We had to put down one of out cats tonight. It was very hard for me. I’ve made the following memorial page for photos and thoughts…
Dipstick was born on June 21st 2004. He was one of a litter of 3 kittens from Snowy. This was Snowy’s third litter and she now has produced 12 healthy kittens!
Here’s a couple of shots taken June 24th, 2004…
Dipstick is the little kitty on the left snoozin’. This was before his colors started coming in and we named him for his very dark tail that looked like he’d just dipped it in some old oil!
Fit in the palm of my hand.
Taken August 15th, 2004. His color is in and you can see those beautiful blue eyes!
Taken September 4th, 2004. I wonder if he had a hard life…
Taken November 15th, 2004. I’m not sure if he had a hard life living with us…
Taken January 5th, 2005. Soon to become his favorite perch. He did manage to spray that hat by the way! It’s still sitting in the laundry room waiting to be cleaned up.
Taken January 11th, 2005. Yea, I guess he may have had an easy life…
Taken February 11th, 2005. Ok ok, he had a good life!!!
Taken February 23rd, 2005. Some of the last pictures taken of him. He loved sitting between my arms when I worked on the computer in my office. Many times he’d just lay on his back and fall asleep there -and when he wasn’t sleeping, he’d very carefully follow the mouse all over the screen. He had soon learned that he’d never catch the mouse here but he’d sure monitor its activities (like he’s doing in this picture).
Dipstick came home almost 2 weeks ago with a cut above his eye and a few smaller cuts on his ear. They soon became infected and we started treating them with ointments and cleanings -and it looked to be working. Well about 2 days ago he began showing signs that things were not as they should be. The area around the eye began swelling again and progressing down to his mouth. Then within the last 24 hours he started becoming more lethargic and shivering -as well as salivating more frequently. Then last night we noticed that he wasn’t taking in any water or food and had lost nearly all his energy. This Saturday I took Dipstick to the Emergency Animal Clinic in Lancaster for treatment. It was there that testing showed he was infected with Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and which is a non-treatable viral infection with a similar pattern to AIDS in humans. There would be a chance that with a drastic change in his lifestyle, a regimen of medications, and close attention, he may live a few more years but he’d always be a carrier of the virus. Well we also have three other cats to worry about preventing the disease from spreading.
So with great reluctance, we made the decision to put him down tonight and hope that his brother doesn’t also have the same infection -and it doesn’t look good at this point. I miss him already terribly. He was a serious love bug and always made a point to follow me around the house. It was like I had a familiar or something! Even as I type this, I can feel he’s not here annoying me or vying for my attention. Good bye Dipstick…