Friday night I’m watching TV with Mrs. H and watching one of our cats, Cleo, chase a bug around the living room. She was jumping around the furniture, running around and everything.
Saturday night, she could hardly stand up.
Sunday morning, she died in my wife’s arms.
Cleo had hyperthyroidism and had to take a pill to keep it in control. It couldn’t cure it, but just kept it at bay a bit. She was fairly old, around 15, and the disease finally caught up to her. One of the things that can happen is kidney failure. It would appear that something catasrtrophic happened overnight on Friday, basically something in her body shut down.
My wife had Cleo for longer than she’s known me. It hit her very hard. I had spent most of Saturday doing housework, so I hadn’t really noticed that Cleo was acting strange (she would tend to stay out of the way a lot anyway), so I hadn’t really thought much about it until late in the night. My wife went out to the opera with her mom that night and it didn’t really enter my mind until she got back and asked about Cleo.
Cleo could barely walk, she was stumbling around. She didn’t want to be close to people. She would lay on the bed with us, but if you got too close or started petting her too much, she tried to move out of the way. Her fur was “odd” and wouldn’t go back to normal after petting her. Her eyes were totally dialated and cloudy and she looked distant. She responded to talking and petting, but was uncomfortable.
Finally my wife had to sleep. By this time Cleo had wandered into the other room. We woke up around 6:30AM Sunday and my wife went looking for Cleo. She found her in the living room curled up on the floor. My wife ran to her and said she was totally limp, but alive. Cleo let out a small meow and looked up at my wife as she started talking to her. A couple of minutes later she died in my wife’s arms.
Needless to say, no poker was played this weekend.
Very sad to hear…our cat’s 11 years old and has the same issue. If you don’t mind me asking, how long did she live with the condition?
She had it for about 5-7 years I think. She couldn’t gain any weight, she only weighed about 7 pounds and was very skinny. The upside is that it seemed to happen pretty quickly, so she didn’t suffer. The pill helped, but it just finally caught up with her.
I am so, so sorry - my little cat PeeWee who was my companion for 16 of her 17 years suffered from hyperthyroidism as well - it is common in older cats. She died a couple of years ago and I still feel the loss.
Sorry to hear about Cleo. The loss of a family pet is always difficult.
My condolensces. They really do become part of the family. Thanks for sharing, though - I gave all my little guys a hug after reading your story. (3 cats here).
I am so sorry to here this. I have a dog that acts and is treated like one of the kids. I know it was a sad day. Wish you well.
My condolensces as well.
Best wishes to you and your family.
So sorry to hear this.. really puts silly things like playing poker in perspective. Now I can’t wait to get out of work and go home and give my cat a hug.
My condolences. I have a cat too, and I know how much it would flatten me to lose her.
sorry c.
Sorry to hear about Cleo. It’s amazing how animals go from being pets to family members you can never get into arguments with.
Sorry about the loss Chris
I have a cat myself that’s been with me and the wife since we started dating.
I am so sorry Chris. Best wishes to your wife.
[...] terpoker Bonus Quick Note I just wanted to share my sympathy for Chris Halverson and his wife for the loss of their cat. It seems this is happening all t [...]
Very, very sorry to hear about your loss