This Is Charley...

[Harry]

He's not like other cats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJQG6V1MOVY

This story tugged at my heartstrings.

[Freedom Canadian]

Wow. That story hit a bit too close to home. :weepy:

[Varaj]

My sister in law had a cat like that. Wonderful cat.

[Brynja]

Oh my god that was my Harvey to a T...and all this time we all thought he was just retarded.

[Blue Eyed Frau]

Awe that cat is so cute , Poor thing but at least from what it says he is healthy so thats good to know .. :)

[Ergeheilalt]

..and all this time we all thought he was just retarded.

I've said a similar statement many times and never referring to cats. :D

[Dawnstar]

cute cat. :)

[doc]

Wow. That story hit a bit too close to home. :weepy:

Is that what you have FC ?:confused:

[Freedom Canadian]

Is that what you have FC ?:confused:

No, I was thinking about the needless euthanasia of cats. :(

[Atropine Mama]

My sister's cat had something similar to this condition, the symptoms were identical. He was a fantastic, sweet natured guy. This is a blog post she wrote when he died -- he was back in the States while she was in Australia.

Beaux

April 24th, 2007 by inquisitrix

My dad called today - at 1:30pm my time. “Hi Pop”, I said. He had an odd tone in his voice. My parents don’t call often outside of work so when they do it’s a treat.

How are you? I say. Oh, we are doing fine, he says - But there is something funny about his voice. He tells me my Mom is on the phone and she says hello. Then he asks me if my husband is home and it hits me; it is very late where they are, they don’t call this late, and they are never both on the phone at the same time. And they wouldn’t ask if Rohan was home - unless something was wrong.

What’s going on? I ask - They have a boxer, Buster, that recently surgery to remove a tumor, so I thought something had happened to the dog. “Beaux passed away…” is all that I heard.

My head spun and my mom and Dad tried to explain to me what had happened. My father worked at home today and noticed that he hadn’t seen Beaux. After looking for him, he found him curled up on a rug in the basement, as if he had gone to sleep in a quiet out-of-the-way place. My mom says he most likely had a heart attack in his sleep and died peacefully.

My mom comforted me by telling me that I was right in leaving him behind with them. Taking him with me to Australia would wasn’t an option - the stress of quarantine would have been too much for him. I thanked them both because I know that that he had a comfortable life with them. My dad promised to bury Beaux next to Tippy, our beloved family dog that passed away about ten years ago.

Giving Beaux to my parents for safekeeping while I moved to Australia was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I sobbed inconsolably when I had to hand him over. My parents are two of the most loving people in the world, so I knew that he would be safe and well cared for. And sure enough, my mom would tell me stories almost every time I called - About how Beaux liked to sit right next to them during dinner. How he liked to sit over heat registers in the floor for warmth at night. Or how the only time he would get up on my parent’s bed at night was when my Dad was away on business trips. Or how he would drive my Dad nuts because he liked to lick up shower water, or perch himself precariously on the side of the toilet while dangling one paw in the water to simply splash around. Rotten cat, my dad would say - which cracked me up. My father is the biggest softie in the world. I loved hearing these stories.

I picked Beaux up at the Angel Puss Rescue in Eagle Rock, California, near LA. He was supposed to be a ’she’ and ‘her’ name was originally ‘Isabeau’, after the female character from the movie ‘LadyHawk’. ‘She’ was a grey puffball of energy and I couldn’t believe he was a Siamese kitten - he looked like a dense, runaway dust bunny. And something was not right - When still, he shook a lot. The rescue workers said they thought someone adopted him, dropped him on his head, then brought him back to the rescue (which was a no-kill facility).

I knew right then and there that little kitten needed me so I took him home. Or was it that I needed him?

I took him to a vet straight away to get the best possible care. I was going to be a fabulous, first-rate kitty mommy extraordinaire! First of all, said the Vet, ’she’ is actually a ‘he’. Okay, I said, I will name him ‘Beaux’. Well, said the Bad Vet, you shouldn’t worry about his name because he won’t make it long. What? Put him down, the Bad Vet said. What?!?!

Beaux had been exposed to Distemper (Panleukopenia) while in-utero and had sustained brain damage. The Bad Vet said he couldn’t understand why I would want a cat with this problem, estimating that Beaux wouldn’t make it very long. That was more than 6 years ago.

