Sunday, June 19, 2016

The dark tunnel is a little brighter now

I just want to say thank you for all of the kind words that you all have left us since our post last week. It's been a rough 2 weeks, but the dark tunnel has gotten brighter.  I guess it's just the stages of grief, and we have made it to the acceptance stage.  It's not any easier, but I went one whole day without tears on Friday. That was somewhat of an accomplishment.  Everyday there is something that gets me thinking of him and remembering, and then some tears fall for a few minutes, then I recover. I expect that will happen for awhile, maybe forever. However, as of now, we are recovering, slowly but surely. I am working on our little memorial shelf and once I get the photo portion completed, I'll post a picture.  


Sigh... 

Monday, June 13, 2016

Mancat Memorial Monday



William Alan Snapp
Feb 28, 2008- June 6, 2016
"He's a good boy, he really is!"


I know I haven't posted this to the blog yet, but really I think the larger audience has been on the Facebook page, where I did put out the information.  But I suppose for the sake of the blog, I think I should write a final post.  I'm not going to do like others have done where they write a farewell post in the words of the cat.  I don't think that would be beneficial.  

Here we are, a week later.  1 week AW if you will. My sweet boy passed away, rather unpleasantly for both of us, in the car on the way to the vet.  He was drooling, having great difficulty breathing and making painful yowling noises.  I discovered him in this state upon arriving home from work that afternoon, I quickly shoved him in the PTU and ran to the car.  Our drive was about 15 minutes and he passed before we got in the office parking lot, next to me in the car, while I was screaming/crying at him "No William! Don't lay down!" The vet said that it sounded like he was in congestive heart failure and that he couldn't hang on anymore.  He was never diagnosed with a heart problem, however Dr. G. said that it is very possible that it could have been manifesting for some time, but kitties don't like to share their illnesses with us.  He was being treated for feline asthma.  He was given a depomedrol steroid injection on Feb 22 after the diagnosis was confirmed.  The depomedrol seemed to help him immediately, there was no more coughing and he was breathing normally for over 3 months.  Around the week of Memorial day he started to have the little nightly coughing spells again, so the WB and I decided that we would get him another injection, since it was easy and effective. William has never been a cooperative fella when it comes to doing things to him (ie. nail trimming, restraining) so I honestly did not feel that we would be able to give him a daily pill, and I felt similar about the AeroKat inhaler system.  Dr. G. advised that the injection was the most risky of the methods, based on the volume of medication that is administered at one time, he stated that it can disrupt the immune system and make them more prone to UTIs.  He did not seem concerned with William's heart, as it appeared normal on his February X-Ray.  Well we got the shot and four days later, he went into CHF, it seems like a coincidence.  
However, at this point it's rather silly to dwell on the how or why, and focus on what is. My sweet boy crossed the bridge and now we are here in an empty catless house.  It has been a hard week, more difficult than I ever imagined that it would be.  I have spent countless hours thinking about what could have been done differently and wondering how long that day that he was in agony. We both went to work that morning thinking that something seemed odd about him, he didn't have his usual morning vigor, he didn't beg at his bedroom door to be let out and he didn't charge to the food door.  It's heart breaking and I feel a bit guilty for how it all went.  
However, I do know that he had a wonderful adventurous life and he enjoyed living with the WB and I, and we thoroughly enjoyed having him here with us for the past 8 years.  It is difficult to think about the future and not having him around, but it is our reality, as depressing as it is right now...

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Cute and cuddly?

Yes, I love head scritches, but only until I say so.  And then the mood changes.


Secret Paws 2023- a delayed review

 Hi furrends!! Buckwheat here for our annual Secret Paws thank you blog post.  This year we traded gifts with BJ Bangs and crew. Thanks to t...