A long story...

[kyukidojen]

http://mulhausens.smugmug.com/photos/273235635_Hyu6D-L.jpg
This is our cat Furbis. Furbis is a sweet, loving, BIG kitty. He's half Maine Coon. He's also very smart, and has way too much energy. We've had him for 27 of the 30 months he's been alive. He can be very naughty if he gets bored, or irritated. He likes breaking things and pulling things out of cupboards and off of shelves.

Furbis has a friend, an old friend. She's 17 years old now. We've had her for just under two years. She's got persian in her, and also cancer. We rescued her from abusive owners.

http://mulhausens.smugmug.com/photos/273235595_GzfL9-L.jpg
This is Chloe's profile. She doesn't have very much time left here - her kidneys are getting close to the point of shutting down. But as long as she's happy, and pain-free, we'll keep her here with us. When it's time, we'll hold her as she experiences the final kindness.

We've been dreading what this will do to Furibs - Chloe is his friend. He's a very social kitty, and we know that being an "only cat" would be very hard on him.

About six weeks ago, we found ourselves the proud temporary parents to a little foster kitty. We called her Calliah, which is Greek for beautiful. She was just over six months old, and pregnant. Someone had chosen to have her vaccinated in spite of her pregnancy, and she lost the babies. We had her spayed, and she developed a post operative infection that could have taken her life. She had to wear an e-collar for a week...
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Calliah was very tiny, and undernourished. She had worms, and earmites, and was generally sluggish and sedate. Not at all what a six month old kitten should be.

[kyukidojen]

http://mulhausens.smugmug.com/photos/273235647_o4n4D-L.jpg
With a lot of patience and time, we were teaching her trust. Having been a stray her whole life long, she had lots to learn. Meanwhile, I take you back to our Chloe cat.

http://mulhausens.smugmug.com/photos/273236071_hwnWo-L.jpg
The cancer was starting to take it's toll - or so we thought. All we knew for sure is that she was starting to not look so healthy. She wasn't enjoying life, wasn't playing with Furb. Wasn't cleaning herself. She was sick every time she ate, and then would spend hours laying down, unmoving but awake. We made the painful decision to euthanize her... knowing that after a lifetime of pain and suffering, the one thing we could still do was prevent her from dying afraid and in pain.

That day, we decided we would keep Calliah. Furbis needed another cat - he is just one of those must-have-a-companion sort of guys. We let them meet one another and start getting aquainted two days before Chloe's "appointment."
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It actually went very well... some hissing and running and batting, but nothing vicious or even all that fearful. Just some general uncertainty.

[kyukidojen]

http://mulhausens.smugmug.com/photos/273235795_rK8jf-L.jpg
The morning of Chloe's "appointment" we found Calliah and Furbis hanging out together, enjoying the company. It was a relief to see that Furbis, while he's certainly going to miss his Chloe just as he missed his Tigger this past December, would not be alone that night.

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That afternoon, I looked into Chloe's eyes right before leaving to take her final car ride, to the vet (both of which she loved). I asked if she was ready, and her eyes said, "no... not yet." I was more than a little stunned... she'd been so miserable for the last three days, and now this? I took a picture, because she had regained a little of that glint, a little spunk. I wanted to remember that. We took her to the vet, hoping that the vet would agree with us - that maybe this had been a passing bug, maybe a virus picked up from the foster kitty due to her cancer-ridden immune system. The ride home with our happy, purring Chloe girl was almost euphoric. To be granted a few more days, maybe weeks, with our girl was a wonderful and much-needed gift.

http://mulhausens.smugmug.com/photos/273235994_ouZka-L.jpg
So as of today, we have three cats... Chloe, who's dying. Calliah, who's just barely begun to live. And Furbis, who is happily somewhere in between. As you can see, Chloe is quite comfy in her new home-made cat bed, enjoying her last days.

[kyukidojen]

http://mulhausens.smugmug.com/photos/273235754_mAPaf-L.jpg
Calliah recovering her strength after a thirty minute wrestling match with Furbis.

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Calliah playing Jungle Kitty - she was laying on her post, dreaming about getting the birds outside the window.

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"The Kids" keeping themselves entertained on the floor... Furb was "winning" at this particular moment...

[kyukidojen]

http://mulhausens.smugmug.com/photos/273235894_4w7rN-L.jpg
But Furb's winning streak didn't last very long - Calliah got in plenty of punches of her own.

http://mulhausens.smugmug.com/photos/273235869_z9m6R-L.jpg
And finally, I just like how this one so nicely demonstrates the bigness of Calliah's ears.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. :)

[Mom2Lucas]

That was the most sweet amazing story! I'm so sorry about Chloe, I know how it feels when your beautiful loving pet gets cancer, I lost my dog Roger to a tumor and I'm still in pain and I will be for a long time.

Your cats are gorgeous and I'm so glad you were able to keep Calliah, she and Furbies look adorable and happy together:)

My cat Lucas suffers a lot because he doesn't have a cat friend inside the house. I wish I could have one of my two outdoor kitties inside, but I can't, Lucas gets sick after playing with them, I don't know why because they ar all vaccinated, dewormed and well taken care of.

I LOVE your story!!!

Tamar

[That_girl]

That is a great story, thanks for sharing. You take some very awesome pictures. You really capture your cats well.

[dlaura]

I am so sorry to hear that Chloe is nearing her last days here on earth, but am happy she is doing that with you and has learned that not all humans are abusive. It sure looks like Furb has taken Calliah under his paw and accepted her as a new playmate - which will be good for them both when Chloe goes to the Rainbow Bridge. Thanks for sharing your story and picture - it is very heartwarming.

[Julia423]

Sweet story...and lovely, sweet kitties.

