Tragedy

I know for some of you, cats are just any other animal on the planet, and not one to be desired. As many of you know, Tim and I adore our cats, and treat them like our family. With that said...

Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life, and I honestly don't feel like I'll ever be the same again. I know that sounds extreme...I am just grieving and missing our beloved friend and companion, Snickers.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened yesterday morning. I was running some errands earlier, and came home at around 2pm. I was enjoying a piece of my baby shower cake (I will blog about our beautiful shower soon! :) ) downstairs, and as usual, Snickers and Emma were whining for their food. So, I fed them and headed back upstairs to check my email. Snickers followed me upstairs, jumped into my lap (like he always does when I start to type!), I shooed him down so I could finish my email, and he laid down in the hallway not far from my chair. Roughly two minutes later I heard him cough a couple times, so I turned around and noticed his stomach was spasming. (sp?) I immediately assumed he was choking on something, as his eyes were dilated and he was foaming at the mouth. I did two finger sweeps and couldn't find anything, and by this point, I knew time was running out. He grew limp in my arms as I raced out the house and into my car to rush him to the nearest animal hospital. In the meantime, our neighbor pulled in, and saw how hysterical I was, and offered to drive me instead. This was a divine moment, because I know I wouldn't have been able to be a safe driver had I gotten behind my wheel! With all of this happening in maybe 5-10 minutes, we arrived at the vet clinic...I raced in without second thought, and thank God an older veterinarian was there. He grabbed Snickers from me, gave him a shot of Epinephrine in the heart, and began chest compressions on our 16lb cat. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. After ten or so minutes, he said he was gone, and that he couldn't detect a heart beat. Though, it's very rare, the dr. said that cats occasionally can die of a brain aneurism or something similar, without warning of any kind. He said there was nothing he choked on, as his airways and stomach were clear. So, away I carried our sweet cat back to Jon's car for what felt like a long car ride home. (down the street).

Tim came home shortly after and we sat on the couch together holding our sweet Snickers for awhile. We decided to bury him at my grandparents home, as they live nearby and have a large piece of property. Our friends, Joel and Lani accompanied us with flowers and pictures of him. We laid him to rest with his favorite toy, a shredded "jingle bear" he carried around everywhere.

Snickers was quite a unique cat. At least, to us anyway. He slept with us every night and was known for stealing our pillows in the middle of the night. When Tim leaves for work at 6:30 in the morning, Snickers takes his spot in bed, and would rest his head on the pillow until I woke up. It was always so sweet to see him there. We adopted Snickers when he was 6 weeks old, and saved him, as he was malnourished and very sick when he was young. The special bond Tim and I shared with him was unique. We would never had guessed he would leave us in this fashion at the young age of 4. Everyone who knew Snickers, loved him. He was always in your face asking for attention, and didn't let a minute pass before jumping into your lap ready to give love. He gave us so much love, and forced Tim and I to slow down each day, to play with him, pet him, and just give him what he needed. We will miss him so much. His sister, Emma misses him too. They were the best of friends.

Snickers will be missed by many, and we cherish the 4 short years we were with him.