Rest in Peace, Dear Sweet Archie ...

(Archibald Fred, 4/11/11 - 1/21/24)

Hello my friends, I hope you are all doing well ...

To be honest I dread writing this post. I feel like I'm all cried out and yet I can't seem to stop crying ... But I want to share this news, as sad as it is, with people who knew and loved our wonderful cat, Archie. And I know many of you did, because I've shared all about my kitties from the time we brought them home 12 - nearly 13 - years ago. But sadly, yesterday we had to have our sweet Archie put to sleep. It was such an awful decision but really, the only one that we could make.

Over the past month Archie had been having some significant medical issues, and we'd been trying to figure out what was wrong. He was losing a lot of weight and vomiting pretty often. We had many tests done and for the most part those all came back ok...

Then over the past week or so he really declined rapidly - he was hardly eating at all and sleeping or hiding a lot. An x-ray last Friday showed his intestines were filled with fluid and our vet was concerned there was a blockage. So we scheduled an ultrasound for Tuesday of this week, only yesterday (Sunday) he was so ill and lethargic we brought him to a local emergency vet. And there, after many hours of waiting, an ultrasound showed that Archie actually had a very large cancerous mass blocking his colon, and his lymph nodes were swollen suggesting that the cancer had spread. There really was no viable way for him to survive this terrible thing and we had come to understand that he was absolutely miserable. And we were absolutely heartbroken.

As all pet owners know, there will probably come a time when we have to make this kind of difficult decision. And that as hard as it is, it is our responsibility as loving owners (parents) to put our beloved pets first. Bill and I briefly thought about - even asked about - bringing him home so the kids could say goodbye, but the vet gently suggested that would only prolong Archie's pain. She was right of course, and so we suddenly found ourselves saying goodbye.

The vet and staff were wonderful and I was able to hold Archie as he was euthanized. He was alert and knew he was with Bill and me. He was purring and I was loving on him as hard as I could. He passed quickly and peacefully.

Saying all that should make me feel better - and it does on some level - but right now, I just can't get past the pain. Archie as you all know was SUCH a big part of our family. He was always around, wherever we were, keeping tabs on his fam, and feeling like the alpha he most certainly was. He was smart, proud, funny, feisty, and bursting with personality. And he was MY cat, most of all. Always near me and aware of my comings and going ... reminding me when it was time to go upstairs to bed, following me up and staying until lights were off before heading back down the staircase to where his special mat was. This is where he could keep an eye on everything.

In the mornings as I creeped down the dark stairs roundabouts 5 a.m. in blind search of coffee, his little face would be sitting right there, waiting for me. Always. Every morning. Without fail.

But not today, and not again. And I just don't know how I'll move on from here.

Oliver (his quieter brother) spent the whole night sleeping by my side - not something he usually does. Fenway, our 2 year old Labrador retriever is looking around for him and looking to us for reassurance because he knows something's not right. The kids are all processing differently - but all of us are just utterly devastated.

It will take us a while to feel normal again. Right now, we're just missing our Archie fiercely, and wishing things had been different for him.

Thank you friends, for letting me share all of this. And thanks so much for all your kind comments, interest in, and love for, our pets through the years. I've so enjoyed sharing Archie's antics with you and will continue to share about Oliver and Fenway in the days to come. Once things feel a little lighter.

But for now - please take care of yourselves and your loved ones and I will see you all here again very soon ...

Love,

~ Dawn