Via commentor Chris W.:
This is Moe. We adopted him from the local shelter when he was around four years old. He had been turned back into the shelter two different times. They made it clear to us he could not be around other cats (we’ve since found out he is unbearably dominant around other cats, the exact opposite of his normal personality). He was even kept in a separate room at the shelter.
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After we’d agreed to adopt him, the staff let us know it was his last day and he would have been euthanized if we hadn’t adopted him. He was so well loved there the manager of the facility came in on her day off to say goodbye to him.
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Moe is ten years old now and, for the life of me, I cannot imagine how anyone could have turned such a gentle, affectionate animal back into a shelter. He is beloved by everyone (I have a friend who has more pictures of Moe in his phone than of his own cat).
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In spite of his size (29 pounds at his top weight), Moe has always been a very healthy guy so were quite surprised when late last year he turned sluggish and just lost most of his natural fire. After several ER visits and 2 hospital stays, he was found to have an
abscess (it grew from not visible to the size of my fist in about 2-3 days). We are incredibly grateful to the staff at The University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Medicine Center for saving Moe’s life and providing him with love and bellyrubs while he was in hospital. Their staff is the best (his doctor even asked after him by name when she saw us at Trader Joe’s six months after she’d seen him).
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We have our old buddy back and better than ever. My wife barely misses the flesh she lost trying to administer the oral antibiotics for a month and Moe has even lost a couple of pounds.
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Shelter animals are the greatest. I also highly recommend mature cats over kittens (they are more stable and a lot less likely to be adopted).
Lesley
Moe sounds like quite a character. I’m so thankful he found you and you him.
WereBear (itouch)
Sounds like he has charm to burn.
My beloved Myron was a similarly huge black and white; but he loved other cats, was best friends with the Malamute, and adored hamsters. When I adopted him as a kitten, the whole shelter staff lined up to say bye.
Billy K
Thanks. I love these stories.
I very much want a kitty, but my allergies have prevented it so far. This year I’ve started a regular Claritin regiment, and I wonder if this will be enough for me to have a cat in the apartment.
joeyess
I just lost my first rescue, Dewhickey, to diabetes. I wrote his obit over at the GOS and he made the rec list.
I really miss my Dewey.
tesslibrarian
I am so sorry, joyess. I know how terrible it can be, especially since so many people don’t really understand the love we have for our animals.
Moe is awesome. Lately I have a lot of affection for big old toms–there’s something so sturdy and soothing about them. And I agree about older cats–kittens are cute, but a true handful. As much fun as my cats were as kittens, I have to say I liked them much more as adults.
Ivan Ivanovich Renko
I just got back late Saturday night from two weeks in the People’s Republic, and I so missed my furry beasts, Miss Fiona McAlec O’Kitty and Friedrich Wilhelm, Baron von Badkatt (Fritz to all his friends).
Xboxershorts
Dear Billy, please come see me in Potter County, PA. I currently have 9 cats, 5 of them kittens. All of them sourced from 2 rescued females that were dumped near our property and migrated to our deck. My loving wife (grrr) fed them while two neighborhood toms knocked them up. One of the toms is actually named Tom, he’s a pure bred Manx and truly an interesting character. 2 of the 3 Manx kittens show the telltale signs of Manxdom in their colorings. The other two kittens are completely grey and black with a white crest on her chest. All 5 kittens play together. It can be madness. And they love their humans and get along well with their rescue Scotty. (Actually, I think they mock the dog.) Please let me know when the Claritin kicks in.
Did I say I HATE cat dumpers…but another cat dumped near our property and now living with us has turned out to be an awesome animal. Sylvester Pierre Mikey Morris S’not My Cat is the coolest frood. Nothing rattles him. And they all like to sleep with us, but there just isn’t room. They’ve learned to take turns. And now the littlest kittens (The Manx family) have just discovered the upstairs and our bed. It’s getting crowded…
And I still HATE cat dumpers.
asiangrrlMN
Moe is a handsome giant, indeed! So glad he’s in fighting form.
@Billy K: I have allergies (to everything), and it can be done (I have two cats). Most people would recommend vacuuming each day and a HEPA filter. These are good recommendations. Short-haired cat is a must. The other thing I would strongly suggest is to not let the cat sleep with you (if you have a bedroom)–leaving one room cat-free. Good luck!
