An adult ginger cat arrived into my yard in mid-June 2011, he was thin and in bad conditions. My neighbor had a ginger cat, when I saw this one I thought that they were neglecting their cat. I also knew that my neighbor's cat was FIV+, so I also thought that the disease was progressing quickly.
But on a second look this was a totally different cat.
He was starving, wobbling, crying. So I gave him a bowl filled with dry food and he gobbled it, I gave him more, he did the same.
On the following morning he was still there, so I decided to keep feeding him. He thanked me with head butts and purrs, we were friends already.
A friend of mine was looking for an adult ginger cat, so I had him tested before calling my friend.
Unfortunately the cat was positive to FIV, so the chance that my friend could have him vanished in a blink of an eye. The vet told me that the cat was about 5-6 years old.
I set up a poster to find this ginger cat a good home, but nobody stepped forward so the cat stayed with us. I had him fixed.
We named him Tom, he was a tom cat, that was the right name for him.
We kept him as an outdoor only cat, I didn't trust him inside, he could have had some other hidden disease and I didn't want to mess up with my two indoor cats, Lola and Pallina.
In his life he had some bad days. His front teeth were all missing and his nasal septum was damaged. The vet told me that Tom could have been kicked in his mouth and nose, or he had been beaten with a stick on his face. The missing teeth made him have his tongue tip constantly poking out. His deviated septum made him snore even when he was awake, and the snoring was so loud that we could hear him from inside the house!
In the following weeks he put on some weight and proved to be a real friend, a friend to every single being. A lizard, a grasshopper, a butterfly, a bird. To him they weren't prey, they were friends of his and he would do his best to get close to them and play with them. Of course they never agreed, after all they were still preys, he was still a cat.
We have a Hermann's Tortoise in the garden. This tortoise is a male and is very territorial. He doesn't allow anybody to get close to him. He bites at feet. Tom was the only animal to be allowed to sleep or lay with him. They were often together in a warm spot of the garden.
During the summertime a hedgehog used to visit our garden every night around midnight. The hedgehog would slowly walk to Tom's dry food bowl and eat some kibbles. Tom would just sit next to him watching while the hedgehog was eating. It seemed to me that Tom was happy to offer some food to another animal.
Whenever a new guest rang to our door, Tom was always the first to greet him welcome at the gate.
If a new dog was passing by with their owner, he could be a new friend to meet.
Tom feared nobody. Every new cat in the area had to be his friend. He was very generous as well. If during his walks Tom would meet a stray and hungry cat he would lead him to our home, straight to his bowls, and offered the unlucky cat a meal. Tom would look at me as if to say "See, he was hungry, I'm giving him my food. I'll have more of it later anyway".
Unfortunately not all cats were friendly, and Tom would often come back home with new bites and scratches, nearly everyday.
His weakened immune system didn't assist him. Each new wound gave him infections and fever.
Tom and I were at the vet's every other day. I needed a handy vet, one who was close to home. So I picked a newly opened surgery less than 1 km from home. The vet wasn't top class, but for the everyday's wounds she was fine.
In a couple of occasions Tom had to stay there overnight. The vet wouldn't keep him in a cage, though. Tom was free to roam in the rooms and play as the vet's assistant during the visits to other patients. The vet used to tell me how delicate he was during the visits, he would just sit next to the dog or cat during the visit and be of comfort.
When no patients were in Tom would sit on the chair next to the vet at the desk, or straight onto the desk.He did nothing, he loved to be a good company to the vet.
The amazing thing that I witnessed was that Tom would lick the hands of the vet who was taking blood from him for a test, or he would purr while the vet was giving him some shots of antibiotic. He was always happy, even in the bad moments.
Unfortunately one of those fights with some unfriendly cat gave him FeLV... So now he was positive to both FIV and FeLV.
Tom always acted like a dog rather than a cat and wherever I was he was there, whatever job I was doing in the garden or in the backyard, he attended the job. He didn't fear loud noises, I could trim the hedge while he was sleeping at my feet. Cut branches could fall on him, he didn't bother. He didn't fear the water, I could water the garden with the hose, sprinkling him with drops and he didn't move an inch.
At night we spent hours one next to each other, sat outside the house, in silence, just watching the world around. We didn't need to talk yet we were communicating a lot.
In the spring of 2013 his eyes were sore. He needed an urgent specialist visit. We found a wonderful eye doctor who visited him thoroughly and treated him several times before he could be completely healed.
During one of those visits the vet confessed to me she was in love with Tom and asked me if I wanted to give him to her. I refused, of course!
Just when his eyes were improving a lot he woke up on a morning with a high temperature. I found no new wounds on him, so I took him to a clinic a they gave him some meds to lower his temperature, but the meds didn't work. The situation wasn't improving and Tom was feeling worse and worse.
