We Lost our Kitty Louie...

Louie died on Monday, July 15, 2002. Four and a half years after rescuing this little orange and white boy from the Humane Society where he was to be euthanized (he was over 10 years old at that point) and after years of force feedings, daily administration of sub-Q fluids, pills, and many many vet visits, new medications, 18 months of sleeping on a mattress on the floor with him, and helping him through the vomiting, and tough times...but also the good purring times and the cuddling.....we lost our wonderful orange and white boy, Louie...the most special cat in the whole wide world. He was so small and skinny when we rescued him....he was old...and already had kidney failure and heart disease...but boy did he have heart! He lived pretty uneventfully with us (we just had to give him heart medications and administer sub-Q fluids every other night) for the first 3 years. But then he was diagnosed with bladder cancer in January of 2001. The vet said he just had a few months to live...so I moved into the spare bedroom to sleep with him during his time left here on earth. Then we did some research and found an experimental drug that was working for dogs with bladder cancer and our vet (a cat specialist) agreed to try it for Louie...and his bladder cancer went into remission!! We were so happy!!! We had a second chance with this little guy! However, in June of 2001, the new drug almost killed him as it caused major problems with is heart. And on the day we were scheduled to euthanize him (he was so sick he couldn't even get up to use the litter box) he got better (after we reduced the dose of this medication and added lasix for his heart). Thus, we were lucky enough to have him for 13 months after that. Louie was like our child. We had to be home at certain times to make sure he got his pills and had to be home to force feed him...and then at night to give him fluids. I (or Paul) had to sleep in his room with him every night in the event he would have to vomit, as we had to be there to hold him so he wouldn't hurt himself. He was such a fighter...and every day and every minute with him was a blessing. He would see me walk into his room and he would immediately start to purr....despite his illnesses. He loved to be brushed....and I could always get him to close his eyes and purr when I brushed him on the side of his face (he loved that so). He used to walk up to me while I was sleeping on the mattress and nuzzle me (oh, so gently) if he had woken in the middle of the night and wanted some attention. But the last week we knew something wasn't right as this beautiful being stopped purring for us. He went to the vet with Paul on Monday and his vet was worried, his heart was so slow and his blood count was down. They consulted with the cardiologist and ran a lot of test including an EKG. He needed a blood transfusion which was scheduled for the next day...and they sent Louie home with Paul with a prescription for a new heart medication to add to his list of drugs. On the way home Paul called me crying saying he was headed back to the vet with Louie, because he was acting weird. Louie was struggling and gently biting Paul's arm...and Paul was trying to comfort him. I tried to rush out to meet them at the vet, but Paul called again crying saying that Louie died on the way back to the vet....in his arms. We are lost without this special friend. Please pray that all animals may have a chance at some form of eternal life. Sometimes, I think they deserve it more than most people do. *tears*