We had to say goodbye to Hiro today, our 18+ year old cat. He threw a blood clot or something of that sort that instantly paralyzed his back end and legs, and there's no recovery for that, especially since he was also in advanced kidney disease. He was fine at breakfast - or as fine as usual - but by 7:30 am he was no longer okay.
Hiro has been with us since he was a kitten, maybe six months old or so...can't remember. He was a cat I was taking care of at one of the PetSmarts where I cleaned cages once a week, and for some reason, no one ever selected him. He was a wonderful cat - maybe not selected because he is mostly black - but he was the perfect cat for us. He loved dogs - insisted on the dogs cuddling with him - and in his younger years, when he was allowed to go outside, he helped us walk the dogs. He would scoot along on the lawn beside the dogs on the sidewalk, and our neighbors would scratch their heads and wonder at him. All the dogs he walked with us preceded him across the Rainbow Bridge...perhaps they will be there to greet him and go for a walk.
Marley reminded me this evening that we had 8 cats early in our marriage...Hiro was the last of that crew. We have just one cat now, Gilda, who came in through the Derry Township Community Cats program, dumped by people who were evicted, and with all sorts of health problems that make her unadoptable. We have a foster, Ember, who is a Castaway cat, also dumped, and also with health problems and unadoptable, and we will be adopting her as well.
Hiro had a very slight ear tip, so he must have come into rescue as a result of a TNR (trap, neuter, return) effort, and he never loved being inside fulltime. Truth be told, he loved hunting and was very skilled, which we didn't love, but keeping him in during his younger years was a nightmare. As he got older some neighbors complained, so he became an indoor cat for the last five or six years, which wasn't entirely to his liking! He has spent a few minutes every night for years howling (loudly) in the wee hours of the morning, just to remind us he doesn't love being an inside cat, that he'd rather be out hunting bunnies and birds.
He had absolutely stunning markings, often commented on by those who met him. He was boss of the house, over cats and dogs alike. He wasn't always very kind to the other cats, but he loved the dogs. Any new dog that joined our household during his tenure had to get used to Hiro rubbing on him or her, and often sleeping with them. He gave them no choice. Heaven forbid they try to chase Hiro - a claw to the face would be forthcoming quickly.
Carly and Hiro
Bodhi and Hiro
In the last year or so Hiro, like many geriatric cats, developed kidney disease, and he was amazingly tolerant (most of the time) of my giving him fluids every couple days or so. Even so, he saw the vet a couple weeks ago and he had lost 5 pounds (down to 9.9 from his 15+ weight) in about 10 months, so we've known that his days were numbered. Still, he was an amazingly healthy cat for 17 of his years, for which we were grateful. He will certainly be missed. Rest in peace, and rest in love, big guy.
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