Ming-Yi and Jia-Wen came over last night.
When we shifted to this present house in January 2012, we brought along all our seven cats with our dog, Bobby. Now, only Tabs is left from this group. We’ve said goodbye to Bobby, Tiger, Pole, Bunny, Cleo, Cow Mau and now, Indy.
Suddenly, there is this huge chasm in my life. An emptiness that cannot be filled. I know I still have Tabs, Ginger, Minnie and the Monsters, Samantha and the Blondies and Riley, and there’s Gerald and Misty too. I still have 14 cats to look after, but they cannot fill that void. No one can. I will miss all my departed pets forever but I will certainly remember every one of them with fondness and lots of love and gratitude.
I have not even got used to saying “We have 15 cats” and now I have to say, “We have 14 cats”. I did think ahead that if I was fortunate enough to see through all our cats, and that would be in 20 years’ time, perhaps, what will I do when I don’t have anymore pets to care for? Foster elderly pets from shelters, I suppose?
Ever since Cow Mau left us, I have been feeling so sad every morning when I prepare the supplement bowls. One less bowl to prepare, and this morning, it’s two less bowls to prepare. One might think it’s a relief, but no, it isn’t. Because it was never a burden to begin with. It was a privilege to be able to look after them, through thick and thin, in sickness and in health; especially in sickness.
Last night, I cleared away and kept Indy’s remaining medication. It’s so sad. I even had to put away to two tiny Tupperware cups I use to feed him the Japanese milk and water. And the little tray that I use. I had to put away the many syringes too. The thought of not having Indy around to care for is devastating.
Indy is still so, so solid. There was no muscle wastage at all. He is still as solid as he’d ever been. Our Indy Jones. He did not even lose any weight in this last lapse. It was just kidney failure – that devastating nightmare that happens to 33.3% of all cats.
Our little tiny 2-week old kitten that we picked up from the drain, lived up to his name and lived a great life as a warrior and defender of his territory. But when I looked through his medical history, I recall now that at 3 years old, when he became so sick, the ultrasound revealed that one kidney was smaller than the other. This probably meant that Indy had been living with just one functional kidney all his life. I now recall that’s what the vet said. But I guess because he was so tough, I actually forgot all about this. When he was first diagnosed with possible kidney disease 5 years ago, he overcame it after 8 months of subcut fluids and was declared “normal” again. What a great warrior. He got sick many times, but he would always bounce back.
But when he was suddenly diagnosed with Stage 4 CKD, I knew there was no turning back anymore. And yet, he showed no symptoms. None at all. Still as solid and as strong as ever, all the way until the final week where he stopped eating on his own, and the final three days when the bloody vomiting happened. But when I took him to the vet, the vet was very surprised that with only a 6.4% HCT reading, Indy was still sitting up.
That’s our Indy Jones.
When I requested the stem cell therapy for him, the vet agreed because she also said that Indy looked so, so strong and “so normal” despite being at Stage 4. But I was reminded that we might not see any results at all. I know and I was aware of that, but I just had to give him a chance. Maybe it did help a bit, or maybe not, but I have no regrets.
Yesterday, when I fed Indy what was to be his “last meal” in the afternoon, Jayden came to look and he also took the syringe and fed Indy some water. Indy obliged and let Jayden feed him. It was such a touching moment. Jayden fed him and patted him. That was Indy’s last meal, and both of us did not know it.
Jayden will be coming this morning and he will say goodbye to Indy. In fact, Jayden has been asking for Cow Mau in the last two days when he was here. He is still too young to understand death. We just told him that “Cow Mau isn’t here anymore”. He did not understand that so I had to just deflect the question and ask him to play with the other cats.
 
We have lost both our Royal Guards in a span of 10 days. Both warriors and heroes all the way.
 
Ginger and Indy were the best of nemeses, long-standing rivals! But Ginger was sympathetic last night.
 
Goodbye, Indy. But you will live on in all of us.
I will be compiling a photo-tribute for Indy later. Again, there are thousands of photos to sieve through spanning 16 years. And countless wonderful and beautiful memories to cherish.
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