Here is a poem I wrote about Stripey that was published in MEOWS AND PURRS, my cat poetry collection. RIGHT CAT AT THE WRONG TIME He was given to us It didn't turn out the way I spent a week in the hospital. I'd had cats all my life I found a temporary home Because of that It took some time I didn't mind Stripey is currently 13 years old. *Our neighbor was trying to find a home for a stray tabby cat after we lost Floppy. We'd been felineless for a year and wasn't sure if we were ready for another cat. However, we adopted him on our anniversary, and the rest of his story is in this poem. When we took Oliver from my mother, it wasn't an easy adjustment, but they settled in together. About a year after Oliver died, we adopted our current cats, Harry and Hermione, who were then three-month old kittens. It also took time for Stripey to accept the new additions, but then they all hung out together. Last year, Stripey was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism because he had lost some weight. We were treating him for it, but when he went for more bloodwork that showed severe anemia and later had an ultrasound that indicated an enlarged spleen that was most likely cancer, we tried to do what we could to keep him comfortable. He began to lose more weight rapidly and showed that he wasn't having a decent quality of life, so we made the decision to say goodbye. We miss him very much. He was a sweet boy. |
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