He was given to me back in 2007 by a co-worker. Now, for eons, I have had friends and neighbors wanting me to take this or that homeless cat or kitten. Usually, I say no. I wish I could take them ALL, but I just can't. I'll pray for the little creature, and I know that's far better than offering my own home.
The co-worker said that the kitten -- Jerzeleh was a kitten at the time -- was sick, and really needed help, and she couldn't do it yada yada yada. This time, for no reason I can figure out, I said yes.
So one night after work, her brother came and gave me a box with the kitten inside. There wasn't a peep out of him during the 15 minute drive back to my house, and I really wondered if he hadn't croaked there and then. But when I opened the box, I saw he was still with us, although it was very obvious that he was sick.
Joe eating as he hangs off of the drainboard.
I took him to the vet at the first opportunity, had him examined, tested for feline leukemia and feline AIDS, the whole nine yards. A day or two later, I get a call from the vet who tells me that he tested positive for feline leukemia, and should be put down, "You can bring him in now, if you have the time." Only once in my life did I ever feel as bad as I did when I hung up the phone.
I hugged him and told him he was a very good boy, and I loved him. When we got to the vet, he must have really charmed her, because she changed her mind (or maybe she just remembered something from her training that she had forgotten...). Because he was so sick, it was possible that the blood test showed a false positive, and if he could throw off the infection(s) he had, it was possible that he was really OK. So he was pumped full of antibiotics, and within a few weeks he was just fine. And insanely affectionate. Every five minutes, he'd be on my lap, and then he'd get up on his hind legs, put his paws on my shoulder, and rub his face all over mine while purring.
We went back to the vet about 6 weeks after the first appointment, but the vet told us it was too soon to test him. Then we went back two months after that. Jerzeleh was the happiest little thing you could imagine, and so I was sure he was going to test negative.
But he didn't. She said he had feline leukemia, and although he looked good at the moment, sooner rather than later he would succumb.
He had five good years, and although on some level I feel like I failed him, I think back to how affectionate he was, and I have to conclude that the level of affection he displayed meant that he was grateful that he'd been spared, and did get to have a life with someone who loved him.
I cried when I read this-
ReplyDeleteJersey Joe's now in no pain and he had a good life- thanks to you.