WolfWeave

Been a long time but my blog was missing in cyberspace due to a server interruption that my son finally unravelled. Thank you, Aaron, for returning my blog to me.

Today we made the difficult decision to let go of our loving Kipster. Five and one-half years ago, we adopted him as a fluffy kitten from Orphans of the Storm animal shelter for my youngest son’s birthday present…or, rather, he adopted us: He jumped onto my back, snuggled up into my neck and wouldn’t let go. Kip’s antics, affection, and love of treats such as turkey or corn on the cob were all legendary. He was king of the castle, even when we adopted Mitzi a year later. Kip slept on Ben’s bed, waited at the window for us when we left home, begged for treats at the table, snuggled up on my computer keyboard. When his health declined three years ago, we discovered that he had been born with barely functioning kidneys so his kind and knowledgeable kidney specialist Dr. Jerry Thornhill began aggressive treatment. With a course of subcutaneous fluids and many pills (which Kip was very good about taking), we were able to raise Kip’s kidney function from a low of 5% to nearly 20% and keep it there until the past month, when Kip went into a sudden decline. He stopped eating, lost weight, spent his days sleeping and grew irritable. Then he refused to leave his spot near the back door (cold though it was) and eventually lost control of his bladder. He was miserable and, as much as we loved him and couldn’t bear to part with him (especially as we had just lost our father/grandfather), we finally decided to do what was the best thing for Kip. He was clearly suffering and had no quality of life. We took him to the vet this evening and, after 2 hours of holding him and crying, finally had him put to sleep. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to put one of my beloved felines to sleep, but it was the hardest. We miss you, Kipster.