Weirdly enough we got Sawyer because two of our cats were mean to our new dog, Roxie. We got a cat for our dog. She needed at least one animal in the house who did not hate her. I assumed when I explained this to the animal rescue organization I randomly contacted they they would think my request odd: I want a cat who is bold and friendly to dogs. I told them in a way the cat would be a pet for our pet. We picked up Sawyer who ended up being friends with Roxie right away.
Sawyer was all black with a rather thick build. He often grunted at us when he wanted something or he scratched our rubber boots by the front door. He trained us to give him treats when he jumped up on the table. He loved being brushed. He started to like getting his belly rubbed when he noticed Arno, our Dutch Shepherd, getting his belly rubbed. He and Arno like to pester the crap out of one another. He was the alpha cat in the house partially because he was younger and more energetic.
When he sat on your lap he would grunt and then plop down with a thud. At night, he curled up by our legs. I am a restless sleeper and when I turned over he liked to protest loudly. All of three cats get to split a can of wet cat food in the morning. If we slept in too late he simply bit my husband's exposed toes until he got up. My husband ended up calling him "Devil" for his pushy attitude. He was not overweight, but he felt substantial on your lap. He was nice and warm to snuggle with. He had big paws considering he was a regular sized cat. He always sat on the top of our homemade cat condo and the other two tried to challenge him for supremacy. Cat condo wars were fun to watch, nobody ever got hurt.
He frequently looked annoyed or vaguely distainful.
Sawyer became ill suddenly this morning. One minute he was bounding around, and the next he was panting and unable to move. He observed him for a few moments hoping this was a temporary thing. I am a nurse I can recognize a human emergency fairly well by now. I suspected a spinal injury but was puzzled because I did not see any event attached to it. I rushed him to the vet, and left him because the vet was unable to see him for 20 or so minutes, he was finishing a surgery. I heard him tell the techs to put him on oxygen.
The vet called me a few minutes after I got out of my quick shower explaining that Sawyer had what was called a saddle clot that had torn his aorta. It was due to an enlarged heart. He explained that kitties with enlarged hearts rarely show any signs and symptoms. Owners often don't find out until a 'big event" such as this happens.
I am a nurse. I have seen people die. I know we don't always die peacefully either.
I rushed back to be with him in his final moments and it was awful, he looked frightened. I could hear him meowing when they inserted the IV for the drugs to put him to sleep. I should have stayed with him rather than going home. He was still in respiratory distress. I don't think he really knew I was there for him even though I was petting him and saying good bye. It was not nice but it was for him, a release. They were good with him at the vet but I think they were caught off guard by the whole event because nobody offered me any words of sympathy. I wasn't freaking out but I was obviously a bit tearful. I think perhaps they weren't expecting to lose anybody today either. They seemed a bit flustered. I brought him home so we could bury him on our property.
Be kind to your animal friends. They won't always die of old age or in their sleep. Be prepared for that moment. There were times when Sawyer's haughty attitude annoyed me and having to replace a few pairs of rubber boots irritated me. I wish now he was doing that.
I know losing a cat or dog is not the same as losing a human loved one but here is the thing: it still sucks. It still hurts. You don't just shrug it off and move on. And yet when I mentioned to a few friends that I had a crappy day because sawyer died nobody said much.
So. Be nice to your friends when their animal friends die. And to the vets and vet techs, please say that you are sorry for a loss to your customers especially when the death was unexpected. It means something.
Take a moment tonight to rub a dog belly or scratch a cat head. You should never be too busy to do that.