December 6, 2012
It has taken me 24 hours to be able to sit down and write this. It just never gets any easier….
We lost a very close member of our fur-family last night, Puff, the domestic cat who shared the main sanctuary house with us.
He found us back in 2002 when our truck was broken down on th side of the road. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere and I heard a kitten crying.
We looked and there was this skinny little gray ‘rat’ climbing through a ditch full of water to get to us.
He was too young to be weaned and unafraid of people – yet there were no houses nearby. We suspect someone dumped off a litter of kittens and he was the lucky one who found help. Actually, I think we were the lucky ones…
With his always-sweet personality, Puff has been one of the favorites among all of our volunteers for the past 10 years. He is the first one to greet everyone when they arrive for work in the morning and the last one to see them off at the end of the day.
He had always been healthy until last week, he started to become a picky eater. By the weekend he had almost completely stopped eating. Even his favorite foods were left uneaten.
Although he seemed otherwise fine, we knew something was wrong. We couldn’t come up with any reasons for his refusal to eat. We looked him over ourselves and all he did was purr.
A trip to the vet for diagnostics….our worst fears were confirmed, Puff had a tumor in his abdomen and it appeared to be involving his liver or spleen. That is why he had stopped eating.
In hopes that the tumor could be removed, we opted for immediate surgery….but the tumor was completely throughout his liver and could not be removed. He would not eat again and would have quickly failed if we hadn’t found it.
I’m thankful that he was content and purring through his exam, he knows how much he is loved….I’m just so sorry that we only had 10 short years to spend with him.
We will all miss his excited greetings when we walk in the door….
I will miss having him snuggled up on my lap in the evenings after a long day at the sanctuary. Its amazing how the contented purr of a cat can melt away all of life’s stress.
Puff, thank you for always being such a good listener. You have touched so many hearts along the way, we will never forget you.
So very sorry for your loss of Puff. He was definitely a sweety. I remember seeing him trotting around the house like it was all his. Both him and Sox always brought a smile to my face whenever I came over. The loss of a close pet is always difficult and I know exactly what you mean when you said a purr can melt away all the stress. Animals bring us such joy in life.. but can also bring us such heartache. Again, so sorry for your loss, Lisa.
Lisa I’m so sorry to hear about Puff. I just lost one of my favorite cats, Sweetie Petey CrinkleEar, last Saturday. He was 10, too. You’re right – it never gets any easier. Hope you all can find comfort in the wonderful memories you made with him….
Lisa, I am so deeply sorry for your loss. I know exactly how you feel. I just had almost the same problem with one of my personal cats (and the love of my life BTW), his name is Gabriel. I rescued him when he was only 3 days old and barely 2.5oz, now he is 11 years old. Couple of months ago I was petting him and I found this mass in his underbelly, I took him to the vet and x-rays revealed a mass kind of the size of a big potato but we were not sure if it was only in the hanging underbelly or if it has spreaded to the abdominal cavity. I am a Reiki Master and immediately I started to do Reiki healings on him waiting to do the surgery in couple of weeks (it was not an emergency because he was just as normal as he is always). Well, one day the thing started coming out of his body and I had no other choice than to bring him for surgery. I was in the surgery all the time and I am blessed to have such a great vet and surgeon, Dr. Bravo from Bravo Animal Clinic. He removed the huge fatty tumor that did not go to the abdominal cavity and basically look like a “tummy tuck”. If you (or anybody reading this message) wants to see the pictures, you may do so at our Facebook page (Octavio Feline Foundation).
I was hoping to meet Puff on the 19th but I know we will meet one day, all our loved babies will be waiting for us.
RIP sweet Puff.
I’m so sorry Lisa, Puff was truly amazing. He was such a sweet boy. I don’t really consider myself a cat person, but he was special.
So sorry for your loss.
You’re in my thoughts.
Brittany
I’m so sorry to hear about puff 🙁 he had a wonderful unique character, he was always so loving. At least you know he didn’t suffer and that he had a fab life. Rest in peace gorgeous little man xxxxxxxx
I am so sorry for the profound loss that everyone must be feeling at Peace River. I can’t believe how much Puff looks like my Becks who is also 10 years old. His deep and persistent purr is a great source of comfort as well, and I am happy to hear that Puff went on to his next adventures sharing his thoughts with you. My best regards, Lori
HI Lisa,. I am so sorry about Puff. Loved seeing him when we were there. Know how you feel. We just had to put our cat Lita to sleep after having her 22 years. It was heartbreaking, but we slpwly heal. Our thoughts are with you as you heal!!Take care Heather
I loved meeting puff and am so sad to hear this news. Rest in piece puff and have a great time in cat heaven. X x you will most definitely be missed x
O no, Puff! I remember her running to the cat food when you asked her “show me the food”..
Sorry for your loss