On September 1, 1996, a little black and white kitten was born. A few weeks later a friend of the kitten's owner was looking for a new baby to give to her boyfriend. When the kitten was weaned, he came to live with that boyfriend. And when the boy and girl got married, the cat was part of their family. (along with other cats)That kitten was Oreo. This is Oreo all grown up.
I got Oreo for Bob after we had dated for about 10 months. He wanted a kitten...maybe because I had 2 cats and they were so loveable. I put out the word I was looking for one and a friend at work told me her daughter's cat had had kittens a couple 0f weeks before, so I volunteered to take one.
When the kittens were ready, I didn't even go look at them. I just told Granny...the friend at work...to bring me a cute one. She brought the cutest, sweetest little black and white baby I had ever seen. (I don't have digital pics of Oreo as a baby, since that was before everyone and their 4 year old had a digital camera. LOL!)
The kitty spent the day at my office getting quite a lot of attention. And when he was tired, my assistant put him on a pillow in her drawer for a nap. (She had a little pillow in her car and went to get it.) Bob came to my office that afternoon to pick up his new kitty then went to pick up Chance for some reason. Maybe he was out of school early or something. I don't remember. Anyway, Chance said that the kitten looked like an Oreo cookie and that his name should be Oreo and that is how he got his name.
He has been a wonderful, loving cat and Bob's best buddy for 13 1/2 years. In December, his face looked a little swollen, so we thought he had an abscessed tooth. Took him to the vet, had the abscessed tooth pulled, but the vet felt there might be more wrong, so ran some tests.
In early January, Oreo was diagnosed with cancer...the bump on his upper jaw was a tumor on his cheekbone. We were so sad. The vet told us all our options, including radiation and chemo and our choice was to take care of Oreo as long as he was active and healthy. We did not want to subject him to misery just to try to keep him alive a little longer. Over the last few weeks, he started being less active, but he was still sweet, loving and on occasion proved to the other two cats that he was still the alpha male. He never cried, or acted like he was in pain, but we could tell the end was near.
We told our kids we thought it was time to put him to sleep soon and Meredith and Samantha came over to see him last Thursday. On Friday he didn't eat anything all day. He still didn't act like he was in pain, but he had gotten terribly thin over the last months and we knew that if he was not going to eat then he was ready to go. So, we took him Saturday to have him put to sleep.
It was really difficult and I cried like a baby the entire time. Hubby was more stoic and said it was a little easier since we had been preparing for 4 months. I thought it would be easier, but it wasn't. But at least we know that our wonderful Oreo is not in pain now.
Oreo was a beloved member of our family and we all loved him. We will miss him terribly.
10 comments:
Oh! I'm so sorry! I "cried like a baby" at work when my mom called me and told me that my dog of 23 years had died. And I have a feeling that our basset is getting to that age too. She's old and crotchety and has been snapping at kids...
I totally understand, McVal. I had called the vet on Friday to talk about having it done Saturday. I was at work and could barely speak. The vet's staff was wonderful and patient.
As soon as I got off the phone, I had to run to the bathroom and hide for a little while.
Sorry your dog is getting crotchety. I know some do when they get old.
Oh my word...your cat Oreo looks just like my old male cat CryBaby! I cried and cried when I had to put him to sleep (in 2003). Just looking a his pictures now will make me all teary-eyed. I am so, so sorry for your loss. And, it is a loss. Because, anytime you lose something that you loved very much, and was part of your family, it is a loss. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise! Here is a big hug from one catlover to another: ((((()))))
Take care!!!!
I am so sorry to hear about Oreo. I know when my beloved cat Icy died (got hit by a car--she was deaf) I sat outside by her body and cried. It is a big loss!
Hi, A.Marie and Pam. Thanks for you kind thoughts. Pets really do become a part of your family and it leaves a big hole when you lose one.
I am sorry to hear about your loss of your "babies".
Oh Honey, I'm so sorry. We had to put our cat Cinders down and I sobbed. I understand your pain.
And now I feel terrible that I said to write something!
SonyaAnn, don't feel sorry for telling me to write something. I intended to memorialize our dear Oreo.
I am sorry you had to go through the same thing. It is tough, but part of having pets as members of our families.
Sorry about your Oreo but at least he is not in pain anymore.
I still miss my doggy Mango...this month is 3 yrs since we had to put him down.
((((hugs))))
Hi, Sluggy. I am sorry about Mango. It sure it hard.
I don't think Oreo was in pain, fortunately. When he acted like his mouth might be bothering him, I started giving him daily doses of pain medication, just in case.
I'm sorry to hear this. We had a black and white cat much like Oreo who suddenly got sick and had to be put to sleep a couple of years ago. Shane and I both cried like babies and still miss him a lot. :(
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