The story:
This is Jean Luc (the gray and white on the couch) and Duncan (the tabby with his back to the camera on the red blanket). They are about 12 years old, adopted from Angell Memorial in Jamaica Plain, Mass. The shelter is next door to the hospital, the largest animal hospital in the country, but I was told they are not officially affliated with one another.
Anyway, four cats were found in an abandoned house in Roxbury. I went to the shelter with plans to adopt one female tabby, and saw Duncan first and loved him. He’s a very affectionate cat. I saw Jean Luc and I thought he was so handsome and I couldn’t decide between them. Then I found out they were the last two of the group of four so I adopted them both. They were about one year old at the time. Duncan was named Spock and, not being a Star Trek fan, I changed it. Jean Luc is named after Jean Luc Picard apparently, but I liked the name so I kept it.
I got cats because at the time I travelled a lot for business, short trips but a lot of them, so I wanted a pet I could leave alone for a day or two at a time. Well, about six months after I got them Jean Luc was diagnosed with both an enlarged heart and asthma and needed meds twice a day. So he’s cost me a fortune, between many, many vet visits, tests, procedure, medicine and cat sitters. But I adore him. I sobbed like a baby when he was first diagnosed and I thought he might die, even though I’d only had him for about six months. I wouldn’t trade him for anything. Or Duncan. I love them dearly. They’ve been the most consistent and constant thing in my life for 11 years. I cant even think about my life without either of them.
Keep the stories and pics coming in (although I have about 20 lined up right now).
asiangrrlMN
Aw, I love Jean Luc and Duncan! Another great story in a fabulous series, Cole. Keep ’em coming!
Notorious P.A.T.
Cute kitties )
Nice names!
I assume Duncan is from Dune….another great Patrick Stewart role.
mai naem
I am watching Olbermann who is making my blood boil with the healthcare stories. One thousand people in Arkansas followed by Droopy Face Lieberhole who doesn’t give a crap about spending a trillion dollars on an unnecessary war but OMG health insurance(not even health care) for regular Americans and he begins to look like a constipated skunk.
Tom
We have 4 dogs all through rescues, 5 cats, again all through rescues, two rescue birds, and we’re fostering 2 other dogs for my wife’s Great Dane rescue. I sit in my easy chair every night with my laptop in front of me, a cat on each arm of the chair, and one laying across the back of the chair. I really don’t like having so many critters in my home but each of them add something to our lives and I couldn’t imagine not having given any of them a chance to live. Anyone need a Dane?
DougJ
Jean Luc!
phoebes-in-santa fe
What a wonderful story about your rescuing the two cats! I don’t know who wrote the story, but you deserve all the love the two cats will give you.
MBSS
stillers fan kills puppy before the game.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09327/1015750-100.stm
Demo Woman
Miss Moxie, the micro deerhound (aka mutt), and I love the rescue stories. The stories always bring tears to our eyes because we know that the rescues bring so much joy.
Earlier General Stuck mentioned that the Stuck household is looking for a rescue also.
MikeJ
If the rescued aminals are from regular posters, would it be possible to put the poster’s handle with the story?
cleek
no P’lin all day.
i’m proud of you guys.
General Winfield Stuck
@Demo Woman:
Now I’m getting worry worts about a pet that gets sick and if I could afford the treatment. Obama should add a pet PO to his bill, that would make the wingnuts crazy.
Corner Stone
@cleek: No shit. I second your accolades.
MikeJ
I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in Trenchtown
observing the hypocrites
As they would mingle with the good people we meet
Great. Alaskan earworm now.
Demo Woman
@General Winfield Stuck: Miss Moxie has been the least expensive pet that I have owned. I do think that it’s important to do some research. You want to make sure that any pet that you adopt is spayed, up to date on shots and has had an exam. Research the possible ? breed also. My most expensive pet was a SharPei. Sweet, smart and adaptable but subject to health problems.
DougJ
observing the hypocrites
As they would mingle with the good people we meet
I’ve been trying to figure out a way to use that as a post title since forever.
jeffreyw
Ah, nothing like a good pet story to cool down from a religion thread.
slag
@Corner Stone: 3rded.
