Losing Jamey
One day about nine years ago, after Fabrice and I had lost a kitten to FIP, we were told about two kittens who had been abandoned on a corner down in Denver. Someone picked them up and took them to a nearby shop, and a (now former) Rockies member saw them and posted on the Well that they needed a home.
They came to live with us. Blue had white fur with black spots and Jamey, named in honor of a friend, turned out to have very long Maine-coon-type fur, which he was unfortunately allergic to so we learned to have him trimmed every spring.
In spite of that, he was strong and healthy for the most part, and as loving and gentle a cat as I’ve ever known. This morning I walked upstairs and found him lying dead in the living room. The vet believes he had a stroke*.
He’d been fine when I saw him an hour before, so this was an utter shock. Fabrice and I are in deep mourning. His sister Blue and his adversary, our other cat Katy, live on.
Goodbye, Jamey, our beautiful boy. We will miss you and think of you with love always.
When I took my Susy Q to Madison, WI for treatment for hyperthyroidism, I was surprised that the pre-treatment exam included a blood pressure measurement. I had never heard of such a thing for a cat.
Long story short, it is not at all easy to get a measurement of a cat’s blood pressure. Susy is now on two medications…
Anyway, perhaps your poor beloved (and beautiful!) kitty had an undetected high blood pressure. It can lead to heart attack, stroke, and long-term organ failure.
My sincere condolences. I’ve lost three cats so far, and dread the day that Susy leaves me.
Hi pat and thanks for your thoughts. In fact the vet, after checking all his charts, is pretty sure he had a cardiac myopathy and they often throw clots that insta-kill like this. They are also nearly undectable without the kind of heart imaging you wouldn’t normally do on a healthy cat. I had no idea.
I’m sorry for your losses, but you are very kind to take care of your cats so well.
What a beautiful boy. I understand your grief and hope for a quick healing along with a lifetime of Jamey memories.
Here from TBoggs site so I know you will heal fast. My condolences.
Thanks very much for dropping by and for your good wishes. It means the world to me.
Tbogg people are the best.
Very sorry about your lost love. It’s tough to think now, I know, but you gave him a good, happy life. Be well.
Same to you, Tata, and thanks for your good wishes.
So sorry for your loss! A few years back we lost Cooper, a female Maine Coon almost identical in appearance to your Jamey, and under almost identical circumstances. I’m a veterinarian; I came home from some errand to find my beautiful girl – only 4 years old! – flat on the floor, but alive. She died before I could even get to my stethoscope. Yes, cardiomyopathy. There is a genetic test for this, but it was too new back when I had Cooper, and it would not be something that I would think to suggest for a mixed-breed kitten. The genetic component usually comes through the Persian side, and Maine Coons are sometimes out-crossed with Persians to improve the coat. As you say, the only other testing would be cardiac imaging, probably ultrasound, and again it would not be something that I would suggest for an apparently healthy, mixed-breed cat. It’s horrifying the way life’s odds rise up to smite one.
Anyway, my very best thoughts and hopes for your healing and peace (and I know that all of my fellow TBoggers send the same). I know it’s hard – I miss every single one of the fur-babies who have left me over a longish life.
Thanks so much for the good thoughts and for sharing your expertise (and correct citation on the disease). It was a terrible, shocking thing, and I am sorry you suffered such a loss.
What a beautiful boy. I’m so sorry for your loss. The only really sucky thing about being owned by a cat or a dog is that they do not live as long as we do. And no matter how long it is, it is NEVER long enough. But aren’t we so lucky to have them. I’m like Twain, only a little more expansive, I cannot imagine a heaven without our beloved fur family members. So I know more then a few of them who greeted Jamey, and let him know that he will see you all again (along with some of the best sunny spots). Until that time for you, Fabrice and Blue…
I really appreciate the lovely thoughts. It’s sort of weird, but the idea of my Jamey being greeted by so many friends on the other side is definitely comforting.
Oh, jnfr. How horrible. Sending positive thoughts and virtual hugs your way.
Thank you, Nancy. Believe me we can use every one of them.
Pingback:About Jamey… | Clary Books - Jennifer Powell