 A Toast To Cocktail
Today - Thursday 8 February 2007, 2:25 pm - I had "Cocktail" euthanized. He was a small black & brown tabby with some white areas. I estimate his age at around 10-12 years. His right ear was tattered with notches from fights he'd been in. He appeared to have arthritis. He weighed maybe 6 pounds, and that was skin and bones, and he was obviously very dehydrated. His eyes were clogged with gooey material, and his nostrils were sealed shut with mucus. He had to breathe through his mouth. His meow was hoarse and scratchy. He was dirty, clearly not grooming himself. There was dark saliva caked on his lips. He staggered as if drunk when he walked. He got his name from the fact that the last inch or so of his tail was permanently crooked. From what I know of cat diseases (by no means authoritative) he had either a herpes virus or a calicivirus, either of which can cause these symptoms. It doesn't matter what caused his problems. What matters is that Cocktail was a very sweet-natured kitty who loved to be petted more than he liked food, and that he was clearly domesticated at one time. Yet somehow he became a street cat, neglected and maybe even abused by humans until he managed to find his way to my doorstep (too late). I gave him a place in a storeroom with light, heat, 2 beds, water, food and a litterbox, and a chance to recover. Unfortunately, he kept declining, losing weight and interest in food. Last night I knew I had to let the poor thing go. He's at peace now. I told him, as I was driving to the Vet's clinic, that he should expect to see my old buddy Mister Tips waiting for him "over there." The tragedy is that vaccinations could have prevented this little soul from suffering the fate he did. What a sad waste. | 
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