Saddest day of my life - Cosmo, the kitty in my avatar, passed away yesterday...(pics - 56k warning)
Jan 24, 2010 at 6:20 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 51

beerguy0

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He had been diagnosed with lymphoma at the end of November this past year. He had started limping in early November, and at first we thought he had just injured himself. He was a big guy (21 lbs) and we figured he jumped down and hurt himself. His limp got worse, so we wound up consulting with a veterinary neurologist, who made the diagnosis.

He had been doing pretty well, although his right front leg was paralyzed. He spent most of his time either in his carrier, or under our bed, but was eating and responding to attention. (He always did love to be petted and held - he was a major attention hog.)

Yesterday morning, my wife had given him his breakfast, which he ate, as usual, then suddenly made a little noise and crawled under the bed and died, just like that. To say that we are devastated is an understatement. He was absolutely a huge part of our lives, and the center of our household. He loved to lay in front of the stove while I made dinner, and followed me around the house like a dog. Cosmo was just shy of his fifth birthday at the time of his passing.

To make matters worse, he was also found to be FeLV positive, as was Nicky, one of our other cats. (They were best buddies, and groomed each other constantly.)The other two are FeLV negative, and have been immunized. but we still have to make a decision on what to do with Nicky, as he still presents a danger to the other two.

The day we brought him home from the shelter, age 4-5 months or so:

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Cosmo and I bonded instantly at the shelter. When I was looking at his cage mate, he got up from the corner, yawned, stretched, and walked over and sat in front of me, and looked up as if to say, "About time you got here! Lets go!"

His favorite toy as a kitten. He used to drag it up the stairs so we could play.

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His first Christmas: (2005)

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He loved to help around the house:

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He especially loved the outdoors, and would spend as much time as we allowed in the yard.

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Not too fond of Winter, though...

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The cat on the foreground, Sydney, had to be euthanised due to a lung tumor, at only 1.5 years old. We suspect that was how the FeLV virus was introduced into the house, although they all tested negative at the time of adoption.

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Cosmo was also my best model. He was quite photogenic, and his pictures always got numerous complements.

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I now know what it feels like to have your soul ripped from your body. The house just seems so empty without him. I still can't believe he's gone. His sudden death came as a real shock, since he was doing so well, but at the same time, we are both relieved that we didn't have to watch him deteriorate, and have to make the agonizing decision of when to have him euthanised.
 
Jan 24, 2010 at 6:27 PM Post #2 of 51
oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that beerguy.
what a sweet sweet cat I know your family loved him a lot.
and brought love to the family.
 
Jan 24, 2010 at 6:32 PM Post #3 of 51
Beautiful kitty. Sorry about your loss.
Our cat was fed with a stomach tube as it was abandoned by her mother when she was born. My daughter (who is now 20) bonded with her when she was in kindergarden. I am afraid she does not have much time left and it will be a major family crisis wen she dies.
 
Jan 24, 2010 at 6:35 PM Post #5 of 51
beautiful cat. losing a pet is tough. have gone through it myself a few times. that horrible feeling takes a while to go away but is all part of the process. it's nice that you have pictures. i often look at old pictures of my pets with fond memories.
 
Jan 24, 2010 at 6:51 PM Post #7 of 51
Sorry to hear it...
frown.gif
. It's always tough losing a pet once they've been around long enough to make their place in the family.
 
Jan 24, 2010 at 6:55 PM Post #8 of 51
My sympathies. I lost my favorite step-cat about a month ago.
 
Jan 24, 2010 at 6:58 PM Post #9 of 51
My sincere condolances to you my friend. Its rough loosing a family member like that. take heed that they are no longer in any pain, and they love you. lots of animal lovers here on head-fi.
 
Jan 24, 2010 at 7:01 PM Post #10 of 51
I'm very sorry for your loss. I can relate to the pain of losing a beloved pet. After we lost our dog Molly, I didn't think that we would ever have a pet again. It's been six years since then and we have a dog and two cats. I have tried to adopt the philosophy that the joy that pets create more than compensates for the pain that comes from their loss. Good luck and I hope that the pain passes quickly for you and your family, and that things go well with your other cats...
 
Jan 24, 2010 at 7:04 PM Post #13 of 51
Very sorry to hear that. We lost one of our cats (Mandy) Nov 1st last year. We had to put her down. It was awful to say the least..... I was an absolute mess at the Vet. She was just shy of 13 years old. I adopted her when she was about 8 weeks old. It's amazing what an impact and a part of your life they become. You don't realize what a part of your daily routine they are.
 
Jan 24, 2010 at 7:06 PM Post #14 of 51
I am very sorry for your loss as well.
frown.gif
I am a relatively newly converted cat person (now have two kitties, that were adopted and "came along" with my wife) and I love them more each day. Your l'il one was very beautiful and distinguished, and I'm sure that he was happy and content with such an admiring owner and friend. It looks like there have been many great memories between you and Cosmo. The pictures are heartfelt. All the best getting through this sad time.
 

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