Cats does not have nine lives..

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Yesterday was such a sad day for me. The whole work day was tough and demanding. I've been testing out a new project and migrating some data from the legacy system we use in the organization. I was actually getting frustrated at things and never really accomplished much. It was like I'm going thru a loop of things that eventually resulted into nothing worth of noting. But to top it all up, all that time, I was worried. Not only me but my wife as well. Monday afternoon, after work. We went home from work and decided to do some last minute grocery at a local supermarket. We bought the everyday things we need. Food, some toiletries, you get the idea. But then we passed the lane where pet things are on display. We have two cats at home, Shiro and Iro. They have been pretty content with their sardines and rice for quite a while. I then decided that maybe its about time to get them something new (again). So I grabbed a pound of commercial catfood for them. We went home and there they were, hyperactive as always. They were running around and were messing with the groceries we bought as we were sorting them. Shiro even got inside the box where the groceries were placed. They continued playing around until Shiro went outside maybe for a breath of fresh air. A few minutes after, I was working on my work desk and heard Shiro grumbling from under the desk. I never actually noticed when he got there. I looked under the desk and there he was, visibly shaken, his fur standing upright. I took him and checked him out. He had a small wound on his rear leg. He wanted to be put down so I did just that, and he walked slowly into our room to his usual spot. I continued working for a while and later on decided to check on him. He was unusually lethargic, and he was salivating quite heavily. I told my wife and she cleaned him up and fed him a small amount of suger to stop the drooling. We tried to feed him food but he does not want to eat. So we did not force him and went to sleep. Tuesday morning, before work. When we woke up, Shiro isn't in his usual spot in our room, but there was a pool of urine on the spot where he was when we slept last night. I cleaned it up and decided to look for him. He was under my work desk, just resting there. I checked him and he was still lethargic and still salivating, but not as much as last night. I gave him water and he drank. I tried to give him some food but still, he does not want to eat. Me and my wife started to get worried. We cleaned him up and went to work. Tuesday, lunch break. We go home and have our lunch at our apartment everyday. It is just a couple of meters away from the office anyway. Shiro was still under my work desk when we got home, with Iro standing watch. A couple of inches away from him was a pool of urine again. I cleaned it up and my wife tried to feed him, but still, he refuses to eat. We gave him some water to drink and he drank some. My wife was talking to him asking him what's wrong and telling him to get well soon. We miss the hyperactive Shiro. Tuesday afternoon, after work. When we got home, Shiro was lying beside the door of our room. We called to him and he looked at us. He is beginning to get a bit dirty because he seemed to have difficulty walking to his litterbox. We cleaned him up and tried to feed him again, still he refuses to eat. I turned him over and checked his wound. HIs wound has already healed up and does not look too threatening. But I did notice that both his legs and his lower stomach are getting a bit darker in color than the usual pink/red we are accustomed to see. We thought we need to see a vet as soon as possible. Because budget was tight at the moment, we decided that when we get the payperiod's salary, we'll bring him to a vet. Salary is in three days anyway. Wednesday morning. When we woke up, Shiro was beside our room door. He was sitting and looking at us. His tail was wagging quite happily and he moved his head more than the past days. He was more active than previous, but still not as active as the usual Shiro we knew. He still cannot walk properly, but it gave us hope that his normal healing process is doing its work. We tried to feed him, but he still refuses to eat. He drank some water though. We cleaned him up before going to work. Wednesday, lunch break. We went home for lunch and he was under my work desk again. I cleaned up pool of urine and noticed that it wasn't as much as the ones I cleaned before. He was still lethargic, the energy I saw in the morning was gone. He was just sitting there. I gave him water and I had to put it as near as possible to his mouth for him to drink. He drank some and sat there quietly. My wife cleaned him up before we returned to work. Wednesday, coffee break. We asked our officemates who knew much about animals about what to do. One of my officemate told us to buy some dextrose powder and mix it with water. That way, even if Shiro refuses to eat, the water he will drink will suffice. We also bought a couple of antibiotics for him. My wife talked to our officemate whose husband is a veterinatrian and asked for advice. He said the same thing as my other friend told me, the dextrose powder. And also, that we need to bring him to a vet as soon as possible. I went back to the apartment during coffee break to give him some water mixed with dextrose powder. He was in our restroom lying on his side. Maybe he wanted to be someplace cool so he decided to go there. I called him and he looked up at me, then sat up. I prepared the dextrose powder, mixing it to a glass of water and gave it to him. He took a little sip, and then carried on drinking. I was relieved that he drank the water and told him to get well soon. Wednesday afternoon, after work. We went home an hour late for my wife had some last minute tasks to finish. When we got home, Shiro was under my work desk, lying on his side. My wife checked on him and started to clean him up. I went to the restroom to see if he drank all of the water I gave him a few hours ago. The container wasn't empty. We decided to give him a sponge bath to clean him up better. After cleaning him up, we tried to feed him and give him some water. This time, he completely ignored both. My wife was visibly worried and was talking to Shiro to please get well soon for she misses the Shiro who is always running around. She decided to dilute the antibiotic tablet we bought to administer it to him. We were there with him just looking at him. I told my wife to be strong for she was almost about to cry. Then a few minutes later, I re-positioned Shiro on his side. He let out a meow that we haven't heard before. His legs started to tense and stretch out a bit. He then laid on his side, looking at me. My wife was still diluting the antibiotic when she noticed Shiro's head was twitching. My gut told me to tell my wife to go to the kitchen and to stay there. She stood up and went to the kitchen and started to do some work to distract herself. I was there, sitting beside Shiro, watching him. I wanted to help him. But there was nothing I could do. I had my hand on his head, stroking him, while the rest of his body started to twitch and tense. A few minutes later, I knew. Shiro is gone. I heard my wife calling out to me from the kitchen, asking me about what was happening. I stood up, went to the kitchen, and hugged her. We were crying. I told her Shiro is gone and we just stood there hugging each other, crying. It is common for us to hear the phrase that "cats have nine lives". And we amusingly accept that fact without thinking much about it. We "believe" that they can live through things we normally cannot, nine times over. That they can survive bad things nine times the normal. We become so foolish to the point where we almost ignore them when we see them in a bind. Such foolishness that slapped us straight in the face. We found out that when you take care of a cat right up from when he was born, and that you love him so much that you almost treat him as a family member, you do not need him to "have" nine lives. You only need one. The one where he lives for as long as cats are allowed to. We will surely miss him. Until we meet again my friend.