Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Today when Pk and I got home from the gym, we found our Calvin lying motionless on our bed.  He didn't move when Pk put his gymbag down and Pk leaned down and felt him and said, "he's cold".    We thought he was dead.  Pk picked him up and wrapped him in a towel and took him downstairs.  Then he called "Hon, he's not dead".  I took Calvin and held his limp body as he took shallow, shuddering breaths.  We waited for each one to be his last.    He lasted for about two hours. It never occured to me to rush him to the vet and take heroic measures.  It was obvious he wasn't going to live.  His pupils were fixed and unresponsive.(I've read too many medical books for my own good).    We held him and talked to him and waited.  He finally took that last breath and died. We think he had a stroke.

  Calvin was our "kindergarten cat".  Not terribly bright but awfully cute.   He defied the "cats are graceful" rule by falling off a shelf (where he didn't belong) and breaking his leg.  6 weeks of listening to him stomp around in a bright red cast is something I'll remember forever.  (The first night he had the cast, we set him up downstairs with a small, low sided litter box and food and water within easy reach.  In the night, we heard strange noises and found him on the top bunk bed in Em and Kate's room in the morning. He dragged his broken leg (and dislocated knee) up the bunk bed ladder to get on the top bed he loved.)
 I'll miss him every day.  

 I love you, Calvin. 

16 comments:

roxie said...

Oh dear heart, I'm so sorry. It's so hard to loose a cat. You're in my thoughts.

Olivia said...

Oh Donna Lee, I am so sad for you and your family. I haven't lost a pet yet (other than when I was tiny and didn't really know) but I dread it. I love the way you've told his story, especially the bunk bed incident. Sending virtual hugs to the rest of your pack.

Anonymous said...

Oh I'm so sorry! I'm so glad you got home in time to be with him as he died though - imagine finding him dead - you got to say good bye.

Julie said...

Aw. Hugs to both of you. It's so hard to lose a pet. It's good you were there with him at the end, I'm sure he knew it and loved you guys too.

Aw. Hugs.

Louiz said...

I'm so sorry for your loss, it is horrible losing a pet.

Saren Johnson said...

((hugs))

He sounded like a great cat.

Dianne said...

Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm glad you had those couple of hours with him before he passed. Saying good bye to these sweet, loving souls who enrich our lives is the hardest thing. I'm sending hugs your way.

Alwen said...

I'm glad you got to say good-bye. It's so hard. Both of my dogs are getting older - you never look forward to that last day.

amy said...

I'm sorry, Donna Lee. xo

Geek Knitter said...

It's good that you had a chance to say goodbye to him, but must have been so hard at the same time.

Peace to you both, and to Calvin too.

JerseyJennyW said...

Oh my goodness, I am so, so sorry! Such losses are always terribly sad. At least you got to hold him and speak to him while he crossed over...

Jeanne said...

I am so sorry - how terrible. I know how hard it is to lose a pet and my thoughts are with you and your family.

Galad said...

I'm glad you were able to be with him and say goodbye. So hard to live without our fur people. I know Calvin will be missed.

Hugs to you both!

Rose Red said...

Oh, I'm so sorry about Calvin, it's always hard to lose a faithful friend.

Nice to have funny memories though - when we had our cat Nelly desexed, she tried to jump on our (quite high) bed and couldn't, so we had to make some steps for her out of boxes, so she could get on the bed with us.

DPUTiger said...

Hugs to you. It's so sad to lose a pet, but you gave him a great life.

SwissKnits! said...

I'm so sorry for your loss...
hugs to all of you...

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