Farewell To Big Ozzy

by Mary
(North Carolina)

Saying Goodbye to a Beloved pet is never easy and a task we cat owners hope never comes but in reality, we know it will come and we are NEVER prepared.
Such is the case of my DEAR BELOVED BIG OZZY.

Ozzy's life was a sad one from the time he was a 8 week old kitten until he was 6 years old. His original owner was a college girl in Michigan.
She adopted him when he was 8 weeks old and took him to her dorm room to live with her. He was placed in a tiny , small dorm room bathroom all day long while she attended classes and was basically hidden in that small bathroom in the evenings as it was against college rules to have a pet in the dorms.
Poor Ozzy lived his first 4 years of his life in that tiny bathroom.
No room to play or walk about and nothing to do but eat and sleep!
When his owner graduated, she moved into her mother's home and her mother had a very aggressive cat who didn't like poor Ozzy so once again, Ozzy got placed in a small bathroom to live for yet another YEAR.
When Ozzy was almost 6 years old, his owner met a guy and fell in love.
They decided to get married. But one stipulation, Ozzy could not live with them because the "Husband to be" was NOT a cat lover and demanded she (get rid of him).
HOW CAN SOMEONE DO THAT TO THEIR PET WHO HAS BEEN WITH THEM 6 LONG YEARS??????
So, The owner took Ozzy to a local cat rescue and surrendered him.
I was a volunteer at this facility and the second day that Ozzy was there, I walked in and saw this MASSIVE, HUGE cat in a large cage, all huddled down and sleeping and looking VERY DEPRESSED.
It broke my heart.
I attempted to take him out of that tiny cage and let him walk about with me as I did my volunteer duties for the day but there was a note on his cage that he was NOT to be allowed outside of the cage until his temperament was addressed.
I would sit on the floor at his cage and open the door and let him lay his head on my lap so I could show him some MUCH needed attention.
The next day I seen that he had a note on the cage that he was due to have surgery.
It appears the Dr. found a golf ball size tumor on his hip and they decided to remove it. He went to surgery the next day.

NOTE: I then named him BIG OZZY because in his 6 years of being kept in a tiny bathroom, he had gained so much weight that he then weighed 40 pounds!!!!!

Ozzy did well from the surgery and during his recovery, I would sneak him out of his cage on my shifts and let him walk along with me in the rescue unit to allow him some exercise. Ozzy and I became bonded friends.
I took on more volunteer hours just to be close to him and he looked forward to seeing me. Nobody was interested in adopting Ozzy because of his weight problem.
He was deemed " A MEDICAL RISK" because of his massive weight.
I could not understand why someone would not want this gentle giant of a cat who had gotton this way due to human fault.
Then one day I came in and seen a pink card on his cage.
THIS WASN'T GOOD.
Pink cards meant they was on the Euthanize list.
I immediately asked why and was told he was unfortunately "UN-ADOPTABLE" because he was prone to diabetes and other medical issues because of his massive weight.
Poor Ozzy, NO BODY wanted him because he was FAT! It was so unfair and I did not approve of this decision.
So, I asked if I could adopt him myself. The facility had rules about adoption to employees if there was other pets in the home and I had 4 other cats.
I begged and finally they said I could FOSTER him until other arrangements could be made. I took BIG OZZY home that same day.
He mingled well with my other cats and he was so happy having full run of my home.
He adopted my large easy chair as his own and it became his favorite spot.
Ozzy lived with me under the foster program for another year until he was 7 years old. Then the rescue said he had to go up for adoption or be put down.
I LOVED this cat. No way was I going to allow him to go somewhere and not be treated like the wonderful cat that he was so I had my daughter to go adopt him!

I then QUIT my volunteer service for this unfair facility.
Once I was no longer a volunteer I could legally own this cat so my daughter gave him to me.
I took Ozzy to the vet and he was placed on weight management food plans and he slowly but surely trimmed down somewhat and as of last year (he was down to 27 pounds). Still overweight but better than 40 pounds.
He was healthy as an OX and always had great Vet check ups.
He was my boy and I loved this big ole arm full of love.
Then 3 months ago he developed a chronic diarrhea problem so off to the vet we went.
They said he probably had a intestinal virus and was placed on meds for the loose stools and sent home. The diarrhea really didn't get much better so we went back to the vet and the vet said she suspected Ozzy had Intestinal cancer.
Testing confirmed he had cancer but he seemed to not be in pain or suffering so the vet told me to take him home and continue giving him the home he was happy in and maybe he would do better and stick around for a long time with good medical care.
That was a month ago. Ozzy seemed to be happy, had a good appetite and didn't appear to be uncomfortable at all.
I had high hopes.
Last weekend I noticed he started hiding under the bed (not his usual spot) and when I would call to him he would look away from me as if to ignore me. (Also NOT his normal way). On Monday I coaxed him from under the bed and started laying him on the couch with me when I was resting and watching TV.
He loved to lay next to me and be patted on his sweet head.
This past Wednesday morning I got up and was preparing to go out to work and I went to look under the bed and Ozzy was not there.
I found him under my desk (where he liked to spend time with me when I was working) and instead of laying with his head upward, he was laying over on his side.
His eyes was glassy and his breathing very labored.
Ozzy was in distress!
I called the vet who said for me to rush him to them ASAP.
I gathered a soft blanket and as I picked him up to place him on a blanket to carry him, his bladder released and he urinated all over the blanket.
I laid him on the sofa while looking for a clean blanket and as I walked away he raised his head and meowed out in a cry form and looked straight at me as if to say" I'm Dying, dont leave me".
I began to weep as I KNEW this was not good signs and that Ozzy was declining.
Once at the vets office, they told me Ozzy was in Heart failure, and Liver failure and suffering and dying.
I KNEW what I had to do and it was killing me inside to have to make the judgment call to let my big boy go. But I could NOT and WOULD NEVER allow him to knowingly suffer. So, I told the vet that there was no decision to make because Ozzy's welfare was always number one to me.
They allowed me to spend some alone time with Ozzy for me to say my final goodbyes and I assured Ozzy that he would always live on in my heart and never be forgotton.
It was as if Ozzy understood and he laid his head against my cheek and drifted off to sleep under the anesthetic given to him before the final injection was given.
At that moment the vet administered the euthanasia drug and my BIG OZZY crossed the Rainbow Bridge and left me.
I know he is better off and roaming green , grassy fields beyond the Rainbow Bridge along with his prior house mates Baby,Salem,Callie, Snickers, Lola and Rocky.
I miss him and all the others too, TERRIBLY but they live on forever in my heart.
Their little URNS are here with me next to my desk and we stay forever close by one another.
This makes 6 beloved pets I have lost in the last year due to old age complications or cancer and it is devastating. But I find solace in my remaining cats who all seem to know I am sad and they try to comfort me.
I will miss my Gentle Giant "Ozzy" terribly but knowing that he is playing with his old pals beyond heavens gates gives me peace.

Rest in Peace Dear Ozzy and take care of all the others and tell them MOM misses them too.

Mary in NC