It brings me great sadness to tell you all that my dear cat Linus of nearly 13 years had to be put to sleep earlier today. He began to get sick last week and on Saturday was in very bad shape. He hadn’t been eating and had shed way too much weight. Today it was discovered that his kidneys had failed him. His age combined with a slight heart murmur forced me to make that difficult decision no one ever wants to make.
Those of you who met Linus will remember him as the sweetest, shyest, goofiest big-ol’-Marmaduke of a cat. And once you got to know him, he’d babble on and on to you about his day and the various birds and critters that would torment him thru the window. You may remember how he and I would rough-house; wrestling and tossing around. And how I’d get him to stop by grabbing his face and sticking my nose against his. No other cat was ever so trusting.
Never once did he bite or scratch in anger. And he certainly was big enough to cause some serious damage if he wanted to. Averaging a good 18-20 pounds and standing bigger than most small dogs, Linus was huge without ever being fat. He would charge me from across the room and bear hug my leg to knock me over. He was by best friend for many years.
We’d been thru a world of changes together. Apartments, relationships, sickness, fun, failure, depression and everything else in between. Does it sound like a marriage? Well, I guess in a way it was. It was certainly the longest I’d ever lived with anyone outside of my family. People who don’t have pets can’t understand this attachment. But those of you who know what I’m talking about are surely nodding in agreement right now.
I miss him terribly but I’m thankful that he was only sick for a short period of time. Had you seen him last Monday you’d have said he looked fantastic. Had you seen him today, you’d feel otherwise. Just how long he was really sick, no one can be sure. His personality was such that he never let on that he was in any pain or discomfort until just a few days ago. He still looked youthful in his face which made letting him go so much more difficult.
I keep expecting to seem him barrel into the room, meowing loudly. I suppose it will be a while before that feeling passes. As sad as I am right now, I know in my heart this was the right thing to do. I want to send very special thanks to Drs. Janirka Ponce and Jennifer C. Stanley of the Animal Infirmary of Hoboken and Dr. Karen L. Palazzini of the Oradell Animal Hospital. Their compassion and dedication to care were a blessing and made this unbearable time just a bit easier to bear. As have all my friends. Thank you :0)
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| Ever since he was 12 weeks old, Linus found comfort in this bed that he was eventually too big for and that ratty old dish towel. It was his security blanket and the reason he was named Linus. This picture was taken just two days ago. He was feeling quite sick. |
It’s just after 2:00 in the afternoon now and the wind outside of Linus’s favorite window just gusted and wailed violently. As if his spirit was trying to get my attention to say goodbye. Safe travels to the other side little buddy. I’ll miss you waking me at 4:00AM to play by jumping on me and licking the top of my head (something my girlfriend got to experience briefly as well). I’ll miss you trying to chew the TV remote or tear up papers to get my attention. I’ll miss all those things you did to piss me off because in the end, you always made me laugh. Rest in peace my boy. You will be missed.
