Chris of Chris and Queenie - One of her sweet furbabies passed

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Vicki

Vicki

Member Since 2015
Chris (Chris and Queenie) and I became friends after meeting here at FDMB. We were newbies together, and y'all know what a bonding experience that can be!

She has continued testing/adjusting Queenie, who is doing well and whose SS is up to date, but has had some big obligations for the past month and through this next weekend and has not had time to post here.

Chris and her DH live on a farm and have lots of kitties, ....all of them very much loved.

I had this sad message from her yesterday evening and thought y'all would want to know ~

From Chris:
Today, very suddenly and with great sadness, we said good bye to Ruff. He was a true black beauty, more than handsome...
He and his brother Reddi were rescued from an industrial park as 5 month old kittens about 10 years ago. Their living conditions were horrendous when we trapped them in the dead of winter. They had little balls of construction debris and insulation stuck in their fur from the dumpster they had been living in. I always had to laugh though... more than any of the other cats they would come running when they smelled pizza. That dumpster had a little bit of everything left over from the construction project and they never lost their taste for it.

It was tough to let him go but I know we did the right thing. He had three large cancerous masses in his belly and the prognosis was extremely poor. He had hidden it so well!

Give all your critters a squeeze for me tonight and ask them what they are hiding.

~ peace ~
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Thanks for posting this Vicki. My heart goes out to Chris and her DH today. Ruff and his brother are suree handsome looking kitties and they hit the jackpot when they went home with Chris and her DH.
Fly free sweet Ruff and land softly. Send your momma a message from the rainbow bridge. cat_wings>o
 
So sorry to hear Chris lost one of her dear kitties

What a beautiful black kitty too!

Fly free Ruff and land softly! There are many at the bridge to welcome you...Send your mamabean a sign that you're happy and healthy and waiting at the Bridge for the day when you're together again cat_wings>o
 
Vicki said:
Give all your critters a squeeze for me tonight and ask them what they are hiding.
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So sad to hear that your little beauty has had to cross the bridge . Your wise words are so , so poignant!! Fly high and free Ruff..I know Mamma hates to see you go but she has given you the gift of eternal remembrance and no pain, The final gift of LOVE!!!
 
Thanks everyone and to Vicki for posting, it was a very sweet thing to do!

Ruff (and Reddi who is still very much with us) terrorized almost all the other cats on the farm. They were the bad boys we had to protect the other ones from ~ "the brothers". But boy were they a magnificent team. They also both loved personal attention from us and could be as sweet as honey! I was in complete shock yesterday when we decided to let Ruff go and I will say some may feel we rushed things. But we decided that the money we would have spent on end of life care for him (and most likely a life without much quality) would be better spent on doing some proactive exams on a few of the others we have been "watching" lately. Here at the farm, with so many, there are always a couple that have "issues" or that we worry about, but time or money prevents us from taking action. I loved Ruff, he was a beauty, but he would have been a lousy patient and I just could not bring myself to put him through treatment to extend his life for a few months of constant vet visits and discomfort. In the last hour of his life we sat with him and cuddled. He never budged. Clearly he felt lousy and had been hiding his condition very successfully from us (he spent a lot of time outside roaming the fields and presiding over the out buildings). It was obvious to me that after having been away for the past two weekends I probably missed his rapid decline at the end. His weight was down and his appetite had disappeared. He sat around like a meatloaf on Monday after refusing to come in for dinner for the past few nights. I knew something was wrong, but oh what a shock to see the look on the vet's face when she squeezed his belly!

May years ago I had an adopted kitty I dearly loved named Dolly. She was the first cat I had to put to sleep as a grown up. I loved her to pieces. She was cute as a button, a long hair tuxedo Manx with a big mouth and an even bigger attitude. By the time she was ten years old she had Lyme disease, Cardiomyopathy and FIV. I was broke. I nursed her for a year but in the end I realized I was putting her through so much medical treatment because I just could not let go. I could see the sadness in her eyes the last time I was struggling to figure out what to do next, and how I was going to pay for it. I was working with a Reiki Master at the time (as well as other alternative healers and allopathic vets) and one thing the Reiki Master said to me that has brought me so much peace then and now after all these years was this:

"Animals have no hang ups about death, but people do. For animals, death is just like walking from one room into another. When their bodies fail them they want nothing more than to move into a new room." So now, when I am faced with something like yesterday with Ruff, I remind myself that his next, well built, beautiful room is waiting and I have no right to keep the door closed. Feeling I acted too quickly is something I am willing to live with, because I have seen the tortured look in the eyes of a creature I have put through too much. I never want to see that look again. Ruff will always live on as the black beauty he was. Strong and vibrant to the very last breath.

hugs to everyone

chris
 
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Chris, so sorry to hear of your sad loss, always a very hard decision to have to take but I agree wholeheartedly with your wise words and I hope they bring you comfort and peace. I too kept a beloved cat going far too long just for me and vowed never to do that again, the ultimate gift of love is to set them free. Hugs and prayers :bighug:
 
Hugs Chris! He was a beautiful kitty and I'm sure his life was even more beautiful because you cared for him (and his brother).

We are sending lots of hugs (and purrs) your way :bighug:
 
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