Saturday, January 9, 2016

Goodbye to our beloved Spike

Spike has been with us for 8 years now and made himself a home in each of our hearts.  He was just barely a year old when he showed up at our front door (brought by his previous owner who was entrusting us to love and care for this sweet deaf cat).

We weren't the most experienced  cat owners when he joined our family - we hadn't known that we should introduce him in stages to his new surroundings and we simply put him down on the floor to learn his way around the house. He spent the first few days hiding in a tucked away space under our bed which made him feel safe - and this is where he headed to in the last couple of months when he was sick.

He has been a healthy cat through most of his life with us - agile, active and always looked well fed! The first time he showed signs of getting sick was only a few months ago.  He started to lose weight and seemed a bit lethargic and when he started to hide under the bed we realized something was wrong. He was diagnosed with diabetes so we quickly switched him over to a grain free, vegetable free soft cat food diet and started up insulin shots.  He responded well to this and started to gain weight so we thought all was back on track.

One month ago , we heard him making a strange sound and saw that he was struggling to get up from his cat bed..  When I picked him up he started to have a severe seizure. I have never seen that before and it is a terrible experience to go through. He was breathing but very limp so we rushed him to the emergency vet clinic.  He spent the night there on fluids but we really didn't have any answers as to the source of the seizure, other than the possibility  that his blood sugar levels may have been too low at the time.

He had seemed to rally after the visit to the emergency clinic and our subsequent visit to our regular vet resulted in a higher daily insulin dose. But this past week his activity levels slowed down significantly and he was sleeping most of the day.  On Wednesday morning he had lost the ability to move himself off the kitchen counter so we knew we had better take him to the vet as soon as possible.  This time we had a diagnosis - pancreatitis and ketoacidosis. He spent two nights at the vet while they tried to stabilize him but his condition continued to deteriorate.

Friday morning we stopped in to see him but could see he wasn't getting better. He didn't seem to know we were there and his eyes showed the impact of the medication from the drip. We made the decision to help him move on and cuddled him for one last time as he lay on the vet's table.  Being deaf, we knew he wouldn't hear us telling him we loved him, but we breathed into his neck fur while we stroked his head - and heard a soft barely inaudible purr ..so we hoped he knew we were there with him for his last minutes.

Nine years old when he left us - and the youngest of our four whitesters. We always thought he would be with us for many more years and can feel how empty the house is right now, even with the other three cats.   I look up often, expecting to see him curled up in one of his many favorite spots  - or strolling around the corner to come visit us in the living room.  Short as the time seems, I would never give up a minute of the time we shared with this beautful boy.

18 comments:

Erin said...

I'm so sorry to hear about Spike. I'll keep him in my thoughts.

Angels Amber and Max DaWeenie and Mom said...

I'm so sorry to hear about Spike. I know he had many happy years with your family and left his pawprints on your heart along with a lot of wonderful memories. The good memories will always remain.

Hugs...........

Ruzica said...

So sorry to hear about Spike. May he rest in peace. Spike will join Romeo in heaven.

Jans Funny Farm said...

So sorry you lost your dear Spike. Our furries are never with us long enough and we sure miss them when they have to leave. A warm hug, purrs and paw taps of comfort.

TimberLove said...

Gently wooooos,

Nuk & Family

Cats of wildcat woods said...

Oh dear - brings back so many recent memories of our Georgie. Thanks for stopping by her page. She too was up and down - 3 different vets couldn't keep her stable - she would turn on a dime from bad to worse. At least your Spike and my Georgie are now at peace and young and healthy once more. I am a new follower - I have 8 white cats with one deaf one.

Gemini and Ichiro said...

We are very sorry to hear about Spike

GLOGIRLY said...

Oh, we're so very sorry for the loss of your dear Spike.
Sending many purrs to you and your furry family.

Angel Junior, Orion and Sammy said...

We are so very sorry for the loss of Spike. We know that he knew you were there, and we know that he knew how much you love him.

pilch92 said...

I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful boy.

Tama-Chan, Benny, Vidock, Violette, Ollie, Heloise, Momo, Ryu said...

We heard about your blog, and about your sad loss, through Cats With Blogs. You don't know us but for us, each loss is our loss, and we wanted to tell you that we are so sorry that you lost your beautiful Spike. It is never easy to see the little ones suffer, and harder still to see them go.

Purrs,
The Chans of The Poupounette

Connie - Tails from the Foster Kittens said...

Losing someone you love is never easy, and it is a burden we bear when we take on pets.
http://www.kirazamber.com/lovingones.html

ZOOLATRY said...

Farewell, sweet one.

Spike William and Angels China Cat and Willow said...

So sorry to hear about the loss of your sweet Spike. Sending lots of purrs and prayers over to all of you.

Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs, Spike William and family

The Island Cats said...

We're so sorry to hear about Spike. Purrs.....

Deziz World said...

Oh we are so very sorry fur your loss. Spike sounds like an amazing mancat. We know he will be missed and furever membered. We's sendin' purrayers.

Luv ya'

Dezi and Lexi

Katie and The Katz said...

We heard about your loss on Facebook Group: Cats With Blogs (please come join).
Our family lost a dear kitty from Diabetes years ago...
Even harder when they are still young...

Sending purrz and prayers as you miss your beloved sweetheart.

Marjorie and Harvey said...

I am so sorry you lost such a lovely boy. It always hurts - but I reckon you were so lucky to have such a wonderful boy. Fly free spirit of Spike.

Mrjorie and the Dash Kitten cats