Buddy

Hello Readers,

My cat Buddy had to be put down on July 20th, 2012.  He was a very good cat and I thought that my brother and Mom and Dad and I would work together on a blog post to share about him and share some pictures.

Buddy and Cookie and Buddy's spot in the basement:
When we got our second cat nine years ago, Cookie, Buddy did not warm up to her that easily and (for lack of a better term) terrorized her.  After about two years of allowing both of them free range of the house at night, we decided we had had enough of them fighting at two in the morning.  So we set up a system where at night Buddy would visit his "hotel," the basement.  We set up a chair and cat box, food and water bowls, and every night we would feed him and lock him in the basement.  At first he hated it, but grew to love his personal time for reflection.  It got to the point where he would chase after one of us if he had not been taken down yet.  He would follow us around the house meowing until we made our way over to his food.

Buddy's chair in the basement.

Buddy became so protective of his space and alone time, that he would become testy when someone came down to disturb him even right after he was brought down at around 11.  Or if it was multiple people.  at 3 in the morning.  He was so upset at Jim and his friends that he walked between them and hissed until they all left.  For a week or so if Jim came down the stairs Buddy would hound him until he left.




Buddy and Food:
Buddy was fat.  very very fat, because he stole cookie's food and we fed him too much.  then he got diabetes.  We gave him insulin shots twice a day and he was generally very good-natured about taking his shots...  sometimes because he was too lazy to do anything about it. He liked to eat crumbs off the table when we were done eating and he would try to eat our food while we were eating.

buddy wants to get into the fridge

give me food now

Buddy and his nap spots:
Buddy would basically nap anywhere.  He liked to sit on the chair in front of the dining room window and look at the cars and stuff.  He was also very happy about us adding the patio room onto our house because then he got a new couch and a new chair and a comfy stool to sit on (not to mention a steady stream of sunlight during the day).  He would sleep on beds and floors and on the table sometimes.  Naps were one of Buddy's favorite things, especially when he got to roll onto his back and let the sun warm his stomach.  But his favorite place to nap, was with someone sitting next to him.  If you were reading or watching TV, Buddy wanted to jump up next to you and keep you company.  He fell into such a deep sleep that you had to yell at him and shake him to make sure he wasn't dead.

mrrrrr leave me alone

Buddy loved this spot

zzzzzzzzzzz

buddy on a bed

Buddy and Christmas:
Buddy loooooooooved Christmas.  He would sit with us while we unwrapped our presents and play with the wrapping paper.  We would ball up the wrapping paper and then toss it to Buddy and he would catch it and we would have a great time.  We also took many Christmas pictures with Buddy and sometimes put Christmas hats on him.

buddy and wrapping paper

buddy's christmas card picture

   













Buddy and my grandfathers:
Buddy was scared of Papa (my grandfather on my mother's side), like he should have been.  Our favorite memory of Buddy and Papa was when we were having a family dinner and Papa was sitting at one end of the table.  Buddy thought that he would jump on the table like he usually would and try to steal our food.  Buddy landed on the table next to Papa, and without looking up from his food Papa shoved Buddy right off the table.  Buddy's face was priceless.  Grampy (my grandfather on my father's side), never knew Buddy's name and would always just call him Fido.

Buddy and Jackson:
My little cousin Jackson got to meet Buddy before he died.  Jackson's two now, and before Buddy passed Jackson always wanted so see him.  Asking "Kitty?  Kitty?" every time he came to visit. When we came to his house he would ask the same question pointing to my mom's phone, knowing there were pictures of Buddy on its memory card.  It's too bad Buddy died before Jackson was older, because then our cousin would have had some extremely fond memories of our cat.

Buddy and Dad:
Dad says Buddy was the finest, bravest and wisest of cats. From the first minute he arrived he knew this was his forever home and we were his forever family. He was always ready to keep us company, especially if we were eating or napping.  If one of us was ill, he would always stay close to keep an eye on his patient.  Dad's favorite memories of Buddy are weekend mornings when he would bring home breakfast for the family and he would try to eat Dad's breakfast, working his way around his defenses.  He loved and accepted us all for who we were, with our flaws and our good points, and he expected the same treatment from us.  Dad misses him very much.

Buddy and Jim:
Buddy and Jim got along swimmingly, at least for the most part.  Jim liked to sit on the couch when he watched TV, and made sure that Buddy had room next to him in case he wanted to join.  Buddy usually did, and would fall asleep while Jim watched a movie or read a book.  Jim's favorite activity with Buddy was laying on the floor next to him, picking him up, and making him dance on his stomach for a couple minutes at least.  Somehow, Buddy tolerated this idiot.  Jim says if he was sick for any reason at all, Buddy would find him and try to make him feel better by staying with him.  Jim's fondest memories of Buddy involve waking up to him jumping on his bed on weekends, where they would both sleep for another hour at least.  One time Jim woke up to Buddy's face one inch away from his, staring at him.  Disconcerting, but reassuring as well.  Jim was able to "teach" Buddy to come, but only if no one else was around.  If just Jim and Buddy were in the room, Jim just had to snap his fingers and say his name and Buddy would come trotting over.  But if one other person was in the room, Buddy made sure he was the one in control and would just ignore Jim and his calls.  Jim will always remember Buddy as a great friend and companion, and will always be in debt to him for the joy and comfort he gave, whether it was during naps, playing with cat toys, or just hanging out.

