Sweetie

Let’s see, it all started in Sept of 2005, we went to a “Pet Adoption Day” at PetSmart looking for a kitten, only to discover they only had older cats so we were just going to leave. I still wanted to at least talk to a few of them because I feel so bad that they’re stuck in their little cages, the least I could do is say “hi”…Well, I felt particularly sorry for a certain brown tabby who was very quiet & looking at me with his big beautiful green eyes… I was gonna hold him & pet him for a few minutes & then put him back in his cage. He immediately made himself comfortable on my shoulder so I walked him around the store a little bit while petting him. Then his motor started & that was it, all bets were off, this cuddle bug was coming home with me!! Usually I can think up really cute or clever names for new pets right away, but this one didn’t happen that way. I was sound asleep in bed that 1st night we brought him home when around 3am he jumped up on my bed and meowed for the first time to me, it was the sweetest little meow so it just seemed appropriate to call him “Sweetie”, true not a very “manly” name, but at that moment it fit perfectly, so that was that!!

Little did I know that this sweet quiet little 9 mo old would turn out to be the chattiest, most lovable fur baby I ever had…he was def Mama’s Boy!! He had a special way he would always cuddle my arm while we were sleeping, no other cat ever did that before. We would carry on very lengthy conversations with ea other, he was very chatty with me, esp if he wanted food or attention, and if I tried to shut my bedroom door, he would paw at it & yowl loudly until I let him in. His fav toy was an odd stuffed animal with a rabbit fur body & a raccoon tail, aka ‘Rabboon’, he would carry it around in his teeth & despite being neutered, he tried to mate with it quite regularly which always cracked us up!!
Sometime last fall I noticed a bump under his right jawline, I figured it was an abscess & if it got bad enough I’d have to take him in & get meds at least, but it kept getting bigger & by this spring had spread to his cheek so I brought him in to get checked out. The vet suggested putting him under & doing a biopsy to see if it was cancerous or not, but I didn’t wanna put him through that so I just took him home & tried antibiotics for 2 weeks. He was having trouble eating so I wet his food down every day & even spoiled him with canned mackerel that he devoured & got all over his face which made him smell fishy…this didn’t stop him from his usual routine of climbing all over my chest while head butting my cheek & chin until I’d pet him, fish face & all!!

Sadly the antibiotics didn’t help & the growth kept spreading, pushing under his right eye making him squint & also into his throat which made him gag & paw at his face constantly. Even though he still cuddled me, purring & talking like nothing was wrong, I knew he was suffering which broke my heart. Our last cuddle together was on my lap Monday May 30 while I was watching tv. He opened his mouth wide & made a terrible painful crying sound, so I knew he was telling me he just couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want my baby boy to live this way, as much as I wanted him with me, I couldn’t put him through another day of this agony.

I made the heartbreaking decision no pet owner wants to make, especially with such a beloved member of our family. At 9:19pm on May 30, Sweetie was finally free from his pain. It was one of the hardest nights of my life, but I’m at peace knowing my beautiful Sweetie Boy is finally happy again. I cannot wait until we see ea other again, I love him & miss him so very much.