My family and I are very sad. Our beloved pet, Smokey died Friday, Sept 7, 2007 from a disease called Feline Infectious Peritonitis, a terminal disease that scientist have no cure for or treatment. Because we couldn't bear to have him suffer any longer, we decided to have him put to sleep.
We recently moved to Amery, Wisconsin from Palm Bay, Florida. Smokey made the move with my husband in a U Haul truck. He appeared to be taking the move in stride, riding quietly in the truck and spending nights in motel rooms with my husband, Ted. When they arrived here in Amery, he enjoyed exploring the woods outside our patio doors. The first day out hunting, he brought back a chipmunk alive and tried to let it loose in the house, which is usually what he did with any critters he brought home. He just liked playing with them and chasing them around.
After a couple of days, he became kind of lethargic and started picking at his food. Within a few more days, he quit drinking water or eating. It all happened so quickly that we thought that he might have gotten sick from something he had caught in the woods. One morning there was a bat on our doorstep and we thought maybe he'd been bit by it. We took him to the vet and they drew blood. Hi white count was through the roof but no temperature.. It took two more days to get the official results of the labs and they came back 95% sure that it was FIP.
Death was inevitable but could be slow and painful. Neither of us wanted that for Smokey. In the few days that he was sick, he had become such a docile animal...not his normal character. We were able to spend hours petting him, brushing him, holding him in our arms...these were things that he never allowed for more than a few minutes...tops! We think that he somehow knew that we needed the stroking, petting and hugging so we would be able to let him go when it was time.
We adopted Smokey eight years ago had an Animal Shelter up in Brainard, Minnesota. Out of dozens of cats that day, he was the only one that climbed into my lap and curled up and started purring. He was a funny cat because he had lost half his tail somewhere before we found him. He was a great mouser and always kept our yards free of unwanted critters. Smokey loved people and always would greet people at the door when we had company. If he liked you, he would immediately lay down and expose his belly for you to pet him....very trusting!
Our Smokey will be sadly missed . We thank him for the beautiful eight years he gave to us. He truly blessed our family.
