Rex

We have had a rough time lately around the house of cats. First we lost three colony cats to neighborhood dogs. Then The Littles’ mom, Magnolia, got hit by a car and died in my hands. Then our very senior cat, Chloe, passed away quite quickly of old age.

Little Rex became ill, went blind, and then got very sick over less than two months. It was a painful process, and an even more agonizing decision to finally put him to sleep rather than suffer. I can’t even tell you how horrific it was to take him to the vet that last time, and hold him while he fell into a deep sleep he wouldn’t return from.

And the last blow was our old dog Sammy, a rescue that I adopted almost 14 years ago, finally got to that point in his struggle with arthritis, and we had to decide it was his time. We’ve spent a good year helping him with his daily routine. He started pooping randomly in the house, usually in bed. He went on increasingly strong dosage of pain medications. He lost control of his bladder. He lost control of his back legs. I spent the last four months of his life supporting his back end while we walked, while he stood to eat or pee. He got stuck on the floor and panicked because he couldn’t get up. We came home from work to find him trapped in his own poop on the floor.

After a long, painful week of not-good days, we decided his quality of life was too poor to continue. We had a party on Saturday and invited a bunch of people and dogs to come over and say goodbye again. And on Monday he took the long walk to cross the rainbow bridge. Fourteen years ago he was an 8-month-old puppy on death row at the pound, probably abuse, definitely scared and confused. Gainseville Pet Rescue gave him another chance, and we fell in love with him. He had a lot of good years, and it was hard letting him go.

This has been the radio silence on our side. We struggle to love these furballs while they are with us. And it hurts when they start to age faster than we do. In the end, we do our duty and help them ease their pain when there is nothing else. It’s all of the middle parts that are important. The cuddling and pets. Listening to the content sighs. The press of a wet nose in the middle of the night. Happy chirps of greetings when we come home. Not minding so much when they step on our bladder first thing in the morning, or knock our phones on the floor. The kitty farts, and the kitty wazzies.

It was harder to accept that Rex wasn’t going to make it because he was a kitten. Sammy had over a decade of life behind him, while Rex was barely 7 months old. I don’t know why that matters. Regardless, we’ve seen more than a few animals over the Rainbow Bridge lately. We’d like to see some kitties off to new homes instead. Please help us with some good news for a while!

Rex selfies 11-9-15 — Rex discovered my phone and selfies!

Temporary Name:

Gender: Male
Color: Black & White
Fur: Short
Born: Approximately 8/28/15

Rex was a big boy, and so active, that when he got sick and lost his vision, I was heartbroken for him. It took a little time to get a diagnosis, but we finally were told it was FIP, araremutation of a common cat issue. We gave him the best we could while he was with us, until the morning he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. It is always difficult to loose a fur baby, and even more so at such a young age. We are heartbroken.

Rainbow Bridge

It’s never broken my heart more to have to completely rewrite a kitty bio here. Rex was a big, strong kitten who loved galloping around the house and ambushing his siblings. He was adventurous and strong. He was going to grow up to be a really big boy. We’re still not sure of the cause, but after having the kitty flue, he got a serious eye condition, and he’s currently blind. We’re working our way through treatments and tests, and now working with specialists to see what can be done for his eyes.

In the mean time, he is learning how to be blind in a busy house. He knows the layout of things, but often walks into other cats. Or they bump him around. He is clearly depressed and confused by this life change, but he loves cuddling so much now. We’re still in early days, so we’re working on confidence and security, and then we’ll work on returning play and fun to his life.

The goal will be to stabilize his vision issues, and find him a home with a family that can appreciate a super sweet, blind kitty. Although I was initially devastated by his vision issues, I’ve done a lot of research, and now have hope for his long and happy life. So many wonderful people have adopted blind kitties and made them wonderful homes, I have to believe we’ll find the right family for Rex!

Health history:

9/26/15 – When we first trapped these kittens, Rex had slightly goopy / crusty eyes which cleared up within 36 hours of treatment. He had a spot of ringworm on his tail that has also cleared up, and the fur is growing back in.

11/23/15 – Rex had 5 days of antibiotics for a urinary tract infection, and bounced back immediately.

1/29/16 – The kitty flu has whipped through our house, and Rex had been sick the longest. He seemed unable to kick the funk, so we took him to our vet. Along with antibiotics, we were given eye ointment for inflamed cornea. It wasn’t until I watched him for two days that I began to suspect he could see little to nothing. One eye was good and one was not good. But he wasn’t really seeing much.

3/4/16 – After our most recent vet visit, we’re sure Rex can’t see anything. We have run out of medicines and tests. Our vets have sent his records on to eye specialists to see if there’s anything they can suggest. Aside from being blind, he seems depressed and feeling funky. He can make his way around the house, and we’re working on getting him healthy. But this is a big adjustment and a big question mark on his future.

3/24/16 – Only three weeks after being diagnosed with FIP, Rex succumbed to his condition and he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We are heartbroken.