Cats of DOOM

[cranefly]

This doesn't really concern cats of doom, but I'll shoe-horn it in here anyway.

LCF and I were out for a walk through the neighborhood a couple days ago when LCF approached a note on a phone pole and said, "Oh no!"

It was a Lost posting for a cat named Saki.  Actually, it went further than that.  Stolen is what it said.  In coloration it was tiger, but with Bengal markings.  One of those exotic hybrids.  We had seen a Bengal cat in the area a few weeks ago, and our singular reaction was, "A cat like that oughtn't be let out to roam, because someone could steal it."  Oh, well.  And so it goes.

We walk less than a block further when LCF says, "Is that Saki?"  Across the street there's a tiger cat with Bengal markings.  Whereupon LCF crosses the street and approaches it.  I stay put, not wanting to panic it with a second human.  The cat is friendly enough, and LCF eventually picks it up.  The cat doesn't like that and squirms like mad.  It doesn't try to scratch or bite, but LCF finally has to put it down.  It remains friendly, though a little cautious.

We go back to the poster and do a comparative analysis.  Saki has a colorful collar; this one lacks a collar.  Still, if thieves had a change of heart and released the cat, thinking it too risky to keep, they might have removed the collar.  Also, Saki has very blue eyes.  This one has less blue eyes.  Still, photos can do strange things to eye color.

When we get home, LCF grabs her cell and texts the number on the poster.  She gets a response.  Nope, not Saki.  They've seen that other Bengal out and about, but it's a different cat.

Amazing.  Two Bengals in the same neighborhood.

Now LCF is helping cat-sit for a friend of ours.  It's more involved than she'd like.  This cat, named Merlin, has become diabetic.  LCF must feed Merlin, wait 40 minutes, then give him an insulin shot.

I've decided that in my next life I'm going to be a cat.

[Greg]

Spending the 4th of July in the emergency room with OG feral Fergus. He's in rough shape and went downhill in the last 24 hours. We were hoping he'd make it until tomorrow so we could go to the regular vet. But no. We opted to go to Fresno. It turns out an emergency room on a holiday isn't cheap.

[Drunk Monk]

Saw the fb posts. Deepest condolences to Lynch lair.

[cranefly]

Just checked fb too.  Deepest condolences as well.

[Greg]

Fat Fergus the Fearless was the OG Feral cat. He is the last remaining cat from the litter born in my Montecito Heights garage about eleven years ago. He outlived the other members by many years. They fell prey I believe to our neighborhood coyotes. One might still be alive as we adopted that cat out. Mama Freeloader, the mother of the litter is still with us. Fergus almost didn't make the trip to Los Angeles because he escaped as we tried to get him into the cat carrier, something he did not approve of. I spent the night in a furniture-less house trying to capture him. Eventually, he was coaxed into the carrier and we brought him north.

Fergus and Mama spent their lives in the garage of Lynch Lair, the garage door cracked open to allow them full time access. They did not like the advent of the many new cats vying for the attention of their humans and pretty much kept to themselves. They were fed separate from the others because of their place atop the feline hierarchy. Although the other cats would occasionally intrude into their garage domain, they were quickly sent on their way. Only Fainí, the other cat without a pack, is sort of allowed into garage.

Fergus would mainly keep to himself, getting a bit more skittish in his old age. He would accept pets once he came to the conclusion you weren't a threat. He did love the pickup and would dig his claws deep into your shoulders to announce his pleasure. The Queen and I both have holes in our shoulders from this treatment. Fergus loved to meet us at the end of the day when we would go out into the back area to take our sunset photos, our daily goodnight ritual. It's the reason why Fergus is in so many of our sunset shots.

But I kind of last track of him in the last couple of months. Blue cloudless skies don't make for the best pictures so I don't go out as often. I would see Fergus around but he would shy away from me and many times I didn't feel like chasing him. This last week I would see him atop this desk in the garage in a spot next to a window. I'd see him there and assume he was all right. When I went to pet him on Friday, I finally discovered Fergus was not all right. He felt boney. He wasn't his usual fat self. I could feel his bony spine through his fur. I was concerned but not super concerned. I brought him some treats to get him to eat. He had a hard time choking them down. My concern level went up another notch.

All day Sunday, Fergus lay on the concrete in the middle of the garage. He was no longer on his spot atop the desk. Looking back, I assume he no longer had the energy to make the jump. I brought him wet food and water to feed him. He gave a few licks but that was all. I was happy to see him eat but I would have been happier to see him eat more. I talked to the Queen about getting him to the vet on Tuesday to get him checked out.

On July 4th, Fergus's health became really bad. He ignored the food and water. But he disappeared into the yard so we kind of thought he would be okay until Tuesday. Plus, I was dealing with my own health issues. Late in the afternoon, Fergus returned to garage. When I went to him, he made pitiful meows and made this terrible sound when he breathed. The Queen asked the question and I answered in the affirmative and we were off to the vet on a late July 4th Monday. Naturally our normal vet was closed so we had to make the drive to the Emergency Vet Hospital in Fresno. And it wasn't even the first choice hospital. When I called our vet they recommended their preferred Fresno Emergency Hospital. When I called them they said their vet was heading into surgery and there would be a three hour wait before the vet could even see anyone. We opted for choice 2. We had been to this vet before when we first moved in and Maeve had problems. It was another expensive emergency.

