Around 14 years ago my sister lost her apartment lease, had to move and was only able to keep one of her two cats. Reluctantly I agreed to allow the cat to stay with me until she was able to reclaim him. When she brought him to my house & put him down in the doorway, he walked straight over to where I was sitting, jumped up on my lap and proceeded to purr. For about 14 years straight.
He came with the name "Theo". About a month after I got him I was working a car deal from home on my day off, confirming with a customer that he was coming in to pick up his new car. Dude kicked the deal for some stupid reason & I hung up the phone, threw it down on to the couch and said " Awwww, Larry!" and Theo, who was walking by looked at me and said "Murp?". He walked into the kitchen and I said "Larry?" again, he turned/looked/murped once more.
So obviously, his natural name was Larry!
I would come home from work or really at any time I could yell "Larry!" and he would come bounding over to have his face rubbed while he purred himself to sleep.
Around the end of summer, he started becoming lethargic, lost his appetite, didn't want catgrass/nip/treats. He started becoming wobbly when he walked. Of course we took him to the vet who did a battery of tests showing all was relatively well, Vet said his heart was "enlarged" and also had a murmur, and he had a "loose hip".
Flash forward to about a week ago, Larry starts having difficulty walking, more than just wobbly, he's practically falling over. His eyes started flashing green alot, he didn't seem to be recognizing the difference between me (the passably-ok guy) and my wife (super Cat Mom).
Yesterday he took a turn for the worse, when I came home my wife was crying, Larry was silently meowing, he could hardly walk, he would fall over on his side and stay there or would spin in circles till he fell over.
So we slept on the couch with Larry stretched out like SuperCat on wife's lap, his favorite.
This morning I wake up on the couch, wife and Larry are in the kitchen, Larry is on his side & can't move. I pick him up & put him on his sheepskin on the couch, rub his face & he purrs a little, then looks at me, his eyes flash green then he seems to recognize me. He gives a feeble meow & licks me. I know it's time.....
At the Vet's office Larry seems ok, he's in his carrier curled up & alert. In the exam room we take him out of his carrier and he seems kinda ok, he's laying straight & is calm. Doc reviews the tests from the fall and examines Larry who seems pretty good, but I know he's not. His eyes are flashing green, he doesn't blink when you move your finger towards his eyes. Larry is dehydrated & has dropped from 12 pounds to 10, he was 15 lbs in July. Doc says Larry may have a brain tumor. Doc puts him down on the floor to see how he'll move and Larry spins quickly three times in a circle, falls and hits his head on a cabinet. He's crying.
Doc states the obvious, "something is dramatically wrong." Only suggestions are to run diagnostics, CT/MRI. Doc talks about brain surgery while I cradle my cat son in one arm and hug my wife with the other. I couldn't think, I let them take Larry & start an IV.
Since he's in obvious pain we don't have any choice. It was peaceful for him as it came, I held him and cried.
My only regret is letting them take Larry's temperature, the hard way. Sorry little buddy.
So dusty in here...
(taken in July at 3 months age)
(taken in early January, can you believe that monster is only 8 months old?!?!)
