Whiskers

Today was a difficult day.  We have been saddened by the loss of pets before but never quite like this one.  We had to put the family cat down. He was suffering from kidney failure.  So this post is just a tribute to him.  Whiskers.  Family friend for 15 years. He came to us as a kitten with his brother Mischief. 

Whiskers and Mischief

Whiskers was darker in coloring so it was easy to tell them apart.  However, one of their brothers was adopted by a family down the street and he looked just like Whiskers so they were often mistaken for each other. We have funny stories about those happenings. 

Jag, Whiskers and Mischief hanging out

Pioneer Day
Hannah and Jordan with Whiskers

Whiskers, Mischief and Hannah

Mischief in a bucket and Whiskers enjoying the sun

Unfortunately, Mischief was one of the pets we lost early on. 

Whiskers and Mischief snuggling on the sofa

Mischief and Whiskers on the sofa back

And eventually Jag left the neighborhood as well when his family moved.  But Whiskers got a new friend. 

Hannah holding Pumpa by Whiskers

Whiskers and Pumpa

Whiskers and Pumpa not looking too happy

Pumpa snuggling with Whiskers

Whiskers maybe just a little bit annoyed with Pumpa

Pumpa letting his love for Whiskers be known.

But Pumpa was also lost to us at a young age and Whiskers was alone until the next cat adopted us. She has gone through many names since her arrival on our front doorstep. Heshe, Diabla, Girl Cat and Fat Cat. Heshe is the only one that doesn't get used anymore. Girl Cat is probably most commonly used. Whiskers was not a great fan of Girl Cat so there are few pictures of them together. But here is one. 

Whiskers and Diabla

Diabla showing why she got her name.
She is a demon.

The rest of these pictures will just show Whiskers over the years. Well loved always and he will be missed greatly by the whole family. 

Whiskers being loved by Brett Hayes

Sleeping on his back. He looks like a raccoon. 

Whiskers making himself comfy with Brooke

Sitting on my Christmas puzzle

Snoozing in his basket

Drinking from the bird bath.
No wonder the birds don't come around very often. 

Whiskers' decline seemed to come on quickly. He had already lost 1/3 of his weight before we really knew why he was sick. The vet confirmed it was kidney failure and well into it. In the picture above he weighed over 12 lbs. A week and a half ago he was down to 9.1 lbs and he lost a little more than another pound before he left us today. He was so thin. 

Whiskers 15 years old

At the end he liked to snuggle up to this giant stuffed dog the kids named Seattle.

A very sick Whiskers 

So thin and so weak. He could barely walk.

And so today we said good-bye to our beloved friend. 

Good-bye Whiskers. We love you. 

As a PS I will add some recent pictures that the kids sent me.