Spending precious moments with O.J my cat in his last days.

by Mary
(North Carolina, USA)

O.J when first rescued

This is difficult for me to write but O.J is so worth the effort.
I submitted a rescue story last year about a beautiful buff colored tabby whom I rescued and socialized (he was semi feral).
To re-cap his story, I noticed a semi feral male cat on my land over a year ago.
He would come around my rescue shed where I was feeding and caring for another feral and her two new born kittens.
He was a big beautiful tan colored tabby(about 15 pounds)with the most alluring YELLOW eyes that I have ever seen. He would not allow me near enough to touch him but would sit among the trees in the bushes and watch for me to fill his food and water bowl just inside the open door of the shed.

I soon noticed he was sleeping at night in the shed so I laid a bed of hay there for him to sleep on and a nice soft comfy blanket. He soon developed his schedule to visit the shed and wait for his bowls to be filled daily and when I would call to him, he would retreat back a bit to keep his distance but would never take his eyes off of me.
I named him O.J (after orange juice, not the football player) ha ha.
With each passing day and week, I noticed he would come alittle closer and I vowed to gain this beautiful boys trust. I would sit on my back porch steps and talk to him from afar while he was eating , all the while looking back to see if I was getting too close for his comfort.
Then one day he shocked me completely. Out of the blue, when I was in the shed filling his bowls, He WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR and up to my feet and meowed at me!!!!
I gently bent over and patted that ever elusive head for the first time.
I was over-joyed! But at close range, I could see that my sweet O.J had lived a hard life of fighting for territory (He was an un-neutered male tom cat)
His ears was all torn up and bloody from fighting and he had fleas and terrible ear mites. He had a bad respiratory infection and you could hear him sneezing out in the woods from afar at night.

I was determined to take this beautiful boy off the street and bring him into my home to live a peaceful, HEALTHY life for his remaining years.
As the days passed and the crisp fall breezes began to blow, I soon knew I needed to get him inside before winter came. He needed to be vet checked, neutered and vaccinated and tested to be free of any dangerous illnesses before I could bring him in to my feline home with my other healthy kitties.
In October 2009, I found my chance one morning while feeding him he took his eyes off of me just long enough for me to grab him up in my arms and into a carrier.
Oh, he was NOT happy in that carrier and I felt bad that he thought I had betrayed him but this boy had to be saved and I was going to see he had a good life OFF the street. So, off we went to the vet and all tests was negative and he was neutered and vaccinated. After his neuter recovery, I bought him inside my home to live with my other cats and never to be allowed outside again.
Again, he was not happy. He paced the floor for days crying at the door and windows to go out. I stood my ground and did not allow him to go out and soon he gave in and adjusted. He became a very loving lap cat who loved my attention and got along terrific with the other cats. Life was good and my sweet O.J was off the street and safe from all outdoor harm. (Or so I assumed)
Then about 3 months ago I noticed O.J (Whom I had begun calling J.J) had developed a sniffle, then a cough. So we went to the vet to get him on meds so as to not start an epidemic of URI (Upper Respiratory Infection)among the other cats.

