Jimmy - Goodbye Old Friend

[nickyp]

Just before Christmas 1988 my sister & I went to the pet shop in Prahran. We were sharing a house in St Kilda at the time & she wanted a new bowl for her dog. While she ummed & ahhed over what to buy I went to look at the Christmas kittens.

Sitting in amongst the little roly poly kittens was a larger, black, scrawny looking one. He sat very still with his eyes shut, sniffling (I'd never seen a cat do that before) and shivering every now & then. When the shop assistant took him out of the cage and gave him to me to hold he just put his head on my shoulder & sighed. He was sold.

My sister & I went straight from the pet shop to our vet. On the way I tried to think of a name for him. Jim was all I could think of. As soon as the vet looked at Jim he said, "You know he's going to die, don't you" Jim had cat flu very badly. I just shrugged. I couldn't have left him at the pet shop. I had no choice but to try to get him well.

It was a long haul. Jim got over the first bout of cat flu, only to pick it up again when my sister bought home another kitten who she didn't realise was sick. It took about 3 months all up before he was fully well. Once he was healthy, though, he grew into a big beautiful black cat. He had a gorgeous glossy coat and you could see the muscles rippling underneath.

When I moved home to my parents' a couple of years later Jim came with me and stayed behind when I left. He had become my dad's cat and it didn't seem fair to seperate them. Over the years he came to rule the area around my parents' house, keeping the family dogs and the neighbourhood cats well and truly under his thumb. But then he aged as all cats do and started to lose more & more of his battles. A fight 3 years ago left him with a ring of abcessed wounds around his neck and he was nearly sent to the bridge when they wouldn't heal. They eventually did, but he was never the same afterward.

Jim developed thyroid problems requiring medication and every few months would come close to the final trip to the vet. Usually an adjustment to his medication saved him. For the last week, though, he had been refusing to eat and drinking huge quantities. He hadn't had his meds all week and had lost a lot of condition. My parents took him to the vet today and they found a mass in his abdomen. The vet offered the option of exploratory surgery but, given Jim's age & condition, it was decided that it would be kinder to let him go.

He rested his head on my mum's hand while the needle was administered. My dad had to leave the room. Although Mum always claimed that she didn't like Jim, he's only one of the family pets I know of that she's stayed with for the end, so she must have cared a bit.

Goodbye Jim. 17 years was a damn good innings for a kitten that was 'going to die'.

(Sorry for the long post about a cat on a dog forum, but he deserves to be remembered)

Edited December 15, 2005 by nickyp

[Fido]

RIP Jimmy....

What a great life he had after such a bad start .....and he had you to thank for it!!!

Fido........

[Loraine]

R.I.P. Jim go play with another black cat called York. What a life you have had, you lucky black cat

[mita]

What a handsome boy Jimmy was. And how lucky he was to become part of your family. Bless you for caring for him.