Ashe & Chim
Member Since 2016
Yesterday (8/15/28), we had to say goodbye to Chim, our sugar cat and the sweetest, best cat we've ever known. He was my best friend for 12 years, guiding me through some of the worst times of my life. He was the most chill cat I've ever met. He was so deeply loved, and will be dearly missed.
I found FDMB back in February 2016 when Chim was first diagnosed with diabetes. For a while, I didn't know what we were going to do. It seemed so overwhelming - trying to take in so much information in so short a time, to find some way to make sure he could still be healthy and have a good quality of life.
First of all, I want to thank everyone here for being so helpful and supportive through not just this diagnosis but some of the other issues we've been through since then. I wish that I'd been a more active part of this community, beyond just asking for advice and questioning which meters, insulin, and testing methods we were using. Everyone here was so incredibly helpful, not only when we decided we needed to change our home testing methods, but also when Chim developed skin cancer on his tail and ended up a bobcat (tail amputation surgery) as a result.
There were opinions back then that we should have let him go, that going through major surgery at his age and with his medical record was nuts. I didn't listen, and I'm glad.
I told him then that if he was tired - if he was ready - all he needed to do was tell me. He said he wasn't finished yet, and we had another year and a half with him as a result - a decision I will NEVER regret.
About a month ago, we visited a local cat cafe and were chosen by Tycho, our new two-year-old fur baby. I had no intention of adopting another cat, but when my husband sat down and Ty climbed in his lap and purred before settling in for a nap, it was over. He's energetic, talkative, and loves to play with anything even resembling a mouse or a string, especially if it smells like catnip.
Chim wasn't crazy about him at first, but after a couple of weeks, they were getting along just like him and his brother Vash. They roamed the yard, played in the living room, and begged for treats like they'd been friends for ages. So, when Chim suddenly started acting strange, when he stopped eating and drinking, we knew something was wrong.
Long story short: We went to our normal vet, ran blood work, put him on appetite stimulants, offered dry food and treats, and even ended up at the ER over the last weekend. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until the ER doc ordered an X-Ray.
He had a tumor in his bronchial tube, which had spread to the lungs. He had lung cancer, which had progressed to lymphoma.
At that point, our options were limited. We could do ultrasounds and a biopsy, which would tell us for sure whether the masses were cancerous - in which case we could try chemo but since he was 14 and diabetic was not recommended - or not - in which case surgery was not recommended because of the same reasons.
We could give him sub-q fluids and pain medication, try to keep him alive as long as we could, risking the chance we'd come home one day to find him in unbearable pain, coughing up blood or worse.
Or, we could spare him the suffering, and help him across the rainbow bridge before things got that far.
This was the hardest decision I have EVER had to make in my life. Chim's big sister, Melanie, was my first cat. I was lucky to have her as my furbaby for over thirteen years. I knew she was sick, but before I could do anything about it, she passed away at home in her sleep. As for Chim, I didn't want him to suffer.
Yesterday morning, we took him in to see his favorite doc - the one who diagnosed his diabetes, who helped us through his tail surgery, who's been there for us through all the ups and downs over the last two and a half years - and we let him go.
I can't even say that I'm crying again - it's more like I'm crying still. Some moments are okay - moments when I feel like we made the right decision and let him leave this world with some grace and dignity intact - and some are the opposite - when I feel I made a terrible mistake and should have kept fighting, kept trying, kept holding on as long as we could have.
Anyway.
Chim was part of our family. He was total sweetheart, a real people person, the favorite of everyone who knew him. He is the best cat, our sweet orange boy, so deeply loved by everyone who knew him that all our lives are changed forever by him being a part of them. And he will be dearly missed.
Thank you all for everything.
I found FDMB back in February 2016 when Chim was first diagnosed with diabetes. For a while, I didn't know what we were going to do. It seemed so overwhelming - trying to take in so much information in so short a time, to find some way to make sure he could still be healthy and have a good quality of life.
First of all, I want to thank everyone here for being so helpful and supportive through not just this diagnosis but some of the other issues we've been through since then. I wish that I'd been a more active part of this community, beyond just asking for advice and questioning which meters, insulin, and testing methods we were using. Everyone here was so incredibly helpful, not only when we decided we needed to change our home testing methods, but also when Chim developed skin cancer on his tail and ended up a bobcat (tail amputation surgery) as a result.
There were opinions back then that we should have let him go, that going through major surgery at his age and with his medical record was nuts. I didn't listen, and I'm glad.
I told him then that if he was tired - if he was ready - all he needed to do was tell me. He said he wasn't finished yet, and we had another year and a half with him as a result - a decision I will NEVER regret.
About a month ago, we visited a local cat cafe and were chosen by Tycho, our new two-year-old fur baby. I had no intention of adopting another cat, but when my husband sat down and Ty climbed in his lap and purred before settling in for a nap, it was over. He's energetic, talkative, and loves to play with anything even resembling a mouse or a string, especially if it smells like catnip.
Chim wasn't crazy about him at first, but after a couple of weeks, they were getting along just like him and his brother Vash. They roamed the yard, played in the living room, and begged for treats like they'd been friends for ages. So, when Chim suddenly started acting strange, when he stopped eating and drinking, we knew something was wrong.
Long story short: We went to our normal vet, ran blood work, put him on appetite stimulants, offered dry food and treats, and even ended up at the ER over the last weekend. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until the ER doc ordered an X-Ray.
He had a tumor in his bronchial tube, which had spread to the lungs. He had lung cancer, which had progressed to lymphoma.
At that point, our options were limited. We could do ultrasounds and a biopsy, which would tell us for sure whether the masses were cancerous - in which case we could try chemo but since he was 14 and diabetic was not recommended - or not - in which case surgery was not recommended because of the same reasons.
We could give him sub-q fluids and pain medication, try to keep him alive as long as we could, risking the chance we'd come home one day to find him in unbearable pain, coughing up blood or worse.
Or, we could spare him the suffering, and help him across the rainbow bridge before things got that far.
This was the hardest decision I have EVER had to make in my life. Chim's big sister, Melanie, was my first cat. I was lucky to have her as my furbaby for over thirteen years. I knew she was sick, but before I could do anything about it, she passed away at home in her sleep. As for Chim, I didn't want him to suffer.
Yesterday morning, we took him in to see his favorite doc - the one who diagnosed his diabetes, who helped us through his tail surgery, who's been there for us through all the ups and downs over the last two and a half years - and we let him go.
I can't even say that I'm crying again - it's more like I'm crying still. Some moments are okay - moments when I feel like we made the right decision and let him leave this world with some grace and dignity intact - and some are the opposite - when I feel I made a terrible mistake and should have kept fighting, kept trying, kept holding on as long as we could have.
Anyway.
Chim was part of our family. He was total sweetheart, a real people person, the favorite of everyone who knew him. He is the best cat, our sweet orange boy, so deeply loved by everyone who knew him that all our lives are changed forever by him being a part of them. And he will be dearly missed.
Thank you all for everything.
I am so thankful for this community - I really don't know what we would have done without all of you. Thanks again for being amazing pet parents.
I'll pray for us both to survive the kitten stage, but then I have hopes that our Henry and your Ty will become best of friends with their siblings.