by Donna Ploss
Casey was a very special friend to me. He came to the Rainbows Bridge on December 14, 2002 at the age of 7.
Casey and I became a couple in 1995. I was looking for a companion for my 1 year old cat, Mollie Rose. I originally wanted a female kitten. But there was this male little orange and white bundle of fluff that climbed up on my shoulder, licked my ear and meowed. That did it for me. He had my heart.
He and his littermates became orphans at the age of 2 weeks due to their mama being struck by a car. They were hand-fed. I believe this had alot to do with his calming, mellow demeanor.
Since I didn't have a cat carrier, Casey as he was to be called, was put into a box. As I was driving home, Casey wanted no part of the box, so I let him out and he curled up on my lap and went to sleep for the 1/2 hour ride home.
We arrived home and Mollie Rose, who was the queen of the castle, took one look at him and hissed, letting him know who would rule the roost.
Casey had this unique way of knowing when I was upset or sad. He would jump up on my lap and wrap his front paws around my neck, licking the tears away. If that didn't make me stop crying, he would gently bite me on the chin as if to say "enough already, get over it!"
He and Mollie Rose became very close. You see, when I took Casey, I was told he was 8 weeks old. But at his vet visit, it was determined that he was only 5 weeks old. Mollie Rose became his surrogate mama, always bathing him, protecting him and sleeping with him. They became inseparable.
Through the years, Casey was the best friend I could ever ask for. His golden eyes had a way of telling me when he needed a butt rub, or just to be near me. He would sleep at my head on my pillow with his head resting on my hand and my head resting under his tummy. His purr always seemed to lull me to sleep.
I moved to Michigan from Connecticut this year (2002) and he was right along side me (along with my other 5 furbabies). The adjustment was a little tough for Casey because my new apartment had ceiling fans and they terrified him. He hid under the bed for about two weeks, coming out to eat at night when the big bad spinning things couldn't be seen. But eventually he realized that they couldn't hurt him.
Two months ago he came down with runny eyes and sneezing. I took him to the vet and he was prescribed Cepha Drops. The vet told me it was not an upper respiratory infection but a viral infection that would just work it's way out of his system. The medicine did nothing. I waited and the sneezing got worse, along with a stuffy nose.
I took him to a different vet this time who said it was probably bacterial and gave him 2 more medicines. Casey was not an easy cat to medicate either. But I was determined to make this nasty condition go away. It did not. After 3 more antibiotics were prescribed, x-rays were taken to make sure it wasn't pneumonia. His lungs with clear. Another month went by and things got worse. It was then decided that he needed to be put under and x-rays of his skull taken to see if he had a polyp or tumor in his nose. His breathing got much worse and it sounded like "snorting". The x-rays still showed no blockage at all. The vet was totally baffled. One of the medicines was Zythromax, a strong pediatric antibiotic that vets have been using on cats. The vet and her partner both agreed that the Zythromax SHOULD have wiped whatever infection it was.
The vet also took swabs of Casey's nose to look at and see what his cells were up to. Casey never had a fever so an infection was really not an issue. It was only when Dr. Barron looked at the slides did she see that his cells were abnormal, which pointed towards a tumor. Where or what side the tumor was never determined. It certainly didn't show up on the x-rays.
After taking Casey home, his breathing became labored. He would gasp for air all night long. He stopped eating. I slept on the floor with him all night. He kept looking up at me and putting his paw on my cheek as if to say "Please mommy, do something."
I called the vet the next day and told her what his night was like. It was then that she told me she looked at the slides from the swabs of his nose and found alot of abnormal cells. She said it pointed towards a tumor, where or how big it was she did not know. She only knew that it was making it difficult for Casey to breath. She offered to prescribe a strong steroid to reduce the inflammation and help him breath. It was at that point that I had to say enough. Casey had suffered so much in the past two months, I could not let him go through another minute of suffering.
It was the most difficult decision I had to make. I knew deep down in my heart it was the right one. But I feel empty and numb. I know I did everything I could to help him but it just wasn't enough.
Casey was by my side through my hysterectomy, my father's death, my daughter's brain cancer, and so much more.
Casey went to Rainbows Bridge on Saturday, December 14, 2002. It will be a date that will stick in my mind forever. I will miss his purr that lulled me to sleep every night. I will miss his "moochies" that he would give me and those wonderful head butts. I will miss being able to put my face in his fur and smell his scent.
Casey my precious boy, be at peace and breath freely. Frolick through the meadows with Tigger and Marina Mar. Know that I miss you with all my heart and soul. I was very blessed to have you in my life. I hope I did right by you. You meant the world to me. Always and forever in my heart, dear Bubba.
Hugs and moochies,
Mama