@joeyess: My deepest sympathies on your loss. Dewhickey is gorgeous; may he run swiftly to the other side. You did a good thing for him, and he knew love.
stuckinred
@asiangrrlMN: hi
joeyess
@tesslibrarian: Thanks. Dewey was a good boy. Once, when he was just an adolescent and before I had him clipped, he was looking out the window of our apartment that we were in at the time and he saw a cat looking back in at him. He. Went. Crazy. Started to come after me. Literally. I pointed at him and assured him he was going to lose the battle. Well, he whipped his tail a few times, hissed at me, pinned his ears back and proceeded to attach himself to my face like the “Aliens” parasite. Claws on both sides of my forehead and neck. He was at the vet the very next morning and snip-snip.
After that, we never shared another cross word. He was my best friend. My relationship with him was longer than my two marriages combined.
I miss him and I’m afraid that I always will.
Folks, don’t pass up the chance when a cat picks you. And remember, you work for them. You have to earn their love. That’s the beauty of a cat. They don’t just give it up. But when they do…….. man, nothing is sweeter or more gentle and calming than a friend that softly purrs in your ear and kneads your neck.
joeyess
@asiangrrlMN: thank you. I’m crying again. I have been all week. On my drive home at night, I would always think of Dewey and the welcome that awaited me. I’ve lost that. If he were here, he would right this very moment, be sitting right in front of the computer. He never left my side until he had no choice.
stuckinred
@joeyess: Don’t be afraid of missing him. Honor it, he’ll always be a part of you, it’s a good thing.
asiangrrlMN
@stuckinred: Hi. You still around?
@joeyess: It’s really hard. Grieve for your buddy. Mourn him. Remember the good times. I hope he comes back to check in on you from time to time to make sure you’re all right.
demo woman
@joeyess: I’m sure that I’m not alone in saying that you aren’t alone in shedding a few tears. What a wonderful companion.
Comrade Javamanphil
Moe is an awesome looking cat. I have four cats who will not take medicine by mouth. It was amazing how far into their throat I could get it only to see it come back up. So I was delighted to find a solution that, so far, has been 100% effective and painless. Take their medicine, crush it in a mortar and mix it with a bit of butter. Then spread it on the top of one of their front paws. The cat cleanliness gene kicks in and they lick it off completely.
tesslibrarian
@joeyess: You will always miss him. I didn’t realize that would happen before I lost my girls last year, but now it seems so obvious. Of course I will. How could I not? And how could I not have realized it beforehand?
The most difficult part of it for me was allowing myself to feel sad for as long as necessary to work through the grief and find peace. Silly things can bring a surprise sadness (for me it was sitting down to watch the football game on Thursday night and realizing I didn’t know what to do with myself–I hadn’t watched a football game w/o my girl in my lap in nearly 18 years, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands or how to sit. It was so weird.)
Afterward, it’s learning to live with the bit of ache tempered by the overwhelming joy they brought you and you brought them. It’s realizing the grace that allows two creatures that are so different to love one another is one of the great mysteries and blessings of life. This is easier said than done, but the peace can come. Just hold on.
Lysana
@joeyess: I added my tears to yours when I saw labradog’s comment in your update. Just… wow.
roshan
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What’s up with the tag line, man? Why so
serioushostile?__
By all accounts, we’re are a fucking decent group of people out here. After giving it some thought, for like a couple minutes, I’ve decided to restore honor to this website and have selected a date for it……………….9/12. Like?
Say what? No, no, I didn’t select that date deliberately. I wasn’t even aware of it’s significance. NoWay Jose. It’s just that my schedule is open on that day, and weekends are especially good for restoring honor. So, people, bring your online activities out here to server Tunch on that auspicious date, when we take this website back, to a time when guns were freely available, prayers were allowed inside the White House, the N word was protected under the 1st amendment and the blacks didn’t talk back at you. May Allah (PBUH) guide us in our humble pursuit.
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Reminder: please leave your racist signs at home, and be prepared to perform CPR on any participators choking on their fried corn-dog-on-a-stick.
roshan
Hey Joeyess, sorry for your loss, take care and be well, my friend.
numbskull
Open Thread: Labor Day
I found it a perfect “commentary” on our MSM that yesterday’s CBS Sunday Morning, their Labor Day show, had to go all the way to Germany to find a “feel good” story about how labor is treated (in this case, BMW’s treatment of aging workers) AND that it was the the only segment having anything to do with labor (unless you include the one about the artist who paints workers working in dying industries. Hooray – suffering labor in the abstract).
So rich on so many levels.