I ended up finding another vet that was really great - She gave him a thorough exam and told me that he was really fine except for some motor problems. Sure enough, he couldn’t control his back legs. He walked like a drunken sailor (much to the delight of everyone that met him - he was the life of the party) and if scared, would do back flips across the room as his legs over-corrected when trying to flee. At times I would look at him and watch him as he completely tipped over sideways, from a sitting position. But he grew into a strong gorgeous creature. I have never seen a more beautiful cat than Beaux. He had fabulous markings and crystal blue eyes that you could get lost in.

I did find out as he got older that he had some behavioral problems, probably due to the brain damage. He did not like to be surprised and could be a bit timid. He had an odd aversion to feet, attacking mine when under quilts and blankets to such a degree that you could tell that he completely disassociated them from me. Five minutes after a foot attack, he would be purring like there was no tomorrow. And in the evenings, after I had been gone at work for 12 hours, if he wasn’t getting enough attention he would jump up and nip me in the butt while I was chopping vegetables. That was a shocker, but I knew what he was saying. He needed some attention and ultimately, love.

Despite his behavioral issues, Beaux was a wonderful companion - He was like a puppy. He followed me around from room to room, crashing into walls, plants, chairs. I never had to worry about him getting on top of tables or counter-tops, because he couldn’t jump in a predictable manner. He never made messes or chewed anything up. He loved to cuddle, snuggle and would regularly keep me warm when it got to be cold outside. He loved anything minty - He would sniff through the contents of my purse of he thought he could get ahold of some minty chewing gum. The thing that cracked me up the most was shoes. If a person took off their shoes at my house, eventually Beaux could be found, diving face first deep into the shoe, eventually emerging glassy-eyed and high from…the foot odor! It was the funniest thing you have EVER seen. Beaux had a shoe fetish!

I asked if I needed him earlier and what I meant by that is that he really came at a critical time in my life. I had been through a string of bad relationships and was suffering at an extremely politically charged and difficult job. In defense I had all but cut most everyone out of my life. I didn’t feel like I could trust anyone, let alone love anyone. I had completely shut down and then this little puff-ball came into my life and cracked the hardened shell around my heart. I realized that even the best among us have problems, but we all deserve love. We all deserve compassion, and just because you have a bad day doesn’t mean that you are worthless.

By far, the best thing about Beaux is what his spirit taught me. He has a major disability but never let it stop him. If he fell over (which happened quite a damn lot!) he always got up, totally unphased and moved forward. He persevered despite his challenges, no matter how big. He was a loving bugger, he was always loyal and he was never afraid to ask for love when he needed it . This little creature, that nobody wanted, ended up changing my life.

The house that I bought in Kansas had a lot of windows and he would perch himself on the back of the sofa, watching the birds and the squirrels, twitching nervously, stalking his prey with his gorgeous blue eyes. It took him a couple of times of launching himself into the closed window (and subsequently falling straight to the ground) to help him determine that he wasn’t going to get outside to catch any of the creatures, but you could tell he was dying to go out there. I wish that I could have let him out side more, but I knew that if he did get outside, that he would be a snack for one of the neighborhood dogs.

I also wish that I could have taken him with us to Australia. When I moved from Los Angeles to Kansas City, my brother and I made the drive in two days, with Beaux riding in the car with us. Beaux was in such a state of shock that it took him almost a week to start eating and using the litter box again. It is the only time that I have thought of Beaux as being fragile. My parents graciously agreed to take care of him until we moved back to the States. I even paid child support. I was delighted to see him at my parent’s house several time while I was back in the States just a couple of months ago.

My biggest regret is not being there for him when he passed. Sadly, one week ago, Rohan and I decided that we were going to start taking steps to move back to the States. We have been pounding through logistics and possibilities for days. We had no idea when it would happen or what it would take, but one of the things we were excited about was being reunited with Beaux. Rohan had spent a lot of time with him when he visited me in the States and you could tell that Beaux approved of Rohan.

I used to think that people that doted on their pets were completely insane before I met Beaux, but he changed all of that. My heart is broken. Beaux gave me so much that I just have to be grateful for the time that I had with him. When I was sad, Beaux was there to comfort me. Now, Rohan is my comfort.

My only hope is that Beaux is at peace now. Chasing the birds and squirrels. Maybe finding a smelly shoe to roll around in once in a while. And running freely.

[Cat of Ulthar]

You made the kitty cry... Sweet Charley. Sweet Beaux.

I want to hug my kitties now...