Twinkletoes Remembered

Twinkletoes Remembered

Original Blogstream Post- Sept. 23, 2009
(Didn't want to lose this one when the Stream goes dark)

In June, 1995, we had to have our cat Sylvester put down due to advanced age and acute kidney failure. I moped around work listlessly for a couple of weeks.  One day, my manager, Marsha, stopped me and handed me a flyer for the Adopt a Cat month at the Humane Society.

Chris and I went that evening.  I fell in love with Max a true life cat. Chris gravitated toward a little cream colored tabby that the staff had named Twinkletoes.  I said he’s a kitten…we (translation: I) want a cat.  The staff said if you take both, we’ll knock $20 off the adoption fee.

Max was my cat…a lap cat…purring…dignified.  Twink was Chris’,,,a kitten full of life…and lots of blond moments.  He was always doing things like rolling off the sofa and landing on his head…or back…he’d right himself and give us a look that implied he meant to do that.  There were times he managed to slip out on the front porch…instead of running away…he’d stand there and look like “Is this all there is outside?”

We lost Max to kidney failure in 2007.  One day he was fine; the next day he couldn’t walk straight.  It was easy to make the decision to end his suffering.  Twink acted a little lost so we adopted Alexander the Great…Alex for short. He provided a challenge for Twink.  He also helped to keep Twink’s weight under control by his sneak attacks and their mad runs through the house.

About 18 months ago, Twink collapsed.  We rushed him to our vet…but he recovered by the time we got there. The tests were normal. It happened 2-3 times more and they referred us to a “specialty” hospital. We met Dr. Marshall a feline cardiologist who told us he had heart disease. She prescribed Sotalol to stop his attacks.

We were told that Twink was on borrowed time.  We decided as long as his good days outnumbered the bad…and he wasn’t in obvious pain…we’d do whatever it took to keep him healthy. Last month, Twink had an attack…he recovered slowly. Last week, he had another attack…but by the end of the week, he rallied.  Sunday, he was sick again. Yesterday, we could barely get the meds down him.  Today, we made the decision that we had been dreading.  His bad days were exceeding the good.  His eyes were cloudy and pain filled.

I didn’t want to leave him to go to work this morning. He could barely walk across the floor.  I came home from work for lunch. I called my boss and told her I would have to take the rest of the day off.  Twink slept on my lap until Chris got home.  We knew it was time.  We called our vet’s and they told us that we didn’t need an appointment.

As we left for the vet, Twink walked around outside…sniffing the grass and flowers.  I picked him up and held him as we made the trip to the vet. Once again, his eyes cleared up…he seemed to have more energy…but we made the hard choice that it was only for a few hours…until his next attack.

We weighed him before taking him into the emergency room.  He used to weigh a robust 14 pounds 8 ounces. He was down to 8 pounds and 6 ounces.

The vet came in and injected him and ended his suffering. Tonight, Chris and I grieve…and remember our four legged friend…our child in fur, Twinkletoes.