@MBSS: Disgusting.
asiangrrlMN
@cleek: No Woman No Cry!
Bob Marley got that right.
jeffreyw
@asiangrrlMN: Good evening, ma’am. Hungry?
Morbo
Yes, Arizona does suck that much.
asiangrrlMN
@jeffreyw: Yes! Food pr0n, pleez.
jeffreyw
@asiangrrlMN: An appetizer perhaps?
asiangrrlMN
@jeffreyw: Are you Asian at all? Damn. That looks yuuuuummmmmy.
jeffreyw
@asiangrrlMN: I knew a Chinese girl once, and made a Vietnamese Coke girl smile one day.
General Winfield Stuck
@Demo Woman:
I would get a rescue at the pound, probly a death row doggie, it will have all it’s shots and neutered, so whatever life and love I can give will be a plus. I will likely not go to extraordinary lengths to keep a pet with a serious illness alive, if it came to that. Just my upbringing in the rough hills of Appalachia I guess.
jeffreyw
The main course.
General Winfield Stuck
Did I kill this thread with coldness?
jeffreyw
Nah, DougJ ruined it with a new thread.
asiangrrlMN
@General Winfield Stuck: No. I think that’s sensible, actually. It’s hard to make them understand why they have to go through all that pain. I think it’s worth it–up to a point.
@jeffreyw: You’re killing me. So, you only know Asian women, but are not Asian myself.
John O
I picked up my stray cat off of 4 lanes of crowded frozen traffic in a pretty unusual spot for all four lanes to be stopped cold, wondering what was happening, when I saw this little black thing darting across the road, freezing in fear about 10 feet from my car.
I was going out to get the food for a Christmas party I was having. I looked out the sunroof and asked, “It’s a test, isn’t it?,” grinned and got out of the car and scooped him up, vetoing a couple of other folks who had volunteered to take him to a shelter.
I put the scrawny, very young little tuxedo-colored boy in my car, and he cried and cried while I went to get the food.
I got him home a half-hour later, put him in the litter box downstairs, and left him alone. He did his business and eventually wound his way upstairs, where the action was. He was treated to a good meal, and wandered over to the cat house and promptly crashed like he hadn’t slept in weeks. He just lied there in a lot of noise and commotion and affection while I tried to give him away the whole night. Many wives said yes, all husbands said no. I kept him.
I already had two Siamese. The new little guy was clearly malnourished, I suspect a runt whom his mother left to fend for himself. It was winter time in Chicago.
Within about 3 months, he reached some peace with my nice Siamese, an interesting “I’ll kick your ass” deal with my other far larger Siamese, and we had a great rock-paper-scissors deal going for years in which Comet (named after a kitten I had who was killed by a car when I was a kid) basically tortured Slush, my penile Siamese, and was loved by Nikki, my nicer (but chronically puking) Siamese. Comet tortured Slushy, Slushy tortured Nikki, and Nikki tortured Comet on a pretty day-to-day basis. But all was good.
About this time last year, Comet developed a kidney disease that created what the vet called, “the highest kidney function tests I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been a vet for 19 years.” Options? Home IV, to which I eventually submitted. The staff left to get me the stuff and teach me how to do it.
After several minutes alone with the little guy, my best fetcher and loudest purrer, I realized I was being irrational. Crying like a little girl, I walked out of the room where Comet and I were and told the nurses I had to put him down.
I cried for three days. I’m OK now. The original boys are doing fine, cuddly, affectionate, smart, and brave.
Anyone who saves a pet has a “get out of jail free” card in my mind when it comes to whatever happens when we die.
Keep ’em coming, John. Gives me some hope for the human race.
asiangrrlMN
@John O: Aw, I’m so sorry on the loss of your Comet. He sounds like a truly special boy. Thank you for giving him a good home for the time he had left here. I’m sniffing now.
asiangrrlMN
By the way, just a tip. If you have to take antibiotics as I do (sinus infection, bitchez!), take probiotics at the same time. The latter really save your stomach as it’s being ripped apart by the former.
jeffreyw
@John O: Nice story, I know the pain well.
General Winfield Stuck
I bawled every time one of my Fancy Dwarf Hamsters died. Which was fourty or fifty times from about 2001 to 2004. Got so I just couldn’t do it anymore.
