Non-Blog

bg5000:

I’m not really a fan of when people say their cat is “pretty much like a dog”. It always reminds me of when someone is trying to convince their friends that the person they’re dating is funny when nobody else is around. It sounds a little desperate. Having said that, it would be hard to argue that Carl didn’t had some defintie dog-like qualities. He would meet you at the door when you came home. He would follow you from room to room to hang out with you. He slept at the foot of the bed every night. You usually know what you’re getting when you adopt a cat, but Carl replaced the indifference you traditionally expect with an almost constant neediness. It could be a little much sometimes, like when he would sit on your laptop because he wanted to be close to you, but it was better than the alternative.
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We got Carl a little over 5 years ago from a no-kill shelter in Wicker Park called the Furry Friends Foundation. When we walked in it’s like he knew we were going to be the ones to finally take him home (he’d been at the shelter for two years, which is still crazy and sad for me to think about). He followed us all over that place, even pushing other cats out of the way to vie for our attention. We didn’t care that his face was a little jacked up or that he was missing patches of hair (originally we were told this was because of a food allergy, but it turned out it was just because he ripped so much of it out due to the stress of being around so many other cats); we knew this was the cat for us. The people at the shelter had named him Morris, since he sort of looked like the cat for those old 9 Lives commercials, but we knew that would never do. He deserved to be named after a great action star, a fighter. Somebody who really knew how to get a stew going. Somebody like Carl Weathers.
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This Saturday was a stressful day for all of us, with moving into a new apartment and cleaning up the old one, but as a cat it was especially stressful for Carl. But after an hour long nap under his favorite blanket in the place, he seemed to be adjusting alright. Later that night, however, we noticed that his breathing had become very shallow and labored. We took him to the all night vet thinking maybe it was just stress related, but after taking some x-rays the doctor informed us that he was in the beginning stages of heart failure due to heart disease (a condition we didn’t even know he had). Even if the treatment options were successful, it would mean a lifetime of daily medication. There are few things more stressful than trying to give Carl meds, and given that stress is partially what caused this we felt that it wouldn’t be a very good life for him. The best choice for him was the hardest choice for us. 
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Everybody is aware that their beloved pet is one day going to die, in the abstract at least. When it happens, though, it feels like you were never warned enough. Especially when it happens as suddenly as this. One moment Carl is exploring his new apartment, then two hours later i’m taking home an empty cat carrier from the ER, trying to keep it together driving down Western. It still doesn’t seem entirely real. I wish I had something profound to say about death because of this experience, but I don’t. All I can tell you is to remember to hold the pets you love close. And if you’re ever feeling generous, consider donating to your local no-kill shelter. Without ours, we would have never had the chance to adopt the best cat in the world. We love you, Carl. You will forever be missed.

missing cute sounds.

(Source: bg5000)