[Macawpower58]

I don't post on cat threads that often, though I have one, cats are not my area of knowledge.

Your story though caught my attention, and your photos have that 'something' that makes them unique.

Your story is bittersweet........and you tell it well.

Enjoy Chloe while she still has the will to live, and allow Calliah to gain a place in your heart. Furb seems to be doing both already!

Thanks for the great story, and your photos that I enjoyed very much.
3 lucky kitties, or should I say, 1 lucky cat owner.

[roxy]

photos and story. made me teary eyed.

[emroul]

I agree with Roxy - i about welled up. That was so so sweet and I loved reading it. I am also happy that Chloe decided to give it another go and your vet and yourself noticed that in time. :) She will be safe and warm until her very last moments.

The other two seem to be getting along well and will surely be best friends from the looks of it! BTW I absolutely love that name Calliah and may just steal it for one of my next critters. :D

[kyukidojen]

That was the most sweet amazing story! I'm so sorry about Chloe, I know how it feels when your beautiful loving pet gets cancer, I lost my dog Roger to a tumor and I'm still in pain and I will be for a long time.

Your cats are gorgeous and I'm so glad you were able to keep Calliah, she and Furbies look adorable and happy together:)

My cat Lucas suffers a lot because he doesn't have a cat friend inside the house. I wish I could have one of my two outdoor kitties inside, but I can't, Lucas gets sick after playing with them, I don't know why because they ar all vaccinated, dewormed and well taken care of.

I LOVE your story!!!

Tamar

Thank you! I think they're pretty gorgeous myself, but I am a little bit biased. :) I wonder why lucas gets sick... We've all seen your lucas and it's pretty obvious that you take good care of him - he looks pretty happy and healthy. :)

[kyukidojen]

That is a great story, thanks for sharing. You take some very awesome pictures. You really capture your cats well.

Thank you.

[kyukidojen]

I am so sorry to hear that Chloe is nearing her last days here on earth, but am happy she is doing that with you and has learned that not all humans are abusive. It sure looks like Furb has taken Calliah under his paw and accepted her as a new playmate - which will be good for them both when Chloe goes to the Rainbow Bridge. Thanks for sharing your story and picture - it is very heartwarming.

Thank you...
It is hard to watch Chloe day to day, seeing her so often seem oblivious to the fact that she's dying. She has moments where it's apparent that something is very wrong, and she's had the occasional seizure since we met her... and yet, she's so full of life. It seems basically unfair. I am thankful for the privelage of showing her that SOME humans can be really good pets. ;)

Furb really does like Calliah. They will spend an hour chasing and yowling and rolling and biting and kicking - and then spend another hour snuggling and bathing one another while purring so loudly it shakes the whole bed. It was definately the thing for him.

[kyukidojen]

Sweet story...and lovely, sweet kitties.
Thank you Julia.
They ARE lovely, sweet kitties. All three of them, each in their own special kitty way.

[kyukidojen]

I don't post on cat threads that often, though I have one, cats are not my area of knowledge.

Your story though caught my attention, and your photos have that 'something' that makes them unique.

Your story is bittersweet........and you tell it well.

Enjoy Chloe while she still has the will to live, and allow Calliah to gain a place in your heart. Furb seems to be doing both already!

Thanks for the great story, and your photos that I enjoyed very much.
3 lucky kitties, or should I say, 1 lucky cat owner.

Thank you for your reply.... I really do appreciate it.

You're right about the story being bitter-sweet. But I know that while right now, the bitter parts are right there in front of me, and seem to be pretty big and nasty... over time, the sweet will win out. Because no matter how many more days we get with our Chloe girl, we gave her a good end. Good food, lots of hugs and kisses, a special bed... and she hasn't been hit, pushed, kicked, or yelled at one time since we got her. And she's paid us back with so much love, and so much laughter... that's the sweetness.

Calliah, whether we liked to admit it or not, got a special place in our hearts the first time she backed Furbis into a corner. Her little (then) five pound self backing his 18 pound bulk down and telling him EXACTLY how she felt about him... that right there took character and guts. 'Course now, they are inseperable and so if she hadn't already found her way into our hearts, we'd have to find space for her anyway.

And my husband and I consider our cats one of the biggest blessings in our lives. We are CERTAINLY privelaged to know them.

[kyukidojen]

photos and story. made me teary eyed.
Thank you Roxy... I get teary eyed when I look at the three of them... we're so blessed. :)

[kyukidojen]

I agree with Roxy - i about welled up. That was so so sweet and I loved reading it. I am also happy that Chloe decided to give it another go and your vet and yourself noticed that in time. :) She will be safe and warm until her very last moments.

The other two seem to be getting along well and will surely be best friends from the looks of it! BTW I absolutely love that name Calliah and may just steal it for one of my next critters. :D

I am SO glad we get a few more days... a gift. A true gift. And we'll take as many as she's got in her. The first time I saw Tiffers talk about asking an animal if they were ready to go, I admit I thought it a bit... odd. And yet... we asked Tigger if he was ready, and his answer was a pleading look that said "please, help me. Make this stop." And when we asked Chloe, her look was "No, not yet. I'm not ready." And yes, she will be safe, warm, and loved even beyond her last moments. Our vet has owners sit in a comfy chair snuggling their baby... she provides treats, dims the lights a little, and waits quietly in the background until you've said your good-byes, then sedates and slowly administers the injection. She also precedes all of that with snuggles of her own for said furbaby, and then a thorough exam to verify that there's no humane alternative.

As for Furb and Calliah - I don't think they could be separated. They're joined at the hip - if one is visible, the other won't be more than about three feet away. Ever. And feel free to steal the name. I steal names all the time.