left her at the vet just a few hours ago. I wish I could have only come home a day early. I can't get her out of my every thought. She was my everything. I am picking her up at 7 to bring her home to her resting place but it is going to be one of the hardest things I have ever done alone.
I am torn into pieces thinking about what life is going to be without her. At least I will always have this thread to keep her in my memories...
R.I.P. my lovely Frankie :bawl:
? - 30 January 2006
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