Dear Ricky:
It all started for me back in 2001 when i lost my cat Annie.......At that time, i had Annie & Winston together.
Annie lived until the age of 19.....After she passed, Winston was alone, and i and he could not take the emptiness of her being gone.
SO, I decided to run an ad on the internet......I was looking for a young short haired, young male cat.
Within a week, i had gotten a response that made me take notice. Petco wrote to me to tell me "We have just the cat you are looking for.......His name is Herbie"....They told me that because he was so sweet, he was being fostered. I decided to take a look at him, and brought my carrier along just in case......
When i rang the foster's bell, and she opened the door, Herbie ran to me to meet me.......
It took one look, and i knew i just had to have him.......
After a week, i had a phone call from Petco, to find out how Herbie was doing.......They then told me i was his 5th owner, him being just 1 1/2 years old.......
He was returned 3 times claiming he jumped on the bed at night, and woke people up...One return was due to an alergy, and the original owner surrendered him as they claim they were moving, and could not have pets......
My gain......I did notice that after having him a week, almost every meal he ate soft or dry, he would vomit his food whole....I took him to the vet to find out he was perfectly healthy.......Just that he did not digest his food properly.. Do avoid him vomiting i had to give him a teaspoon of food every 20 minutes or so. SO, i began waking every morning at 5AM, to make sure he had a good amount of food before i left for work. I then hired the cleaning lady who lives in the building to finish feeding him his food, her coming up 2 times a day....
I did this for 10 years of his life........Even with this feeding style, he managed to throw up a million times over those years......
When i tell people this, they say "You must really love him so much, we would have gotten rid of him a long time ago".....
This just made me love him more....I had a cat with special needs........
Herbie would sit in one spot and stare at me for several hours... This went on every day.......I asked the vet why would he do that, and he told me Herbie is quite fasinated by you.....
3 years back, Herbie looked like he was losing some weight, in he went for testing, and it showed he had a thyroid condition, as well as a low potassium level.....So, at that point, he was put on medication for that......I would crush his meds in his food, and down they went as he inhaled his food......A year after that he had to have 7 teeth removed......Within that year, he had developed a herpes virus in both eyes. I had to give him eye meds for 6 monthes......
That was in 2011......
That same year the month of November, 2011, one day i noticed some drops of blood on the bathroom floor....He had to have a sonargram, which showed he had a mass on the wall of his bladder......
I then decided to just leave him be, and not have him go through a surgery like that at the age of 13......
That was in the month of Nov. 2012........
A week before i lost him, i noticed he just didn't want to eat anymore....Spending all his time under the top part of my comforter........
I made the decision to bring him to be put down the morning of Feb. 22, 2012....
When they put him down, i just could not be in the room.........I loved him more then anything in my world, and could not bare to have him just die in my arms...
Out of guilt, when all was done, i decided to go into the room, where he was lying on a towel to say goodbye.....THAT WAS A MISTAKE!!!!!!!.........I cuddled his lifeless body........It was a moment i will never forget for the rest of my life....
I took his loss so bad, i had to speak to a grieve counselor.......
At this point, Mo was alone, and i could not take the emptiness home...
I just could not get another cat..... The counselor made me understand, by getting another cat, deep down i would feel it to be a betrayal to Herbie...
He then made me realize, that by adopting Herbie, i saved his life......Herbie would want me to do the same for another cat, to open up my heart and home once again.....
2 cats later, both just didn't work out and were returned, Louie came along on June 1, 2012....
It has been a huge adjustment for me........I almost feel that it was a gift from Herbie, telling me to get Louie.
Louie & Mo have bonded so well together........
Herbie has been gone now over a year, and the feeling is still quite fresh to me.......
I write to him every week on Rainbow Bridge, and i have not missed a single candle lighting......
When does the hurt lessen?
This little guy changed my whole life for me........He will live on in my heart and mind until the day i die......
I have his ashes right alongside me here, and a candle lit every single day since he is gone......
I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU SO MUCH MY ANGEL HERBIE..........