Rascal breathed his last breath today. I had been giving him the fluids. He seemed to be doing fairly well, considering his condition. I haven’t posted much in the last few weeks, because there hadn’t been much of a change. Basically, he was hanging in there. His appetite had improved and he was eating dry cat food. I had an appointment for the vet for him this coming Monday.
Anyway, I had noticed that he breathed heavily when I picked him up. I noticed this earlier this week. On Wednesday, I went to the vet’s office to get some more fluid. I asked them about it. Since Rascal would be OK again when I put him back down, we thought that it might be anxiety because he thought I was going to give him fluid.
Anyway, earlier today, he didn’t seem to be any different. I went to Scottsburg with my friend, Judy. We were concerned about another friend of ours, so we drove there to visit her. I was supposed to go, with Judy, to a dinner tonight.
After I got back from Scottsburg, I noticed that Rascal was breathing very heavily even when he was just sitting on the bed. I called Judy and told her about it and I cancelled my evening with her. I called the animal hospital and they told me to bring him in right away. I had to stop at Judy’s on my way, because she had left the tickets in my car. On my way to Judy’s, I knew things weren’t good at all when Rascal started gurgling. While I was at Judy’s (I was still in the car, Rascal stopped breathing and stiffened. I called Judy back to the car. We hugged and both cried.
I called my friend, Jerry and asked him if I could bring Rascal up to his place in Scottsburg. When Rascal was first diagnosed, I asked Jerry if we could bury Rascal in his yard. Of course, he had said “yes”. When I got there, we wrapped him in a towel I had with him in his cat carrier. We then put him in a box and buried him. I was really moved when I saw that Jerry had already mad a small plaque out of cement that read “Rascal”. That was one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for me.
I visited with Jerry for a while. I’m back home now. When I got in the apartment, I picked up Pandora and told her that Rascal wasn’t coming back and it was just her and me now. I asked her to give her daddy a little extra love for the next few days. Even though she can’t understand me talking to her, I think she knows what happened. Animals are very intuitive.
I’m OK now, but I know the next few days will be hard. I appreciate all the kind thoughts of my friends and family. Thanks.