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We have places in our hearts for all sorts of love, I believe. There's a place for significant other love, your children love, pet love, hobby love, sports love I guess. So in my heart, the place for pet love has had a tiny hole in it ever since the tabby-cat-love-of-my-life passed on about 5 years ago. Her name was Nessy and she was my wonderful companion for 17 years.
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Since Nessy's death, I had been able to fill most of the pet love space in my heart with the introduction of Buyo and Beachwalker into my life. But even these 2 wonderful kitties wasn't enough to fill in the whole space left behind by Nessy.
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Enter Squeenky.
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For a while, I've been scouring the adoption sites looking for a cat of certain criteria. Female, kitten (under 1) and above all else, tabby. Only a week ago through Cactus Cats rescue organization I found the perfect cat. She was a beautiful tabby, 6 months old, female of course who upon meeting her, snuggled me and purred at me and kneaded on me with her paws... almost like a mini Nessy!
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I loved Squeenky right then and there and we adopted her and she became my Squeenky. But, first we made a little trip to the vet to have her checked out. After all, we still had 2 other cats at home to think of. So Squeenky, it turned out, had a fever. A really high fever. 105+ degrees fever. That was her first anti-inflammatory injection, IV bag and we took some antibiotics home with us.
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Over the next 5 days her temperature fluctuated (yes, I'm the one who had to take it) from a normal 101 back to nearly 106. She had 2 more anti-inflammatory injections, 2 more IV bags and in addition to her liquid meds, I had to start giving her pills. But I never thought that she wouldn't get better. I planned her life with us for the next 17+ years. She would sleep with me on my side of the bed. I gave her Nessy's old blanket.
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Then when that day came where she would not even look up when we walked in the room and she slept 24 hours a day, we decided to get her blood tested to see if something was missed by the adoption agency who originally had her tested. Today we got the results around 11:30 AM.
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For the next 3 hours after getting the call, Squeenky slept on my chest, curled up underneath my chin. She had FIP, a fatal and painful disease. She had days, maybe weeks, and if she was lucky, months left to live. But however long she lived, it would not be pleasant.
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I took Squeenky in to the vet at 3:00 PM where, while waiting on the doctor she had a seizure as I held her. It was a very hard thing to see, this tiny kitten (undersized we found out because of the disease) flailing uncontrollably around like that. Someone took her in the back and gave her some Valium to calm her down.
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Squeenky was brought back out to me, a little shaken but no longer seizing. As the Valium kicked in she calmed down greatly. Then shortly afterward she was administered the euthanasia drug and died in my arms.
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I loved Squeenky more than I thought it was possible to fall in love with a cat so soon (does that make sense?). Every morning Miyuki would get up and say, "I want to visit Squeenky!" She would also make that request all day long and right before bed. Also, every once in a while, Hiromi would go to Squeenky's door and proclaim, "Uh oh! Uh oh! Uh oh!" as if to say, "I want to see Squeenky but the door is closed and this vexes me!"
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Before leaving to the vet to have Squeenky put down, I told the girls to say goodbye to her. Hiromi gave Squeenky a kiss and Miyuki gave her a kiss and a hug. We told them that Squeenky was very sick and that she was going to the doctor and not coming back home.
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Just as I was getting into my car, Hiromi was standing in the garage doorway and she was waving, saying, "Bye bye kitty, bye bye kitty, bye bye kitty..."
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Squeenky 2-weeks old
