Waving to the sun

Samuelle sits for his final portrait waving to the light, or me...or......

Post Script 5/6/14: We got some of the lab work back. It is definitive that Samulel was suffering from cancer, and it is helpful to know this. We could not have done better for him and his suffering is over.

Samuelle flew off, with our help around ten this morning. I am so relieved for him. Before I took him to the vet for his final leap, I brought him to the light of the windows so he could possibly see Earth one more time, or something that might look familiar. He spent the night in a crate next to me for safety, and it was a hard night. While he probably wasn't seeing well in the end, I do think there were certain sensations-such as bright light- that he could respond too. I sat him in a familiar chair so he could look out a window, and took his final portrait.

He raised his head and paws up, and moved his paw in waving fashion. As a writer, and one with a vivid story telling imagination, it is tempting to believe he was waving goodbye to the light, or me. But I guess I could then be accused of...Disneyizing my life. The scientists in the mix or pragmatists will say he was responding to stimuli.

Well, I was there, and I felt it was both. I took him out and put his face in some leaves, and then off we went to the vet.

What a fighter, but he was ready for this journey, as were we. After he was gone, my vet and I examined his interior mouth and throat again. The roof of his mouth had become more swollen, and the lower throat was hard instead of soft. We really feel like there was most likely a growth of some kind pressing down on his nasals and entire left side. The lab tests might tell us more clues, but for now, there is no definitive answer, except that he was fine cat who lived many years longer because he happened to walk onto Apifera instead of another surrounding property that might not have had the means to help him.

Did he come here because he had heard the stories of this place, or did I somehow invite him without knowing, without words-just as I have always invited many creatures here before I have laid eyes on them. Some of you might now be saying - now that is really story telling, but I know for a fact it has happened many times.

Goodbye Samuelle Noel! You were the most brave soldier. May you take off your boots now and lay in the sun, the same sun that will shine down into my studio where we so often spent the day together.

Update on Samuelle Noel

Thanks to all the emails and kind wishes for Samuelle Noel. Samuelle is now neutered [cheers, brays, sighs of relief from all females and cat lovers]...Once again, my wonderful vet clinic took a cat in on a moment's notice to help me out.

I picked him up from the vet yesterday and heard the prognosis. He had a bone lodged in his jaw, which had caused no serious damage at this point. Unfortunately his feet condition is a rare cat disorder called 'plasma cell dermatitis' which creates ulcerated foot pads and ulcers on the face. It is incurable, and from my research it is pretty rare. The only treatment is predisone. I brought him home and my plan was to keep in the large crate in the Ward Room for four days, so I could give him the 2x daily medications, and give the ulcerated foot pads a rest. The ulcers will take weeks if not months to unswell, I'm told, but I hoped 4 days would be a help to him. I opened the crate door and Samuelle went into feral kitty mode - jumped about 10 feet straight up, and made a beeline for an open stall window. But he hung around, and the prednisone is small enough to be crushed into tuna. I was pleased to see him this morning at morning feedings, and was able to give him meds. The vet said he was pretty jacked up there, so this pleased me. I guess that there are cases where the ulcers go away and the cat will have long periods without any trouble, so I'll hope for that. Maybe someone dumped because of this. If so, shame on you.

My young nieces heard about Samuelle, and gathered coins for him. Pretty sweet.

I'll pick a raffle winner next week!