It’s an old adage that we can’t go through just one bad ordeal.
There always seems to be another or — heaven forbid — a third that follow. My wife and I recently had to say goodbye to our cat Herman who passed after an illness caused him to leave us much too soon.
Even as we were still dealing with our loss of Herman, another one of our feline children, Dori, suddenly became ill. It turned out Dori, though only 10 and relatively young, had developed kidney disease. By the time the vets discovered it, she was already too far gone for anything to be done. About two weeks after her diagnosis, we decided to say goodbye after a heart-to-heart talk with the vet. It wasn’t easy and we are now dealing with the loss of two of our four-legged companions within a short span.
Dori was a scrappy cat, part Siamese, and all attitude. She had a tough beginning as we found her one day in the yard as a small kitten, half starved after becoming separated and lost from her mother.
We never saw a mother cat around or any other kittens, just Dori. One of our other cats, Reggi, became a fill in mom doing all he could to look after Dori despite Reggi being a male cat. It was really something to see.
Dori had a few medical issues but the vet got them all cleared up and she quickly declared herself queen of the house. Dori let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that she was in charge.
She quickly took to being an inside only cat although she would occasionally slip out the door into the back yard. She never went more than a few feet. It was as if she just wanted to be outside for a few minutes.
It was almost overnight that she became ill. She typically would bounce back from any ailment she had but we had no way of knowing how serious her condition had already become.
We were stunned when the vet told us what the blood work showed. We took her for medical treatment multiple times but it was clear she was not getting better.
We had to make the right, although extremely difficult, decision to say goodbye.
It still seems strange not to see her sitting on the back of the couch when I walk in or to be sound asleep in the recliner.
All pet parents know the feeling we are going through. As lifelong pet owners, my wife and I are still having a tough time not seeing Dori. We were still mourning the loss of Herman when Dori became sick. In time, all pet owners take comfort in knowing our four-legged children were fortunate in the care they received. Once she became part of our family, Dori never lacked for anything. She was never hungry, never cold, never without a home and never without care.
Still the loss hurts today and will for some time. The back-to-back devastation has been even more tough.
I wanted to thank those who emailed me after Herman’s death. Those emails have been saved and have helped us through all of this.
I never expected to be writing another column of this nature so soon. Personally, if I don’t have to do it again for a long time it will be just fine.
Chris Bridges is the managing editor of The Walton Tribune and a graduate of the University of West Georgia. Email comments about this column to chris.bridges@waltontribune.com.