The vet then suggested we RE_CHECK him for Feline Leukemia and FIV (Feline AIDs)
I know from years of rescue that sometimes you get False Negatives on these tests and so I agreed to have him re-tested.
My heart sunk as the vet revealed the results. My precious O.J had FIV (AIDS)
This was a result of the years of fighting with infected cats in the wild.
FIV is passed from infected cats to other cats in a bite wound or fight that draws blood.
My heart ached for this poor boy who I had hoped for a long healthy life.
Now it was evident that he would not have the long life I had hoped for but that I would go out of my way to keep him as healthy as possible for whatever time he had.
Some FIV cats live 5 years or more after their diagnosis and this is what I hoped for with O. J
Since his diagnosis he has become severely weakened, and lost more than half of his original body weight. Despite all the antibiotics and medicine, he has not been able to fight off the respiratory infection that we are now told is pneumonia.
I held him awhile this morning and wept as I see him fighting for clear breaths of air in his infected lungs.
I am having to gently wipe his clogged nose every 2 hours with a warm wet cloth for him to be able to breath and his poor nose is so sore and swollen.
I looked into his weak but ever so beautiful yellow eyes this morning and I see my boy is fading fast. His spine is bony and he is losing ground rapidly.
My vet say's he is quickly losing his battle and I must choose to let go.
I do not believe in keeping a suffering animal just for selfish reasons of not wanting to let go and quality of life is important to me.
but I so am struggling with this as I am wishing for a miracle that I know in truth will not come. He looks at me as if to say: "I love you. You helped me when I needed you most and made my last year a happy one filled with love and lots of good food and attention, but now I am very sick and it is time to help me one last time."
I know what must be done and I am going to do right by this precious boy who deserved so much more in life. But it hurts so much that I got to him too late.
It hurts worse to accept that I could not save him no matter how hard I tried.
This has been a TERRIBLE year for me as I have lost 5 cats due to old age related illnesses and to lose 5 in one year is devastating. And to know that O.J will be number 6 is tearing me apart. I will post on the memorial site when I help him cross the bridge, but for now, I just want a few more days with my precious O.J before saying our final goodbyes. This is the part of rescue that I HATE.
The joy of rescue is abundant but the loss of a rescued animal is heartbreaking.It is a pain that never leaves you.
Learning to let go is never easy and never hurts less, only more.
Today, I am going to hold O.J and kiss him and carry him around in my arms like a baby and cherish every moment I have left with him as the clock is ticking.
But for this very moment he is alive and will remain so in my heart, long after he is gone.
I love you and always will My Precious O.J
I love you always and forever My sweet O.J

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Spending precious moments with O.J my cat in his last days.

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Reply to anonymous about my O.J
by: Anonymous

Thank you for your touching story about your kitty.
I am so sorry for your loss and know all too well the pain and grief that you go through when you lose one of your fur babies.

Just to update you: I lost my dear O.J in November, Sadly. He was FIV positive but it was cancer that took him from me.

I miss his terribly STILL and always will but his memory and the joy that he bought into my life and my home lives on with me forever.

Thank you for sharing your story and be gentle with yourself in your grief as I am sure you did everything you could to make your kittys life a good one.

Mary in NC

You are a good mother
by: Anonymous

Thanks for sharing your story. I also rescued an orange tabby about two and a half years ago. He was also feral. I saw him and another cat in my neighborhood a couple of times and knew they were either lost or homeless by the way they acted. He was a kitten, probably no more than six weeks old and was very thin. I felt sad and I noticed them across the street on my neighbors porch. When I walked up, they of course were too afraid of me to let me get too close, and they moved away from me. I asked my neighbor if it would be okay if I left them some food on her porch as I was concerned that they were lost or homeless. She said it was okay. So I started leaving them food there. Then I started leaving food for them on my porch and they eventually started eating there every night. The first winter I was here in Missouri, I left my garage slightly open with a box stuffed with a warm blanket and food and water. "Marmalade" spent that winter in my garage. When we first started feeding him he was terrified of us but after that winter, he slowly started to trust us and finally made his way into our house and became our favorite cat. He was the sweetest and best mannered cat I ever had. I have two other cats also. One tortoise shell female and a male siamese. But Marmalade was like my best friend. He would go out and hunt during the day but in the evening when I came home he would always be in the driveway waiting to greet me with his happy meows. My husband spoiled him by feeding him people food (cheese and meat), which he loved. We rescued him about two and a half years ago. Last Sunday night he died unexpectedly. We think he ate a mouse that was poisoned as we live in a subdivision in the country and there are farmers around us and after he died, a little bit of blood came out of his mouth, which I read could be a sign of internal bleeding (caused by rat poison). I called the vet as soon as I realized there was something wrong with him. The vet told me that he would he meet us at the clinic but he probably would have to euthanize him. I said yes but Marmalade passed about four minutes later. At first I was in shock and denial but now I am really grieving and missing him and the whole scene is kind of a nightmare to me still. It was nice to read your story as it helps to know I'm not the only person who rescues animals and goes through these things. I can see OJ has been a blessing to you just as Marmalade was to me. I will always love him. Best of luck with OJ and hope he has a long and happy life with you! He kind of looks like my Marmalade too so he must be extra special.

