Tuesday, September 23, 2008

And then there were three...

Just a quick, non-wedding related post.

Yesterday morning Mike and I had to say goodbye to one of our kittens, Spike. For the past month, his little body has been fighting a virus and yesterday morning we held him in our arms and said goodbye.

Spike and Drusilla were an engagement gift for Mike back in July. Over the past the 2 1/2 months, we have been so very lucky to have Spike as a part of our lives. Before he was sick, he spent hours bounding up and down the stairs, teasing his older brothers Jake and Chewbacca, and adoring his little sister. He would follow Mike around the house and cuddle with us while we watched TV. He'd wake us up in the middle of the night purring in our ears.

When Spike got sick, we did everything we could to help him. He spent a week earlier this month at the animal hospital ever day, and spent every night back home in bed with us. He was quite the cuddle bug, curling up in the nook of our arms at night, purring loudly and falling to sleep. After 6 days in the hospital, he seemed to make a turn for the better. His temperature was down and he was eating again - chicken and gravy flavored baby food.

A week back at the house and Spike was cuddly as ever. He was sluggish and tired, but still followed us around the house to curl up with us wherever we were. He wasn't eating on his own, so Mike had to force feed him baby food with a syringe. He certainly didn't like it but he never ran away and within two minutes was always back on Mike's lap.

Over this past weekend, Spike made a turn for the worse. He had stopped eating on his own completely and had started peeing around the house, a cat signal that something is very wrong. Yesterday morning, I brought him back to the vet hospital. The doctor was less than optimistic.

After another series of tests and x-rays, the mysterious virus was FIP. Most cats are exposed to FIP and respond normally but Spike's little immune system couldn't handle it. The vet told us that there is no treatment for FIP and that, at most, Spike would have another day or two, and they wouldn't be comfortable. Mike drove down from work and we held Spike as he purred and purred. Even at the end, as sick as he was, he knew how loved he was.

Our little family is having a rough couple days but we'll make it through to the other side. Thank you to everyone who has been so thoughtful and supportive to us. We love you all.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

it is not cool to make a dude cry at work! im sorry guys, that totally sux

Anonymous said...

Hey Kristin,

I am so so sorry. FIP is never anything you can see coming. You guys gave Spike such a great home and lots of love, so even though his life was a short one, it was lived the way every cat wishes for. I'm thinking of you both...

Anonymous said...

Kristin and Mike,

This was such a hard decision to make, and I'm so sorry you lost your little kitten. Please know I'm here if there's anything I can ever do...

Anne