Our beloved Slimmie died two years ago this week, on November 15, 2004. Slim was a stray from (I think) Rahway, NJ. He was picked up in January, 2003, during what was, for our area, a particular bad winter. I think it was a friend of a shelter volunteer who found him. He eventually made his way to the shelter. That was stressful for him bc he wasn't big on other cats and yet, there he was, surrounded by cats. He was originally named, 'Orangey'. I thought that was a lame name, although I didn't realize he was named after a movie cat. He wasn't really orange, though, so that quickly changed to 'Red'. We called him that for a while, until one time Kevin referred to him as 'Slim'. 'Where's Slim?' That fit him perfectly - like 'Minnesota Fats' fit Rudolph Walter Wanderone Jr. - and the name stuck.
He was probably an elderly cat, although he might just have appeared that way bco his problems. He was, as our vet put it, a 'train wreck'. Underweight. One blind eye, one half-blind eye with some kind of discharge. A filthy coat and feet. Slow moving. Vomiting. Diarrhea.
So, when the shelter was looking for someone to foster him, of course I volunteered. I should've asked Kevin first if he was up for it, but I didn't. Maybe bc I didn't want to hear it if he said he wasn't. Maybe bc I thought he would be up for it. Maybe bc I just felt so bad for the guy. Slim, that is.
He came to our place on March 7, 2003. Once out of his carrier, the first thing he did was urinate against the wall. I forget if Kevin saw him do that; I do remember cleaning that up PDQ, setting up his litterbox and putting down a quilt covered w/a plastic painting tarp. In his defense (and I'll always defend my cats; I'm thoroughly biased and completely unobjective about them), I should have had his box ready for him.
The Plan was for him to stay with us for a little while, just until he got back on his feet. Then he'd return to the shelter and go up for adoption. It soon became apparent that he was at least sick w/kidney failure. The late Mr. Moustache had had kidney failure (CRF), so we recognized the symptoms. Testing confirmed that Slim did have CRF. He was also hyperthyroid. He might also have had IBD. That diagnosis was based on symptoms. Definitive diagnosis would have to come from an endoscopy, but he was most definitely not a good candidate for that procedure. There was probably something painful on one side of his face. Maybe his teeth/mouth hurt? Maybe there was an old injury? He went ballistic if you tried to touch him there. He may have been an old-timer, but he was still capable of flipping out and doing serious damage if it pleased him.
We all figured Slim had maybe two or three months left on his nine lives, so we decided to keep him until he died or it was time to euthanize him. Slim had other plans. He hung around until November, 2004. And was massively spoiled during that entire time. He quickly became Kevin's darling. I still don't understand how such a cat - sickly, occasionally ornery, marking surfaces like one of those oscillating lawn sprinklers, poorly aimed defecation,... - could be so endearing. But he was. I think we could overlook all that stuff bc we realized, as Kevin put it, that he was just a poor, sick kitty just trying to make his way in the world. In short, we felt really bad for him, for his illnesses and for the life he'd been living.
For most of his time with us, he had to himself what is now the manly room. He was out and about for a while, but he seemed stressed by the other cats' presence. He also peed all over everything. I think he enjoyed being out and about, so I felt bad about reconfining him to the one room. But he adapted better than I thought he would. He had gradually become sicker and slower. I think a room to himself, w/o the stress of other cats, suited him at that time. It also suited us not to have him urinating everywhere. Plus, we were always concerned about him getting into a fight or hurting himself when we were gone, asleep, etc. His room had last been redone in the 60's, so we didn't mind if he messed it up, bc we'd redo it once Slim was gone.
Whatever his life had been like before, he pretty much hit the jackpot when he came here. Kevin spoiled that cat like nobody's business. If Kevin made salmon (Slim's second favorite food) for dinner, he made it the way Slim liked it. When Kevin went grocery shopping, he always brought back some fried chicken (Slim's very favorite food) home for Slim. If Kevin made a sandwich, Slim got some turkey or chicken or tuna, too. If Slim was on his lap while they watched tv, Kevin waited until Slim got up before he'd get up. I'm sure Kevin fell asleep more often snuggled up w/Slim than w/me. I understood. I think we both wanted to do whatever we could for him. He really did seem like a poor, sick kitty just trying to make his way in the world. He didn't ask for much: yummies, water, shelter, a lap. He reminded us of the Tom Hanks' character in 'Cast Away' bc he'd snuggle down into the most uncomfortable looking spots. We'd put out soft things for him to curl up in, but he'd curl up on the bare wood next to them.
We had a good 21 months together. For a while, he seemed to improve. CRF is terminal in cats (barring a kidney transplant, but that was not an option for Slim bco his other, numerous problems; transplant candidates need to be healthy otherwise), so we knew any improvements in other areas would be overwhelmed by the decline of kidney function. For a while, though, he put on weight, stopped w/so much diarrhea and vomiting, cleaned himself up, was in good spirits.... Slim was present once when Kevin was playing w/other cats w/a wand toy that they love. The toy got close to Slim once and the old coot was all over it. We couldn't believe it! We still talk about 'the time Slimmie played'.
Of course, those improvements gave way to CRF. He took a turn for the worse one weekend. We spoke w/Dr. Slade, who would come on Tuesday to euthenize him. It was entirely possible that Slim would die before then. That Monday, I had two classes. I stayed home from the first one to be with Slim. I had to go to the second one bco an exam. Kevin would come home early, but not before I left for the exam. So there'd be about two hours when he'd be alone. I had put him in a cat bed and brought him up to our room to hang out together. When it was time to leave for the exam, I got all ready, right down to my coat and gloves, and then went to carry him to his room just before I left. I wanted to put him in his room bc I didn't want the other cats bothering him when he was so ill. Just as I was about to pick him up in his cat bed, I noticed his breathing slowing down. Then he stopped breathing. I could still see his heart beating in his chest. Then that slowed down and stopped. He was gone. I cried out for him and then just cried. I called Kevin and told him. Then I brought him down to his room. I left a message for Doctor Slade (she would pick up his body the next day and arrange for the pet cemetery to pick him up from her place). And then I had to go take an exam on Spinoza. I cried the whole way down there. I looked like I'd been crying, so I kinda just kept my head down as I blew the exam. Actually, I was thankful that it was an exam, so I could keep my head down, and not have to look up when I got called on in class (yes, this guy called on people; he was kinda old school; it was kinda neat bc it was different).
I leave you with a favorite picture of Slim, when he'd been here a few months and was actually doing, feeling and looking pretty good:
It warms my heart to see like minded people in pure adoration for their pets
God bless you
Posted by: Jane Bertinshaw | Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 01:02 PM