Sad Day

Yesterday was a sad day for our family. Our cat of 11 years, Oliver, had to take a permanent nap. Now Oliver is not our oldest cat, nor was he the kids favorite, but he was my special kitty. One cat loves my husband and son, and the other loves both my kids (or anyone who will hold her). Oliver was only my cat. He was rescued at about a week old when his mom abandoned him. Of course she did, he was suffering from respiratory infection and would never have survived unless someone intervened. It was interesting because I was actually trying to catch his sibling, but because he was so weak and sick he couldn't move. I took him home, then the vet. After dropping a lot of money and coming home with lots of medication Oliver came home to stay with us. It was only supposed to be a temporary thing because we had two cats. But, after weeks of bottle feedings, potty training, socializing, etc. he became a member of the family. Oliver even went to work with me, and being a temp at the time, was a big thing. He would ride to work in my lap. After a while he became my baby, and ultimately started a power struggle over my affections. Oliver thought he was my baby first, yet my husband thought I was his wife first. It was funny to see these two males posturing for dominance. Whenever my husband would walk in the room, Oliver would hiss at him and come over to me. Then, whenever my husband saw Oliver in the room, he would come up to me to give me a hug. After a while they reached an uneasy truce, and while they never did get along, they at least could tolerate each other. But, at the end, even my husband felt sorry for him. Oliver had sudden kidney failure and could no longer eat, drink, or use the cat box. He was slowly starving to death. My husband even commented that he looked like a concentration victim. As much as I love Oliver I don't want to see him suffer and so for him, we put him down. I will miss you tremendously. Even my two year old has been asking "where's Olver". My son has taken it hard as well. So from your family, I'm sorry and I'll miss you...