John O
@asiangrrlMN:
One hates to anthropomorphize their pets, but I could never get over the idea he was grateful to me for bringing him from cat-Hell to cat-Heaven.
He was a really good kitty. Smart as hell, my best hunter by a mile. Insects were no match for the little guy; he was relentless. I miss him.
And I’m really a dog guy.
asiangrrlMN
@General Winfield Stuck: I can’t even imagine.
asiangrrlMN
@John O: I don’t think that’s anthromorphizing them–I think it’s only natural. You took him out of kitty hell and gave him kitty heaven for the rest of his earthly life. My condolences to you and yours.
asiangrrlMN
@asiangrrlMN: Meaning that he would be grateful to some extent, even if it wasn’t directly aimed at you.
John O
Thanks, asiangrrlMN.
I suspect you’re right. He was a happy guy; one of the things the vet didn’t really get, and which gave me hope, was how happy he was to get affection from the vet assistants, how gentle he was with getting his organs pressed, how…calm he was about being so sick.
All right, time to stop thinking about this…
General Winfield Stuck
@asiangrrlMN:
It started with two and got to be so many, they got their very own room. I put in all kinds of Hamster stuff like wheels and those plastic tunnels and houses.Didn’t know what else to do. The variety I had it was almost impossible to tell male and female apart, though I tried. Would go in and lay on the floor and they would run all over me playing. I must have gave away at least a hundred to people and to a lady with a little pet store in town. I might have made her rich or close to it. Instead of the trouble with Tribbles, it was hamsters for me. But they weren’t no tribble really.
John O
The critters, they require so little. And before too long you feel like they’d create a hamster army to defend you.
For nothing but food and shelter and fun and affection.
Pretty good deal.
You Don't Say
@MikeJ: Duncan and Jean Luc are mine. Sorry for the lame photo. I found out Duncan is called a mackerel tabby — brown and black stripes with white paws and chest.
I’m sorry if Jean Luc’s tale of woe made anyone reluctant to adopt an animal. I did have people (older folks) tell me to put him down because he had multiple problems, but at the time I was making good money and I felt like I had taken on the responsibility. I was fortunate.
I felt like it was a good lesson for me to learn. As I said, I got cats because I thought they’d be less trouble. Jean Luc ended up being a lot of trouble and I wouldn’t trade him for a million times all the money I’ve spent on him.
And now, just when I’m broke, he stopped costing so much. ;-) He seems after 10 years to have outgrown his asthma. It flares up rarely now. And his heart has lasted a lot longer than at least one vet predicted.
You Don't Say
Also, here is the web site for MSPCA and Angell Memorial for anyone in the Boston area who is looking for a pet to adopt: http://support.mspca.org/site/PageServer
General Winfield Stuck
@You Don’t Say:
Being one of those, (just barely though) I would like to commend you for not listening to them and doing good. We aren’t all that swift sometimes, and old school definitely has it’s drawbacks.
asiangrrlMN
@You Don’t Say: Your cats are adorable. Don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you what to do with for the health of you animal. If he had a good chance of surviving and living happily for some more time, then it’s money well spent.
Kittehs!
Anne Laurie
@asiangrrlMN:
Yep, and they’re available for pets, too. “Gentle Digest” saved everyone’s sanity during the last 20 months of our dog Flicker’s life, after she lost a length of her bowel to cancer, since she was on a constant diet of antibiotics for urinary tract and/or skin infections. The Spousal Unit gave me the hairy eyeball when I first starting opening the capsules & sprinkling them over her (prescription diet) dinner, but we soon established that the probiotics really cut back on Flicker’s gas problems, and believe me the flatulence (while impressive) was nowhere near as unpleasant as having her screaming & snapping because her guts hurt.
Yutsano
All four of my cats are rescues. Scamp is the old man of the house, at least until Squeaker the fourteen year old Siamese moved in. Then came Skitz, my very aptly named orange furball who is both my greatest hunter and the most affectionate cat, and finally Suki the black something or other (we have no clue) bringing the total to four. Two boys, two girls, all are fixed (wouldn’t change that decision for the world) all adorable and masters of the household by far.
