This posting is an early one, as I'd like to record the sad passing of my dear friend Pixie the Cat.
Pixie had had sickness problems for a number of weeks, but a previous vet visit suggested that there was nothing to worry about.
Then his sickness suddenly became more frequent, and a change in his normal happy active personality was very noticeable. This culminated in my wife and I staying up all night Friday trying to help him and eventually taking him to the vet at 1.00am in the morning. After a check over, in which nothing was found, the vet gave him a couple of injections to help ease his nausea and an antibiotic and made an appointment to see him again that same morning at 10.10.
The appointment came, more checks were made, nothing was found, injections were given and tablets were issued and another appointment was made for the following Monday morning at 9.10am.
He stayed with us all Saturday night, but we could tell that he wasn’t comfortable.
The next morning there was no sign of him and, fearing the worst, we both spent the whole day looking for him in the hedges, the fields, the sheds, everywhere we could think of, but no joy. Eventually, in the late afternoon, one of us had to pick up The Little One, after the day with her father, and to break the news to her that Pixie was still unwell and was missing. She reacted very bravely and, once she returned, we all set off up and down the lane to place posters of our missing cat on lampposts and to ask neighbours to look out for him.
All done we returned home and, within minutes, there was Pixie. He looked OK but again he wasn’t his normal happy self and he looked a bit out of sorts and unsure of himself. We were careful not to over fuss him, as we didn’t want him to run off again, and let him go where he wanted to go. After a short while he had settled on the bed my wife and I share. We gave him the attention he deserved and then gave him some peace to give him a chance to recover. Later, when we went to bed, he was still in the same spot. Unusually for him he stayed with us for the whole night.
The next day my wife my wife took him to the vet for his appointment and this time they discovered some discomfort in him and decided on a blood test. Without going into details the test results were not too good and it was suggested that he stayed at the vets overnight where they would treat him and do another test in the morning. Although Pixie was more lively the results of the tests were much the same so more treatment was suggested and another overnight stay agreed.
Wednesday (yesterday) morning arrived and a call from the vets on his progress told us that the treatment hadn’t really shown much in the way of progress and another test was arranged for later that morning. Then the call came to say that an exploratory operation was recommended to find the exact cause of the problem so they could decide what course of action was needed to help him. After some deliberation we gave the vet the go-ahead.
It wasn’t long before the vet was in touch again to inform us that Pixie has severe swelling in his liver and a swollen pancreas and that there was nothing they could do for him. Pixie never woke up from his operation. We took him home and created a grave for him. Telling The Little One the sad news was horrible. Understandably she was very distraught. Eventually, after having time to get ourselves together and say our good-byes, we put him to rest.
Some of you reading this may say that he was only a cat. Well I say (we say) that he was more than that to us. For me he was there for me when my first marriage came to an end. He was a good listener and very enjoyable company to be around. He would follow you around the house, watching what you were doing. He was good company and enjoyed the comfort of a lap, often. He had a good character about him too. He knew when to look cute, which he did often, and he was clever. As he kept bringing in mice we fixed the cat-flap so he could go out but not come in, unless we let him in. Or so we thought. He found a way of grabbing hold of the door with his claw and opening it from the outside so that he could get in. He stopped bringing the mice in though. When my wife and her daughter moved in with me he took to them very easily, and they to him. My wife works from home and found him to be excellent company throughout the day and I know she will miss him terribly. We all will..
My mother summed it up for me when she expressed her sympathies and said, “You won’t find another one like him”. She is right. He was unique. There really isn’t a way to explain how, but we don’t have to, as we know how special he was, and still is.
Our thanks go out to the Shepton Veterinary Group for their help with Pixie, we know you did all you could.
We love you Pixie, we will miss you but we won’t forget you. xxx
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