Our dear friend Rudy has passed over the rainbow bridge.  He was Cristin’s first foray into Petfinder and she found “Bubba” in a shelter in Smithfield Rhode Island.  He was one of 65 cats removed from a hoarding situation and was young, maybe a few months old when he came to live with us in Canton.  From the moment we opened his cat carrier he seemed hellbent on driving Cristin crazy.  He took significant enjoyment in running across her head while she tried to sleep and meowed incessantly throughout the night.  At some point someone would rally and get up and put him in the bathroom.  He never took offense and probably never really connected his behavior with the consequences.  

 

He was our most friendly cat to date.  He was never bothered by strangers and didn’t mind when we brought new cats into the household.   He was terrific with the kids who were at times a little rough with him.    

 

 

Late in life he developed an autoimmune disease requiring steroids which led to a pot belly and diabetes requiring twice-daily shots of insulin which caused muscle wasting on his backside so his charming tabby cat looks diminished greatly. Despite this, he continued to drive Cristin crazy.  At one point he refused to use the litter box in the basement so we had to put it upstairs in a relatively public space.  There was no logical explanation for this because he clearly could traverse stairs and could still get on and off furniture.  I think he enjoyed seeing her get worked up.  

 

At some point he stopped finishing meals and while we were away, our cat care guy Matt, took him into the vet and they found that a mass had grown under his tongue making it challenging for him to eat.  For Rudy, this is perhaps the cruelest of fates.   With his extreme discomfort and growing hunger he had become extremely snuggly and despite his horrible breath we let him sleep on our pillow for the last few weeks as we watched him waste away.  I was hoping he would just stop eating or “give us a sign” as they say but he was still responding every time I went near the treat cabinet despite not being able to actually chew anything.  Ellie kept telling us that she thought he might be getting near the bridge (rainbow bridge) which irked me a bit but only because she was right.   One night we watched what was left of him lick a bowl of soft food in vain and realized we were just keeping him going for our sake.  Watching him go was really difficult but the fact is that pets are the lucky ones.  No tubes or beeping machines.  A sedative and a shot of pentobarbital and it was a completely painless and swift trip to cat heaven for Rudy.  For me there was initially a weird relief because I had been so worried about him for so long.  Now though, I am really missing him.   We all are.