Buddy and Mom:
Buddy was our second cat; we got Buddy about 6 months after our first cat, Figaro, died of heart disease.  Jim and Mom were the ones who went to the Cranston animal shelter to check out the kittens.  The first time they went to the shelter to look at kittens, there were 2 that looked promising -- a black and white one called "Sylvester" and a small, gray tiger.  Mom looked at the gray tiger and said "Hey, Buddy" and it was like fate.  He sat in compartment "E", with his front paws crossed and would meow regularly to get attention.  Dad and I went the next day to see the 2 kittens; we decided that we didn't want a second black and white cat so we decided that we wanted the gray tiger.  He had just been brought to the animal shelter, so we had to wait a week before we could adopt him.  Mom brought him home and he hopped out of the cardboard box and immediately started looking around the house as if he owned it.  Dad said he was all ears, eyes and tail as he was so scrawny.  We found out that he also had fleas and ear mites when we took him to the vet for his first visit.  The vet thought he was about 6 months old, so he was born right around the time Figaro died -- fate again.  While Mom didn't like it when Buddy jumped on the dining room table at meal times, she loved him very much.  She was the one who gave him his insulin shots most of the time and took him to the vet for chemo treatments.  He was a very important part of our lives for over 13 years and both Dad and Mom say we will never have another cat like Buddy.


Buddy and Tom:
I miss buddy very much.  It is very odd not having him sleeping around the house when I am at home.  Cookie is not very good company because she is always hiding from people.  Buddy would always be around somewhere if I needed some fuzzy stress relief.  If I was just chilling out by myself Buddy would always walk over, maybe say meow, and hop on the couch next to me.  When I was sick Buddy would hop on my bed and take a nap with me.  Buddy was always there when I needed some fuzzy kitty therapy.

Buddy and being sick:
Over the first few months of 2012, Buddy was slowing down.  At first, Mom and Dad thought his age was showing, but in late April, he was out of breath a lot and couldn't walk more than a few steps without stopping to rest.  They brought him to the vet's for a check-up and blood work.  Unfortunately, his blood work indicated that he had some kind of cancer.  So he went to see a veterinarian oncologist.  After a lot of tests and procedures (like ultrasounds and fluid aspirations), he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a white cell cancer).  Since this cancer is very rare in cats, the oncologist, Dr. Hunley, told Mom and Dad that there wasn't a documented course of successful treatment, but taking into account Buddy's age and other health issues (he had diabetes for over 5 years), there was one chemo drug that he thought would be a good place to start.  So Buddy, who had lost more than 3 pounds since late April, started chemo on May 16th.  The good thing about losing so much weight, was that he did not need insulin injections any more.  He responded well to the chemo treatments (he had a second on May 23rd and a third the first week of June) -- he was much more active and interested in what was going on around him.  Each time he visited the oncologist, we were told he was a wonderful patient!  His blood work indicated that the chemo was working and his appetite improved.  Mom and Dad were going on vacation right after the 4th of July and thought it would be best if he stayed home with Jim rather than being boarded at the vet's.  They were concerned that the chemo had compromised his immune system and they didn't want to take a chance that he would get sick while at the vet's.  So Jim, Buddy and Cookie took care of the house while Mom and Dad went to Maine.  Jim did report that Buddy wasn't eating or drinking that much, but we figured that he was missing Mom and Dad and didn't like that his schedule was off.  My parents got home on July 14th; he looked like he had lost more weight and appeared dehydrated.  After talking with the oncology technician, Mom brought Buddy back to the oncologist on July 18th so they could check his blood work.  Dr. Hunley spoke with Mom that morning, letting her know that Buddy was very sick -- there appeared to be problems with his liver and kidneys; Mom visited with him at the vet's that morning and took some pictures.  They called me that night to let me know what was going on.  After more tests and procedures, they determined that the cancer had invaded those 2 organs.  The outlook was not good but Mom and Dad agreed to try a different chemo drug, which was administered on Thursday, July 19.  Both Jim and Mom visited with Buddy at the vet's that afternoon.  They were able to tell him that I loved him and that he was a good kitty.  The overnight vet called my house at 6  the next morning -- Buddy was having trouble breathing and they wanted to do a chest X-ray to see if his heart was causing the breathing problems.  A few hours later, Mom talked to Dr. Bushnell (the vet who had been taking care of him on an emergency basis since he was admitted on July 18th) and she said that while his heart was not causing the breathing difficulties, he was also having neurological issues and he was not going to make it.  Mom asked if they could keep him comfortable until she, Jim and Dad could get there to be with him when they put him down; unfortunately, he declined more rapidly than expected and about 20 minutes later, the vet called and asked to put him down before he went into cardiac arrest, which Mom agreed to.  Even though my parents and Jim could not be there when he died, they were able to visit with him after to say "good-bye".

Jim and Buddy at the animal hospital

buddy's funeral.  looking very peaceful

box with Buddy's ashes

-Tom Anesta, and my Mom, and Dad, and brother Jim

PS: thank you very much to the staff at Atwood Animal Hospital for the nice condolences card