On a day I came back from work and found him panting and desperate for air. I took him to the animal ER, the doctors ran an ultrasound scan to his chest and found it full of liquid. They drained that liquid, it was 340 ml (11.50 fl. oz) of light yellow fluid. I felt myself dying, I quickly understood what it was! Tom had FIP!
The vets held him for ten days to try to improve the situation. I was allowed to visit him everyday, the allotted time was one hour each day, 6 pm to 7 pm. The vets at the hospital let me stay for as long as I wanted, because they fell in love with Tom just like other vets fell in love with him before.
On the day of discharge all the emergency staff came out to greet Tom, some of them had tears in their eyes. I had witnessed other pets discharges during those ten days, never before they did such a thing. Tom had left a deep paw print in their hearts!
For some days it seemed that Tom was improving a lot, but he suddenly went downhill again and in his last days he was allowed to stay indoors. We gave him the largest room of the house. Lola and Pallina couldn't go in there.
On September 13th, 2013 (4 years ago today), my wife called me while I was at work to say that Tom was feeling really bad. I left my work earlier and ran home. Tom was lying on a side, rather cold and unconscious, however he realized I was there for him and tried to get up, but he couldn't.
I knew it was time. I called the vet home.
We wanted Tom to see his garden and his maple tree for the last time, so we laid him on a blanket on the pavement in front of the house, so that he could see his beloved garden. He reached for my hand several times while I was there. He couldn't see anymore, he got suddenly blind, he just wanted to feel I was there. As soon as my hand was touching something else, he stretched his paws to grab my hand and hold it tight. The vet arrived and agreed it was time and began the procedure and when the vet put the needle in his vein Tom wanted me to hold both his paws tight.
The vet was very delicate and professional, all the process went smooth and easy, in two minutes, at 6:35 pm, Tom was on the Bridge, leaving me and my wife in despair.
He was the friendliest cat I had ever known, he was kind to everybody, he loved all people and all animals, he never hunted a prey, he used to love preys as well.
He arrived from who knows where two years, three months and one day before, probably lost or, more likely, stray. He was starving and in need of veterinarian treatments. We gave him all he needed and he stayed with us since.
I will never find a cat like him again.
Good bye Tom, one day we'll meet again, never to part.
Thank you for giving me the chance to be your human, thank you for honoring me with your friendship, thank you for letting me be at your side.
Knowing you has been the greatest privilege ever!
But on a second look this was a totally different cat.
He was starving, wobbling, crying. So I gave him a bowl filled with dry food and he gobbled it, I gave him more, he did the same.
On the following morning he was still there, so I decided to keep feeding him. He thanked me with head butts and purrs, we were friends already.
A friend of mine was looking for an adult ginger cat, so I had him tested before calling my friend.
Unfortunately the cat was positive to FIV, so the chance that my friend could have him vanished in a blink of an eye. The vet told me that the cat was about 5-6 years old.
I set up a poster to find this ginger cat a good home, but nobody stepped forward so the cat stayed with us. I had him fixed.
We named him Tom, he was a tom cat, that was the right name for him.
We kept him as an outdoor only cat, I didn't trust him inside, he could have had some other hidden disease and I didn't want to mess up with my two indoor cats, Lola and Pallina.
In his life he had some bad days. His front teeth were all missing and his nasal septum was damaged. The vet told me that Tom could have been kicked in his mouth and nose, or he had been beaten with a stick on his face. The missing teeth made him have his tongue tip constantly poking out. His deviated septum made him snore even when he was awake, and the snoring was so loud that we could hear him from inside the house!
In the following weeks he put on some weight and proved to be a real friend, a friend to every single being. A lizard, a grasshopper, a butterfly, a bird. To him they weren't prey, they were friends of his and he would do his best to get close to them and play with them. Of course they never agreed, after all they were still preys, he was still a cat.
We have a Hermann's Tortoise in the garden. This tortoise is a male and is very territorial. He doesn't allow anybody to get close to him. He bites at feet. Tom was the only animal to be allowed to sleep or lay with him. They were often together in a warm spot of the garden.
During the summertime a hedgehog used to visit our garden every night around midnight. The hedgehog would slowly walk to Tom's dry food bowl and eat some kibbles. Tom would just sit next to him watching while the hedgehog was eating. It seemed to me that Tom was happy to offer some food to another animal.
Whenever a new guest rang to our door, Tom was always the first to greet him welcome at the gate.
If a new dog was passing by with their owner, he could be a new friend to meet.
