Over the last few years i'd taken to calling him Old Man Pedro... he was enjoying these last couple years, he had slowed down but still had those moments where Pedro the Kitten would come out, usually around 10pm where we'd hear him meowing loudly and making all sorts of noise only to find him playing with his favorite green mouse, happily tossing it into the air and chasing it, pretty spry for a cat in his mid teens... other times we'd let him out on the back deck where he'd find a nice warm spot in the sun or if it was too hot, in the shade, so he could sprawl out, occasionally lifting his head to the wind to sniff at something only a cat could sense, then he'd lay his head back down and you could almost see him take a deep and relaxing breath, that was the essence of my boy Pedro... laid back...
The spring of 2008 was a rough spell for the BW... in the span of a two months she lost her mother and then her beloved Pablo... Pablo was a brown and black tabby and was her baby and so when Pablo finally passed she said she needed to find another cat like him, a few days later she found a couple at a shelter and we went and checked them out, one was a bit skittish but playful but didn't purr, Pedro on the other hand played and jumped in your lap and purred loudly, the BW was smitten and so Pedro had a new home... granted i tried to warn her that Pedro was not Pablo and that he was his own cat and though even though he looked like him he was not... she knew that as well but i think she wanted him to be the same, a bit unfair to Pedro and it took a bit of time but before long things had worked out between them and he was always ready to nap and curl up next to her wherever she might be sitting, she called him her special boy and he was even though he was very much a cat of the people... Pedro was the last of our cats to move, from our old house to the new one, he dug everyone and if we had workmen in the house he was the only one i'd have to chase away, he'd walk right up to them, rub up against them, watch them... the furnace guy was a cat lover and he always told me to let him go, that he liked that he was around and wasn't in the way (even when sometimes he was)... Pedro was cool..
16 years... close to a third of my life at the moment... when Pedro arrived here the I-mac was just short of his second birthday and Disaster was but a twinkle in his daddy's eye (as they say)... we watched his whole life and it was a good life... ample treats, lots of love, time outside on the deck with his humans, strategically placed kitty condos for bird and squirrel watching, even birthday treats in his golden years, Pedro fucking loved donuts, i mean loved them, he'd jump up on the counter and get his head in the box and drag one out, attempting as best he could to run away with his donut, same with cupcakes, Pedro and i both had a sweet tooth and so i always made sure to give him a piece or two, yeah it might not have been the healthiest thing in the world but he was in good shape his whole life so why not a sweet treat now and then...
About a year ago we thought there was something wrong and so a harried trip to the emergency vet ensued, the I-mac losing his shit and screaming we had to do something, he demanded to come along with me and i told him this shit isn't fun (it's always fallen on me when it came time to say goodbye to our cats) and so we drove and waited, they took him back then came back out and told us he was okay and that it would take about five hours before the vet could see him (which meant around 4am, so much for emergency treatment) but basically they stated we could take him to his vet in the morning if we wanted... next day we did and after an exam and some bloodwork it was discovered he had a thyroid issue and so he was given some medication and was much better... he had been a bit off the few days before the ER trip but once the meds started he was back to his old self... besides the pill was wrapped up in chicken or turkey, also very high on the list of Pedro's favorites (though if he got wise and didn't want to take his pill a glazed donut remedied that problem quick)... but in no time he was back to his old self...
It was somewhere around the turn of this year that our boy started to show his age, he was still healthy and sweet as ever but we noticed he'd lost his hearing and he also couldn't jump up on things any more, we no longer found him on the counter or stove licking any pans that may have been leftover from the previous night's dinner (one of Pedro's favorite pastimes), he couldn't hop up on the bed either and so a set of kitty steps were bought for so he could amble up, we know now that he had arthritis in his back, two spots both near his front and back leges, but he was still doing pretty good... when things turn with cats though they tend to turn pretty quick and it was no different with our boy Pedro...
On Monday i snapped a picture of him lying on the floor, head in the sun, i remember thinking i need more pictures of my cats (see photo) but by Tuesday things began to go awry... he wasn't really eating and seemed to be lethargic, what followed was multiple trips to the vet in the next week... they discovered he had a fever, a very non-specific symptom in cats, and was a bit dehydrated, some fluids and an antibiotic and they said he should be on the mend... unfortunately that didn't happen... he stayed the same, ate less, was barely drinking, the vet stated that research had produced thousands of pages on cats and fevers that all stated we really have no idea why they get them and that we could spend thousands of dollars on tests to get the result - inconclusive... we kept him comfortable hoping he'd bounce back, he still made his was to the litter box but when i saw him i'd carry him up and down the steps, it was tough to watch him get weaker, Pedro was always such a vibrant, playful boy that it broke my heart to watch... by the following Monday he had hadn't eaten for a couple days, he did drink more but still he wasn't getting any better, in fact on Sunday he had peed in his cozy spot and so i set about cleaning it up and making it comfortable again for him, i spent most of the weekend trying not to break down but knowing...
At the vet again Monday morning and she finally said what i knew was coming... that it might be time... i told her i thought it was but that i needed to talk to his momma, i wiped tears from my eyes all the way home... the BW has trouble with this... she kept thinking that he might get better but at 16 i told her he's had a good life and now he was deteriorating fast, she knew it, we all knew it, she didn't know if we should yet, we had an appointment for Paco on Wednesday, a checkup, and she said if he wasn't improving by then we'd take Pedro in instead...
By the next morning he was so shaky and weak i told the BW we shouldn't wait, i called the emergency vet and asked some questions and they said all we needed to do was come in if we thought it was time... the BW kept going back and forth until i finally stopped her and said, i'm not about to let him die in a corner by himself, i love him too much and we owe it to him, when he goes it should be in his mom or dad's arms knowing how much he was loved... we told the boyos and they said their goodbyes... then we put him in his carrier for that one last ride...
My boy Pedro passed around 7:30pm August 23rd, held by his momma while his dad scratched his beautiful head and told him he loved him... he was a brilliant cat, laid back and playful and full of love... when i asked him if he had a good life he gave me a slow blink, i knew what that meant, he was only three months old when we adopted him and had spent his whole life with us, i watched him go from playful kitten to rambunctious teen to mature and dignified adult to my old man Pedro... each time i lose a cat it seems like a lose a little part of me, a brightness, a bit of happiness, i know the cats i've lived with have had good lives which brings some solace but man does it still hurt... there is a word in Hawaiian, kahu, it means honored attendant and guardian, i've never owned a cat but i've been a kahu to nine... and i was honored to be Pedro's kahu... i love you buddy... (a photo of the last three cats i've lost, Claudia, Sydney and Pedro)
1 comment:
That's a lovely story kono. I know exactly how one can get very attached to cats. I moved flat recently and came across some old pictures of Violet, who if I'm honest, was my favourite of all our cats, despite loving them to the same degree.
And what a Monday you were having! Don't think I've ever read of Monday, of all days, being quite so good!
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