Ruckus
Not in a position to have pets right now and the rescue stories are as close as I can get to having them. So please keep them coming, they help take the edge off the political side. The last pets in the house belonged to the last ex. An 85lb german shepard who she would breed, one of the pups, a cat, and a huge tank of fish. The cat would sleep on my feet every night. The cat and I had a pretty strong symbiotic relationship which I always thought was because we were the only males in the house. The pup on the other hand was about the third dumbest dog I’ve ever known but the mom and the cat fit into the routine and made that a better time and place. Or maybe we fit into their routine. Miss that dog and that cat. The pup not so much.
WereBear
@MBSS: How horrible. Only three months old.
Tax Analyst
John O – Warm and touching story. My sympathies on Comet’s sad outcome. I really love cats, and although I never sought to actually get one I managed to have several over the years, due to my late brother’s even stronger affection for felines and his life-long habit of getting into situations where he could no longer have them where he lived. It actually worked out quite well and I always got totally attached to them, but was able to give them back to him when his situation improved.
But he’s gone now and I moved into a smaller place where I just can’t have one. I make sure to send $20 or $25 every couple months to the local SPCA (Los Angeles) in his honor.
BTW – I just read a truly sad story about the situation at the Elkhart, IN Humane Society Animal Shelter. It’s one that I’m sure is happening in a lot of places now and it’s heart-breaking:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34117457/ns/us_news-the_elkhart_project/
It’s not just the poor animals I feel sorry for, but also those terribly overwhelmed staff people. I don’t imagine anybody gets into that type of job to get rich…they must care quite a bit about their charges. I imagine that in less strained times they are able to balance the unpleasant parts of their duties with the knowledge that their kindness and dedication serves to reduce pain and suffering and many times results in the pairing of pets needing a good home with people who want and are able to provide it. But now they come to work each day and find themselves looking at 20-to-30 sad and confused animals who were once mostly cared-for but are now unaffordable financial baggage to their former owners. The knowledge that they will probably end up euthanizing most of them must surely be demoralizing.
I understand the underlying priorities that many are facing when it comes down to feeding one’s family or a pet. As a single person I could just do without some other things, but someone providing for a family has a larger obligation. I just hope people aren’t dumping their cats and dogs instead of giving up a couple of latte’s a month.
I don’t know if a small contribution will help much, but in addition to my usual Christmas-time contribution to my local SPCA I’m going to send something to these Elkhart folks too.
(Sigh) That article really put me in a bummed out place this morning. I guess that’s not all that hard to tell.
Tax Analyst
I just realized what a bummer comment I just tossed into a really nice, positive thread about pets and rescue stories.
Sorry. That story just burned a hole in my silly-old head.
tess
@Tax Analyst: I don’t think you tossed out a bummer comment. Those types of stories are happening everywhere–though in our college town, it seems like those stories rarely went away. Knowing how many need homes makes me feel guilty that I won’t be up to getting another cat for quite some time, but it will make being ready feel all the better, you know?
I got my girls at 21. One died in May at 16.5; the other is 17 and into the days-not-weeks category now and we’re just trying to keep her comfortable. Losing 2 in 6 months, that are and have been the most constant, reliable, reassuring parts of the best part of my life so far, just means it will be a little awhile before I can bring another into my life. Sadly, there will always be one there who needs me.
Tax Analyst
tess said:
Thanks, Tess. I guess part of my pain here has more than a little helpless guilt at it’s core that is normally assuaged by the reality that I’m not really in a situation to deal in any way with having a pet right now, and it’s not likely to change. So the best I can do is donate on a regular basis, and that’s really not the same as saving a pet and then actually taking care of it.
The last cat I had died at 12 (some form of cat leukemia). Although she was my brother’s cat I had her for about 7 or 8 of her 12 years and we had gotten pretty used to each other. She had a definite attitude with an edge…talk about willful, oh boy…try and read a newspaper when she wanted to be petted…she’d jump up on the paper and sit right on down like “Oh, you weren’t really interested in this, were you?” and if you removed her chances were pretty good she would be right there again in a minute or two. Honestly, to a large extent that attitude sort of meshed pretty effortlessly with my own.
Well, gotta get back to work. Thanks again.
TA