Tom feared nobody. Every new cat in the area had to be his friend. He was very generous as well. If during his walks Tom would meet a stray and hungry cat he would lead him to our home, straight to his bowls, and offered the unlucky cat a meal. Tom would look at me as if to say "See, he was hungry, I'm giving him my food. I'll have more of it later anyway".
Unfortunately not all cats were friendly, and Tom would often come back home with new bites and scratches, nearly everyday.
His weakened immune system didn't assist him. Each new wound gave him infections and fever.
Tom and I were at the vet's every other day. I needed a handy vet, one who was close to home. So I picked a newly opened surgery less than 1 km from home. The vet wasn't top class, but for the everyday's wounds she was fine.
In a couple of occasions Tom had to stay there overnight. The vet wouldn't keep him in a cage, though. Tom was free to roam in the rooms and play as the vet's assistant during the visits to other patients. The vet used to tell me how delicate he was during the visits, he would just sit next to the dog or cat during the visit and be of comfort.
When no patients were in Tom would sit on the chair next to the vet at the desk, or straight onto the desk.He did nothing, he loved to be a good company to the vet.
The amazing thing that I witnessed was that Tom would lick the hands of the vet who was taking blood from him for a test, or he would purr while the vet was giving him some shots of antibiotic. He was always happy, even in the bad moments.
Unfortunately one of those fights with some unfriendly cat gave him FeLV... So now he was positive to both FIV and FeLV.
Tom always acted like a dog rather than a cat and wherever I was he was there, whatever job I was doing in the garden or in the backyard, he attended the job. He didn't fear loud noises, I could trim the hedge while he was sleeping at my feet. Cut branches could fall on him, he didn't bother. He didn't fear the water, I could water the garden with the hose, sprinkling him with drops and he didn't move an inch.
At night we spent hours one next to each other, sat outside the house, in silence, just watching the world around. We didn't need to talk yet we were communicating a lot.
In the spring of 2013 his eyes were sore. He needed an urgent specialist visit. We found a wonderful eye doctor who visited him thoroughly and treated him several times before he could be completely healed.
During one of those visits the vet confessed to me she was in love with Tom and asked me if I wanted to give him to her. I refused, of course!
Just when his eyes were improving a lot he woke up on a morning with a high temperature. I found no new wounds on him, so I took him to a clinic a they gave him some meds to lower his temperature, but the meds didn't work. The situation wasn't improving and Tom was feeling worse and worse.
On a day I came back from work and found him panting and desperate for air. I took him to the animal ER, the doctors ran an ultrasound scan to his chest and found it full of liquid. They drained that liquid, it was 340 ml (11.50 fl. oz) of light yellow fluid. I felt myself dying, I quickly understood what it was! Tom had FIP!
The vets held him for ten days to try to improve the situation. I was allowed to visit him everyday, the allotted time was one hour each day, 6 pm to 7 pm. The vets at the hospital let me stay for as long as I wanted, because they fell in love with Tom just like other vets fell in love with him before.
On the day of discharge all the emergency staff came out to greet Tom, some of them had tears in their eyes. I had witnessed other pets discharges during those ten days, never before they did such a thing. Tom had left a deep paw print in their hearts!
For some days it seemed that Tom was improving a lot, but he suddenly went downhill again and in his last days he was allowed to stay indoors. We gave him the largest room of the house. Lola and Pallina couldn't go in there.
On September 13th, 2013 (4 years ago today), my wife called me while I was at work to say that Tom was feeling really bad. I left my work earlier and ran home. Tom was lying on a side, rather cold and unconscious, however he realized I was there for him and tried to get up, but he couldn't.
I knew it was time. I called the vet home.
We wanted Tom to see his garden and his maple tree for the last time, so we laid him on a blanket on the pavement in front of the house, so that he could see his beloved garden. He reached for my hand several times while I was there. He couldn't see anymore, he got suddenly blind, he just wanted to feel I was there. As soon as my hand was touching something else, he stretched his paws to grab my hand and hold it tight. The vet arrived and agreed it was time and began the procedure and when the vet put the needle in his vein Tom wanted me to hold both his paws tight.
The vet was very delicate and professional, all the process went smooth and easy, in two minutes, at 6:35 pm, Tom was on the Bridge, leaving me and my wife in despair.
He was the friendliest cat I had ever known, he was kind to everybody, he loved all people and all animals, he never hunted a prey, he used to love preys as well.
He arrived from who knows where two years, three months and one day before, probably lost or, more likely, stray. He was starving and in need of veterinarian treatments. We gave him all he needed and he stayed with us since.
I will never find a cat like him again.
Good bye Tom, one day we'll meet again, never to part.
Thank you for giving me the chance to be your human, thank you for honoring me with your friendship, thank you for letting me be at your side.
Knowing you has been the greatest privilege ever!