It’s also of note that on their Memorial Day show, most of their segments were on the military (not surprising), but on their Labor Day show, the longest, most in-depth story was ALSO a military one. I guess their Arbor Day show will include a segment on how some weapons are still partially made of wood and National Lace Day (there is one, you know) will include a segment on how mother’s doily can be used to accent your camo helmet.
It never lets up. Ever.
Sorry if all of this was hashed out yesterday. I was out a lot and missed a lot.
Oh, and we have four rescue cats. One has decided that she can, in fact, lick a hole right through herself. Having a vet house call (for the first time) later today to deal with that…
J.
A beautiful story about a beautiful cat. (I actually have tears in my eyes.)
All of our cats have come from shelters or the street and all have been WONDERFUL, affectionate felines whom we could not think of life/living without.
Thanks for sharing your story, Chris W. And yes, shelter cats are the greatest.
WereBear
@joeyess: I’m so sorry. It’s never easy to lose a friend, but it’s worse when it’s one of your best friends.
@tesslibrarian: That’s beautiful.
I don’t know if you ever get over them; I still think about Myron so often, and it’s been almost twenty years.
Yet he still gave far more joy than the sorrow at his passing.
Keith
Interesting to see so much cat adoption stuff…I just had (another) cat – my favorite one – disappear a week ago. I’ve still got a couple left (down from 5 cats a few years ago), but I just had a neighbor come by and ask if I would take their 15 year old female, since they are moving to a retirement community. I probably will, since I’m a sucker for new cats, but the social disruption of adding an old female to a set of two MASSIVE males has me a tad worried.
Omnes Omnibus
Obama is proposing $50 billion in infrastructure investments.
WereBear
@Keith: Here’s some help on cat introductions.
Essentially, you set up a process where their curiosity outweighs their suspicion. Then you wait until the balance has swung over to your favor.
Has the 15 year old ever lived with other cats? That’s going to be the crux of it.
phillygirl
Chris, loved reading about your phillycat. UPenn has emptied my bank account several times but gives the absolutely most totally fucking amazing care anywhere. I hope the big guy is with you for many years to come.
saintlywife
When we lost our tortoise-shell tabby (after 20 years—no that’s not a joke) My husband and I went to the pound to find a kitten to be brother/sister to my then-lone kitty…a 10+year old blue-point Siamese-mix. I figured a kitten would be best, but I ended up with adolescent male twins. They are fantastic…and my older cat adores his “little boys” (and his new dog now…. Chihuahua, but a sweet one who LOVES cats!)
joeyess
Thank you, everyone.
j.
joeyess
@Lysana: yeah, that was something, wasn’t it?
Mnemosyne
@Billy K:
Here are the top 10 steps to reduce cat allergies. Bathing the cat once a month is also supposed to help (it takes 2-3 months to work, though), but you may want to enlist professional help for that unless you start when the cat is a very tiny kitten.
Bubba Dave
@joeyess: So sorry for your loss– I was tearing up just reading about it.
Here’s a poem by Franz Wright that provided me some comfort a few years back when my Onyx passed on:
On the Death of a Cat
In life, death
was nothing
to you: I am
willing to wager
my soul that it
simply never occurrred
to your nightmareless
mind, while sleep
was everything
(see it raised
to an infinite
power and perfection)–no death
in you then, so now
how even less. Dear stealth
of innocence
licked polished
to an evil
luster, little
milk fang, whiskered
night
friend–
go.
Lunarmovements
@joeyess:
Your Dewhickey was quite an impressive hunk of feline. Having had to say goodbye to one of my feline friends not that long ago due to kidney disease, my pain is fresh enough that it takes no effort at all for me to empathize with you (not that it would’ve taken any effort, but you know what I mean).
I did get a chuckle, however, while reading your obit for Dewey. You mentioned that he sat on top of your head the entire ride home when you first took him. I thought I was the only person in the world something like that had happened to. It brought back memories of a time when I had 24 pounds of frightened cat clinging to my scalp like she’d been superglued there. http://lunarmovements.blogspot.com/2009/09/why-i-do-not-wear-fur.html
As much as it hurts when we loose our animal companions, they are always worth it, IMHO. We get at least ten times the joy out of our four legged friends as the grief we feel when they pass. We also get the added benefit of being able to share that joy through stories and photos with the rest of the world. Thanks for sharing a little bit of Dewhickey with us. Thanks for spreading the joy. It made my day that much better.
WaterGirl
@joeyess: I am so sorry you lost your boy. I lost my kitty soulmate last december, and if you don’t mind I’d like to share a quote that game me some comfort.
ellid
@joeyess – I saw your obit for Dewey. He sounds like a darling. My condolences.