We didn't know how sick she
was until two days before she died.
Mico came into my life in July 2003, a kitten with her two brothers and
mother living in our garage. I first saw Mico under a pizza box
rummaging through garbage and I knew then she was going to stay here
forever. Eventually we were able to get closer to the scared broad and
when we would set out food Mico was always the first to come running.
About a month later I was able to rescue the kittens but they were not
happy, they clawed and cried and their mother bit me so hard I was on
meds for weeks. She eventually disappeared. I had the kittens in a cage
but Mico always got out, then one night her mother came and took my Mico
away and all I could do was cry. Then that night I walked up the stairs
and saw that little face sitting at the back door. From then on I would
never leave her alone...she was mine forever...or so I hoped.
Mico had a belly...a BIG belly...so much that we called her Chunky
Monkey (she liked to climb on everything too) but it didn't seem to
really bother her. After a while her belly just seemed to get bigger,
and all she did was eat so we tried to make her diet but it wouldn't go
down. When she was spayed in December the doctor noticed a bit of fluid
in her abdomen, but didn't think much about it then...he is hating
himself over that now.
Even though her abdomen continued to expand, her heart was even bigger.
She slept with me every night and if I didn't wake up when the alarm
went off she would gently hit me with her paw or lick me on the face to
get me up. When I would take a bath she wanted to be in there with me
and when I would tell her I loved her she would meow and give me a kitty
kiss. She loved putting her paw on my mouth and face and I loved
carrying her everywhere. In the last couple of weeks of Feb she started
slowing down a bit, and not eating as much. By the end of the month she
was slowing down even more and needed help jumping on my bed. She would
even wake me up crying for help.
On Monday, March 1, 2004, we took her to the vet, thinking she was just
constipated, that is where we got the devastating news. Mico wasn't fat,
she was suffering from Feline Infectious Peritonitis. A fatal virus that
caused fluid to fill up around the abdomen then eventually to the lungs
and heart. My mother and I cried and cried and the doctor just said he
was so sorry. He gave us a prescription to try to reduce the swelling
and it seemed to work, but then Mico stopped eating and we had to
supplement her with liquid vitamins and herbs to help her strength. On
Wednesday morning I was getting ready for work. I was up with her all
night and was going in early while my mom could watch her and I would
come home early and take care of her. But I could tell something was
wrong. She was breathing funny and seemed weaker than she had only hours
earlier. I decided to stay home from work and take care of my baby. We
gave her some more meds and some yogurt, but she wasn't doing any
better. Her breathing was strange, as if she was having trouble. I just
knew this was the end, I told her that I loved her and would always love
her and if she had to go she could, but I'd rather she keep on
fighting...she couldn't fight any more. At 7:45AM she took her last
breaths and left this earth, returning to where she had come from. Her
last minutes were not pretty, and I will never again believe that anyone
dies peacefully, but I do know she is not in any pain anymore and is up
in heaven chasing clouds.
My baby was taken from me far too soon. I loved her more than anything
or anyone and she loved me too. I looked forward to seeing her in the
morning and when I got home at night. She never asked for anything,
except love and because of that love she lived longer than most kitties
with FIP. Even though I do still feel like I failed her by not being
able to save her, I do know I gave her the best life possible. Mico had
a presence that everyone loved to be around and all that is left is
emptiness.
The house is quiet now, there's an eerie dreariness about it. I couldn't
sleep because I would feel her, hear her...and all I could do was cry.
I know not everyone understands how I feel, and I really don't expect
them to. I have four other cats but they are 8, 12, 14, and 16. They are
set in their ways and mainly just sleep. I love them all, but Mico was
special. She brought new life into all of them and without her this
house is just...empty.
Mico was there for me. if I was sad, she was there to make me feel
better, if I was sick she stayed with me when she probably would have
rather been playing or chasing one of the older cats around. She lived
each day to the fullest and before she died she cried out, as if she was
saying "No, not yet!" or was saying good-bye knowing it would
be forever. I don't really know, all I do know is my life will never be
the same without her and I would give anything to have her back in my
now cold and empty arms.
People have visited my
furry little angel. Thank you.
|
