We bid a fond farewell to Pixel (aka Lil’Bit, Bit & Bitters)…

She succumbed to a kind of catastrophe…where medicine can’t diagnose clearly why things have gone so awry…

After surviving a first visit to the hospital, we brought her home and within days her spirits where high. Her appetite came back and she wanted to play, wrassle and sleep and clean, just like an everyday cat. She ate regularly as well as messing the catbox, and just put up with the antibiotic syringes and worming solution we fed her twice a day. Despite her overall appearance of returning to health, slowly her tummy got bigger and bigger, and her breathing got more and more shallow. We made an appointment at the vet for next Tuesday. That was on Thursday this week.

But when I got home from work today on Friday in the afternoon, Pixel didn’t look too good. She was sitting in VTGirl’s lap, breathing hard, glassy eyed. We called the vet and they said they could get her in at 4:30. The hours passed slowly…

In the examination room the vet said, we think it’s FIP (a virus that infects cats and is difficult to diagnose). The xray showed a cat in dire straights. Fluid everywhere, and if it was FIP, that fluid would come out yellow and sticky. The vet came back with a syringe of clear liquid. Strange. She consulted with her co-worker. We sat and waited, and for a moment, the sky cleared and hope breathed a small sigh - maybe she was okay!

When the vet came back into the examination room she said, bluntly, that they weren’t sure what it was but it wasn’t great and it wasn’t going away. Thousands of dollars could be spent on trying to discover what was wrong. But if it were her cat, she’d let her go…

So we did…

They tranquilized her and left her with us in a towel…we said goodbye through our tears…

Then they came back in and gave her an injection.

She was gone very quickly. I held her paw the whole time and we said she was the best kitten ever. Man, kittens can sure turn a man into a puddle of sadness.

We chose to have her remains cremated, which was on the euthanasia form we signed.

What a very sudden experience. Alive and bright in the morning, asleep and still in the afternoon. But I know she’s in a better place, and I’m happy that she’s okay now…instead of chased by the dogs of illness…

so…here’s to Pixel…

The sweetest kitten I’ve ever had the opportunity to love and cherish…