Postscript for Minnie

It seems odd to have a whole page for Kai’s passing and no mention at all of the fate of his sister Min…

We had the joy of her presence for a further 18 months, but sadly old age and kidney issues took her from us in July 2015.

The shock was not as acute, but the grieving has been intense and ongoing.

Tribute to Kai – our very special Burmese cat

We should have known something was wrong sooner. Our usually extremely vocal male Burmese cat was somewhat quiet and a little withdrawn. I thought he was just ‘getting older’, both he and Min had passed their 14th birthday and they had inevitably slowed down a bit over the last year or so. And with several living condition changes, we were not in touch with their routines and patterns the way we may have been had we still been in the previous house.

Having always been indoor cats, raised from kittens to never venture outdoors, both our cats have been exceptionally healthy, and remained youthful; fit and energetic even as they reached their senior years. By all accounts, we could have expected several more years with them both healthy and happy.

I thought Kai’s hearing might be diminishing. He had become a little less responsive, was sleeping much more soundly, and I was able to ‘sneak up’ on him from behind, without him knowing I was there until I touched him. I feel bad now for having teased him with that a few times…

Outwardly, Kai was still a picture of feline health; firm muscled body, shiny fur, bright eyes. He was eating and drinking ‘normally’ and had not lost any weight. He even rallied to play with his ‘ratty’ just to show us all was as it should be…

But after two or three days of more apparent lethargy I decided it was time for a visit to the vet. When antibiotics and pain relief only made a momentary difference, the next option was blood tests. The results were not good; his kidneys were struggling. We took him to the Animal Emergency Centre (AEC) where he was admitted for further tests, rehydration and pain relief. A few hours later, when the further blood tests revealed his condition was getting worse, not better, we had to make the hardest decision of our lives.

Belinda, the vet at AEC, was wonderful. She was genuinely upset at not being able to resolve Kai’s situation. His blood pressure was increasing (trying to flush the kidneys meant increasing fluids and thus higher blood pressure) and his kidneys were not responding. She assured us we had not let him down. Renal failure has many causes and can happen to any cat at any time. To make things even more difficult, Belinda said cats often hide their pain and distress; not wanting to show vulnerability or weakness. It was possible Kai had been soldiering on for sometime, not wanting us to know he was in trouble.

Traveling back in to AEC to say goodbye was surreal. I’m sure we were both in shock. In the space of a few days, we had gone from having two gorgeous healthy, happy cats to facing the loss of our beautiful boy. Twelve years to the day after his arrival in our lives, Kai was gone.

We remember:

• him diving off the top of the staircase to retrieve the ‘ratty’ (and always for more times than we could be bothered throwing it)
• the loudest purr in cat history (and the loudest yowl!)
• his joy at biting his own tail, when we waggled it in his face (did he know it was his?)
• the ‘miner’s helmet’ – created by putting him on my head with his tail facing forwards and his paws on my shoulders, his back legs covering my ears like hat flaps (I can’t believe we don’t have a single photo of this!)
• paw massages (he could never get enough) and him holding hands/paws with us like a child
• the doona game (annoying me with pounces while I tried to make the bed)
• taking over whatever space his sister settled in (no really, it had to be a good spot if she wanted it)
• catty conversations in which he always had the last word (miaow)
• putting whatever I liked on him while he just lay there (lapping up the attention, any attention!)
• hopping into the washing basket the moment it was emptied, ready to be carried back downstairs
• chasing his sister across the lounge room then losing traction on the polished timber floors as she turned nimbly and chased him back the other way
• jumping up to swing off the door knobs (lots of scratch marks on our wooden door knobs!)
• the way he ‘melted’ onto my chest when he wanted a cuddle…

So many wonderful memories, and too few photos to show you…

Heartfelt thank you to our local vet Tom Cooke (Gembrook Veterinary Clinic) and to Belinda and the AEC at Hallam for your support, both in trying to save Kai and in the days following with answering our many questions and checking Minnie’s health as well.

Min is going well, although obviously still missing her brother (as we all are).

Farewell my beloved Boofy-boy. We will never forget you and will always feel privileged to have had so much time with you.

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