A Good-bye To A Gentle Friend

Our cats are many gifts to us: Companions, clowns, wise ones and teachers. And often times, they enter our lives at special moments, linking us with others. 

Today, I’d like to honor the memory of Dusty, by telling you the story of this 14-year-old grey and white kitty and best buddy of my friend, Nancy, who left her sight – but not her heart – yesterday. He fought the good fight against pancreatitis and intestinal disease for years and passed away in her arms at a local specialty hospital. 

I distinctly remember the hours that led up to my meeting Dusty (and Nancy) for the first time. I was working in my cats-only hospital one afternoon when my receptionist told me that a woman had called about her cat. The story was that the kitty had a urethral obstruction. Male cats with these obstructions are unable to urinate and the condition is life-threatening. Treatment includes removing the mucous or crystal plug under heavy sedation or anesthesia, placing a urinary catheter administering intravenous fluids for several days in a hospital setting.

The problem was that the caller on the line had taken Dusty to a veterinary hospital, but the doctor on duty was afraid that this little wild kitty (born to a feral Mom) would be unmanageable in the hospital. He recommended that Nancy put the cat to sleep instead of treating him. But being the resourceful person that she is, Nancy got out the phonebook, saw my small ad and contacted our hospital. Within a short period of time, she was in one of the exam rooms with her beloved little guy. 

Dusty was treated successfully for his obstruction and really didn’t present a problem during his hospitalization. He was one of those kitties who was so frightened that he was lots of talk – and no bite. Within a few days, he was home with Nancy and his Mom, Lucy (a black and white tuxedo girl with a moustache). 

Over the years, Dusty mellowed into an incredibly gentle soul. He would snuggle next to Nancy at night and often fall asleep with her watching the television. As many cats can, he was a gourmet with a very particular appetite. He most recently developed a fondness for a very expensive cat food and Nancy, being the good soul she is, happily made the special order to get it. 

As good and as loving as Dusty was to Nancy, she, too was good and loving to him. Such it is with special cats and special people. Over the years, he visited a number of veterinary specialists and although I know that the costs were sometimes considerable, Nancy never did not do what he needed. After a particularly expensive surgery, Nancy got the question that many of us have heard: Why didn’t she just put him to sleep and get another cat. 

The answer, of course, was that Dusty was a purr-son in his own right and it wasn’t a matter of just substituting one cat for another. There could never be another like him and Nancy thought she owed it to him to help him, as long as the outcome was worthwhile – for Dusty. All of us who have ever loved and lost a kitty know that pain that is felt in the days that Immediately follow the loss. We look for our feline friends, fully expect to see them jump on the bed or find them cozy and asleep on a favorite place in the sunshine. Whatever the good place is that cats go after they leave this life, be it over The Rainbow Bridge, or Heaven, or some other place where the beds are soft, the mice are slow and the birds low-flying, the sun casts gentle pools of light for sleep and the wind softly blows across fur and whiskers – I know Dusty is there. 

Farewell, little guy. Know that in whatever place you are, your spirit is in Nancy’s heart.