Saying goodbye to our beloved Ollie ...

Dear friends, this is an incredibly difficult post for me to write, but I feel I must ...

Not even a month after we said goodbye to our sweet Archie, our beloved Oliver passed away this past week.

It seems unreal - that both our cats are gone, and the pain is just ... overwhelming. I know you all know how much our cats meant to us. How big a part of our family they were (are). How much a part of my every single day (and night - with sleeping cats at my feet) they were. And now there is such a huge, raw hole in my heart and our home just does not seem the same ...

It's so hard to talk about this - to even think about it - but I'd like to share what happened if I may. I don't feel I could post here again without doing so.

So unbeknownst to us, Oliver most likely also had cancer inside him as did Archie. Several years ago Ollie had been diagnosed with severe gastrointestinal issues, but his symptoms were manageable with special food and daily medicine. When Archie got very ill around New Year's, Oliver showed signs of stress which only got worse after Archie passed on January 21st. Ollie was pulling out fur and losing weight, but in the past week and a half had also started vomiting frequently. By Wednesday, Valentine's Day, he lost interest in eating and was finding out-of-the way spots to rest. I knew this was not good and so I brought him to our vet that afternoon. He received fluids for dehydration and an antibiotic for possible infection, but they warned us he didn't seem well at all. They told us if he got any worse that evening to bring him immediately to the local emergency vet. 

Even with that warning, I just didn't think things would go downhill so fast. I really didn't suspect that Oliver was actually failing. I was thinking that whatever it was, he would rally and recover.

But unfortunately, later that evening Oliver became extremely ill and collapsed. We immediately brought him to the emergency vet where we'd had Archie just a mere 3 1/2 weeks before. The vet on duty informed us of the severity of the situation - he felt Ollie had cancer and was bleeding internally. He also felt the cancer (which was most likely genetic) was growing slowly inside him but the stress of losing his brother exacerbated the situation. As with Archie, there was no other choice to make but to end our sweet boy's suffering and so we held him and loved him and said goodbye.

And now here we are. In the space of a month we have lost our two beloved kitties. They were only 12 years old and that just wasn't old. I know they say that forever wouldn't be long enough, but this feels so unfair ...

They were the best, absolute best cats we could have ever hoped to call ours. That we were their special people will remain one of the great honors of my life. When they were tiny they seemed indistinguishable - but then Archie's fur became more orange and white and Oliver became more buff and white. Archie was slim, Oliver was a squishy marshmallow. Archie was bold, while Ollie was shy. They were different in many ways, but so close as brothers. Born in an alley, two of nine, mother gone ... we adopted them when they were four months old. Just shortly after we lost the last of our first set of cats which I know some of my longtime readers will remember.

We hope they are together now. And we hope their spirits are resting comfortably, somewhere not too far from us because we know that's where they'd want to be.

Well, I guess that's all I can think to say right now but I thank you all for reading and if I may ask, please pray for our family as we grieve our beloved boys. Writing this post was a tough and teary process, but in way has been cathartic as well. Because when I tell people what happened - people who know me and my cats over the years through the many posts and pictures I've shared - I feel surrounded by comfort and compassion. It soothes the heartbreak a little.

I do hope to be back fairly soon with a Tea post - one I've had half-written for a month or more - and once I feel a little less low, I plan to return to blogging regularly. Thanks so much for your patience and understanding - and as always, for your kindness and support.

Take care, my friends and I'll see you here again sometime soon ...

Love,

~ Dawn