To be honest, I didn't think Fergus was going to survive the drive. He looked terrible. The way we could tell he was alive was we could hear his awful breathing. To be honest again, it probably would have been better if he had died in the car. It would have saved us a fortune. But you have to do everything for your pets if it will help them. The vet immediately brought Fergus into the back upon arrival. They would do nothing until the Queen gave them the big retainer.

After checking Fergus out and putting him in an oxygen chamber, they brought the Queen and I into an examination room. Which was good. I was tired of looking at the blood stains on the floor of the waiting room. The emergency vet was not in a great part of town. Our first decision was to take x-rays to see what was going on. The x-rays revealed a lot of fluid in Fergus's lungs. This was the source of the breathing problems. To find the source of the fluids, we had to do a blood test. If the blood test revealed heart disease, Fergus was done. If it was infection, he could be treated. Well, it wasn't heart disease. But the infection was so far advanced his body was already done and there was nothing the vet could do to help him. The Queen and I made the decision to euthanize our boy.  At about 6:30, Fergus was no more.

I believe when we first walked in, the Vets knew the outcome of this visit. But they had to let us go through the motions of x-rays and blood tests. But they knew there was only way for this to end.

I do kick myself that if I had spotted Fergus's weight loss earlier I might have done something earlier. But I did not.

Fergus was a very good boy. The first to break the no cats in the house rule and he did it with impunity. He will be missed.

[Drunk Monk]

Fergus' passing reminds me of what happened to our tamed feral Redbell. http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=3454

Again, our condolences.

[Greg]

Yep, the Redbell scenario sounds very familiar.

Fergus is the first cat we euthanized. The others have disappeared or passed away in our care. Our decision making, much like yours, was to go to the vet.

[Drunk Monk]

Are you going to start a pet cemetary at Lynch Lair?

There's one at my mom's. Last week, after we had some yard workers clean up the place, I searched for the graves but only found two. I have a general idea where the others are but the markers - placed stones - are gone. We got a full on headstone for Ginger - Stacy's longtime cat - who is buried at Ranch Macbeth in Fremont (Alice our rabbit is there too under a tree I planted). We moved the headstone to my mom's and I thought it was over Redbell, but I'm not quite sure. I thought I found Redbell's stone markers last week, but maybe that was Jingles the pom.

[Greg]

Not at this time. Fergus was cremated but we did not get the ashes. They wanted $310 for that particular service. I have the ashes of Preston and Cuchulain in boxes in one of the bookcases.

[Drunk Monk]

$310 for the ashes? Damn. Blood suckers. Like, what are they going to do with them anyway?

[Greg]

Pretty much. That price was for an individual cremation. We did pay to have him cremated. I think that happens in a large lot with no individual separation. The harshness of the situation is always compounded by the mercantile aspect of the situation.

[Drunk Monk]

I suppose we've been fortunate that way. We put down Jingles and Alice but that was at home. With Alice, Stacy's cousin, a vet in Sacto who got Alice for us before she was going to be put down after being a lab animal, came to our home and did it. With Jingles, we had a mobile service come. Both pets passed in my arms as I petted them, reassured them (as if I knew where they were going) and had direct eye conctact, watching when the life light faded. RedBell & Ginger, being cats, found a place in our area and passed on their own, but we recovered both. We've never cremated any of them.

I've always loved Fergus' expression. It was just so... catty. I'll miss that in your fb photos.

[Greg]

Fergus looked like he had a lot of FU energy, but he was a big softy.

Fergus was the first cat we euthanized. All the others had the decency to die quietly.

[Drunk Monk]

I processed the passing of my pets here on the D00M4M, except Ginger must've been pre-D00M4M.

Alice - http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=1587

Jingles - http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=2679

I just reread both and Jingles got me weepy again. It's so hard when pets pass. They all still hurt. Stragnely I mourn them more than I mourn the loss of many close humans.

The hardest one for me was when Redbell passed and Tara was in Mexico in a language immersion course - http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...2#pid21202 - I'm still traumatized from having to make that call.

[Drunk Monk]

Fergus' passing inspired me to uncover the pet cemetary at my mom's - Jingles & Redbell, and Ginger I think. I think I moved her casket too, along with the headstone. I can't quite remember. Maybe I left a note here somewhere. Seems like I would've in a relocation thread. That was easy to find. It's kinda my view from the dining room table where I work a lot when I'm here. 

Ginger's casket was a fine wood box which I sealed tightly at Stacy's request - she didn't want ants to get at her. I imagine she's mummified because I sealed it tightly with caulk. 

It was easier to clear J & R's plots because the yardworkers cleared out all the underbrush. I just raked clear the remaining dead grass. I marked both graves with placed stones in the shape of a heart, and with the first letter of their respective names in the center. Jingles also had a tennis ball placed at the top - he loved playing fetch with tennis balls. I buried one with him too. 

Perhaps I'll clean them up more next week - replace some stones. We'll see. At least I know where they are now. 

Thanks Fergus, for the reminder.