Au Revoir FiFi
So Saturday morning we put our 8-year-old cat Felix to sleep. He'd been sick since early Spring, but I kept thinking maybe he'd bounce back. After he lost a lot of his hair, shrivelled down to three pounds and quit eating I realized that wasn't going to happen.
Part of the decision was selfish. Felix was and always had been an outdoor cat. In recent weeks the first thing I would do in the morning was check the yards and street and alley to make sure he hadn't died during the night. I was afraid he would crawl into a neighbor's garage and die and I would never find him. I wanted the peace of knowing.
A few weeks ago I took him to the vet, thinking it was time but after giving him some fluids he seemed to rebound a little. He would never regain the lion's mane he once had or grow back the whiskers that seemed to spread 12 inches across his face, but he ate again. He came to you when you called.
On Saturday morning I went looking for him and found him staring into our neighbor's koi pond. At first he didn't respond and I thought maybe he had died there. My immediate emotion was relief. But he slowly turned his head and acknowledged me, and I made the decision then and there. Before the kids woke up my mom and I took him to the vet.
He didn't fight the car ride as most cats do. He didn't fight the IV. From the time we walked in until we walked out was 12 minutes.
I buried him in the side yard with our other lost cats. In recent years my neighbor and I have lost Bully, Phineas, Ferb, Felix, Black Cat and Izzy.
Felix was a great cat ... Even in his old, infirm stage he would cuddle and rub his face on yours. He was extremely patient with our kittens, who wouldn't leave him alone. I'm sure he smelled like age and grass and dirt, things they don't yet know.
Part of the decision was selfish. Felix was and always had been an outdoor cat. In recent weeks the first thing I would do in the morning was check the yards and street and alley to make sure he hadn't died during the night. I was afraid he would crawl into a neighbor's garage and die and I would never find him. I wanted the peace of knowing.
A few weeks ago I took him to the vet, thinking it was time but after giving him some fluids he seemed to rebound a little. He would never regain the lion's mane he once had or grow back the whiskers that seemed to spread 12 inches across his face, but he ate again. He came to you when you called.
On Saturday morning I went looking for him and found him staring into our neighbor's koi pond. At first he didn't respond and I thought maybe he had died there. My immediate emotion was relief. But he slowly turned his head and acknowledged me, and I made the decision then and there. Before the kids woke up my mom and I took him to the vet.
He didn't fight the car ride as most cats do. He didn't fight the IV. From the time we walked in until we walked out was 12 minutes.
I buried him in the side yard with our other lost cats. In recent years my neighbor and I have lost Bully, Phineas, Ferb, Felix, Black Cat and Izzy.
Felix was a great cat ... Even in his old, infirm stage he would cuddle and rub his face on yours. He was extremely patient with our kittens, who wouldn't leave him alone. I'm sure he smelled like age and grass and dirt, things they don't yet know.
I have only cried once, the morning we put him down, because I know it was the right thing to do. And if you've ever put a pet to sleep it is a very tender thing. For Felix it was the humane thing to do. Although the way we humans treat each other, I'm not sure that is the appropriate word. It was the 'feline' thing to do.
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| Felix the Lion in his prime |
posted by Romine Family at 9:14 AM
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