Tom Tom by Jessica Solley

Tom Tom

by Jessica Solley

Tom was a stray cat that the pound had tried to catch. I even tried to help them get him. He was so beat up. His eyes were matted shut, his ears were missing pieces, he had bald spots all over his body, and even his poor tail had a knot in it. This poor guy needed some serious TLC. Well, like I said, he was a stray and NO one could get near him. I left food and water out for him everyday (which he would eat and drink everyday). Whenever I would see him, I would talk soft and tell him that his life was going to get better. I never thought that we would take him in. I have 2 female cats that RULE this house and they wanted no part of him. I kept trying to get close to Tom. Then one day, when I opened the door, he walked into the house. He was scared and crawled around very slow and low. The girls let him know that they did NOT like him. He still was a straying male, but would come "home" long enough to eat. Then after about 2 months, he wanted to become part of our family. We were so excited. I bought him his own food and water dishes. He got his first shots (that we know of) and his very own collar. He would go outside long enough to go to the bathroom. That is unless he was parading on the front porch. He would literally prance from one side of the porch to the other with his head high. He just wanted the other cats in the neighborhood to know that he had a home now. My girls always slept with me and my husband, so it was no surprise when Tom decided to join us. He just settled in at the foot of the bed. He never moved even when I accidentally kicked him. He was just so happy to be loved. Tom was like a dog in the sense that he would come to you when you called him and he was always ready to be held and loved. He was definitely loved. He was with us about 7 or 8 months when we went on vacation. My husband just had to get him a special collar and a little red heart tag that read "Tom Solley" and had our address on it. We were so scared that he would go out catting while we were gone. My mom and sister and my husband's parents all took turns watching our "kids" while we were gone. And they had all told us that Tom was a good boy and only went out to pee (and play...just a little). He was inside every night. Well, we were only on vacation a week, but when we got home, Tom seemed different. We just thought maybe he was upset with us for being gone so long. But soon he wasn't able to jump up on the bed at night. That worried me, but Tom was old and we thought he had arthritis. We would pick him up at night and tuck him in bed. And in the mornings, I would be sure to get him out of bed for the day. We thought things were okay. We took him to the vet to get things checked out. The vet said she thought he might have cat leukemia. I was devastated. They gave us more medicine for his matted eyes and some antibioditics. I went home and looked up everything I could get my hands on. I just couldn't find the connection in the symptoms that Tom had and the symptoms in leukemia. Tom's medicine seemed to help and he was back to getting on the bed all by himself. Things seemed great. Well, one day when I got home from work, Tom was on the bed shaking like he was having a seizure. I rushed him to the vet. There he was given a blood test. He was diagnosed with FIV. I could barely stand up. The vet suggested that we go ahead and put him to sleep. I just couldn't do it. I asked the vet if Tom was in pain. His reply was no. He just didn't feel good. He was sick. I cried and cried. I would hold Tom and read the bible to him. I thought he wouldn't make it the rest of the day. Well, when we woke up the next morning, his was already up. He seemed to be a new cat. I got him some more medicine and decided that God would let us know when it was time. I wanted Tom to die in my arms. Tom started getting bad again....he had good days and he had bad days. He was pampered big time. He got to eat all the pork chops and ham he could eat. My husband and I would take turns holding him when we watched tv. And every night when we went to bed, we would put Tom in between us. He was our baby. Well, one day Tom decided he wanted outside (some where he hadn't been in months)...I let him out on the deck. I took my eyes off of him for one minute and then he was gone. I called for him for hours. When my husband got home from work, we searched the neighborhood. We went to bed heartbroken. All the next day we waited and watched for him. Another night we went to bed heartbroken. The third night he was gone I was finally accepting the fact that he had gone and found a place to rest in peace. I was digging out pictures of him, when all of the sudden there was this pitiful cry at the front door. We jumped up and ran to the door. IT WAS TOM!! I scooped him up and told him to never leave us again. He ran to eat his ham and drink his water. When he was done there, he jumped up on the couch with me. I held him so tight!! This was four days ago. This morning when I got up....he was so cold to the touch and his arms and legs were stiff. I started screaming. I called my husband and told him to come home NOW! When he walked in the door, I told him to call the vet. I told Tom that I would never make him suffer and today as his frail body was gasping for air, I knew it was time. We took Tom to the vet and kissed him goodbye. It broke our hearts. They brought him out and I broke down again. My boy was in this box and not in my arms. We missed him immediately. My husband and I buried him in our backyard today (June 21, 2003) the day after my birthday. He already has a stone. He was more than a cat to us. He was our son. The girls I think have noticed that something is wrong. They keep looking in Tom's box. And they can't help but notice that Mom and Dad can't stop crying. They even went out to Tom's grave to say goodbye. We will NEVER forget our boy. Tom we love you!! You will not be forgotten. We will see you again someday! Love always, Mom and Dad.

Comments would be appreciated by the author, Jessica Solle