Spending Moments With O.J My FIV Cat
by: Mary in NC

It is October 2, 2010 and I have taken O.J to the Dr. again since he appears to not be able to kick the URI that is making him sick and miserable.
He is FIV positive so he has no immune system to kick this kind of virus.
Just when I was thinking I was spending last days with O.J, I get a shock.
I took him to the Dr. a few day's ago,prepared (reluctantly) to be told that it was time to put this gentle boy down and stop his suffering.
To my surprise, the vet said that actually his lungs sound VERY CLEAR and that his congestion is all in his nose and nasal cavity.
The vet also said that she feels that his weight loss is NOT due to the FIV positive diagnosis but rather to the fact that he MAY have Hypothyroid disease. Bloodwork was drawn which will be back in a day or two and we will know if he is indeed suffering with Thyroid Disease (which in it's self is NOT a death sentence)
Cat's live long lives with it if given good vet care and proper medications.
So, to update O.Js condition, I am proud to say he is improving and I look forward to many more months and hopefully YEARS with this sweet, gentle boy.
Thank you all on this site for prayers for my O.J

Lucky OJ
by: Julie

How lucky that OJ picked you to share the rest of his life with him. It sounds like you've taken very good care of him and given him lots of love. This is such a hard time.

I lost my precious cat Buster about a year ago to stomach cancer. He'd been successfully treated for diabetes for five long years of needles and special foods. I decided to forego chemo and treated him for pain. Letting him go was extremely difficult. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have held on as long as I did. The day of his final appointment, he died in my arms before we even left the apartment.

A couple months later, I rescued a young semi-feral long-haired orange little guy who bonded immediately with my two older cats. It's been a full year and he still doesn't allow me to touch him. But, he spends time with me and we have a lovely relationship.

Our relationships with our animals are so important and every single moment is precious. Time will ease your pain and you will find room in your heart for another. And then another. Then another. That's how our hearts work. Like the hearts of our beloved companions, our hearts have a seemingly unending capacity for love.

God Bless you and OJ.

O.J.
by: Tracy

You are so wonderful for what you do for the kitties. I do what I can for the kitties here i HArtford. I love them all. I feed them all! If I win the lotto I will open up a kitty rescue and everyone can get their cats fixed for free. My 2 kitties are rescues too. I have a small 1 bedroom apt. If I had a house I would have a lot of cats. Some people just don't understand how imporatnt it is to get your cats spayed or neutered. Anyway, Thank you..you are such a sweet person and I feel the same way you do about the kitties. It is such a problem and if more people would help...anyway, Thank you..I love the kitties so much. Mine are both tiger tabbies. Bonnie is a 1 year old female and a MAin cooneand Bootsie is a 4 year old male tabby who weighs 20 pounds. My husband caught both the kitties when they were little. He is good at catching them. I am good at taking care of them. We love them dearly. He has caught many kitties and gotten homes for them. I just don't have the money to get them all fixed. We try to catch them and bring them to a no-kill shelter. Lord, let me win the lotto so I can help them all. I would devote the rest of my life and open my kitty rescue. Anyway, no cats starve here, I feed . There is always food for them.
Again, thank you for sharing your story. All we can do is give them a good life. You have done that. It is so sad when they are sick and we have to let them go. My kitties are my children and it hurts so bad when they pass on. I had 2 tabbies get sick nd it hurts so bad. Unfortunately when they are outside anything can happen to them. It just stinks! I hate it . There is a garage across the street and the lady that owns it lets the kitties go in there so at least they have shelter and I feed them everyday. The racoons, skunks , and possums go in there too, but I think they are all friends to some extent.I don't know how anyone can just put their cat outside. Then it causes more problems for everyone else..more kittens too. The problen is people don't get them fixed and they wonder why they keep wanting to go outside all the time. I don't know, but I will kep doing what I can, but its so hard when I get close to the kitties that will let me. I pray for them all the time too to have the good Lord take care of them.

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