12-16-2008, 01:32 AM
CFScorpio and Kirby, this was the cat I was on the phone with vet about last year when we took our trip to Shiner.
Socks Jordan (whose first name came from the Clintons' cat and middle name came from the basketball player Michael Jordan), world's best tuxedo cat, lost his battle with lymphoma today and went over the rainbow bridge at age 15. When he was diagnosed in October 2007, the vet gave us six months, so every day after that was a gift. He initially rebounded very well with steroids, but they stopped working over the past few weeks. He lost half his body weight and was not keeping food in his system long enough to absorb any nutrients. The vet gave him some fluids and a steroid injection Friday, as well as a new anti-nausea medication, in hopes of keeping him around at least through the holidays, but that worked well for only about a day.
He was very sick last night and began vomiting blood this morning as well as drooling uncontrollably. DH and I took him to the vet today at 11:30, and we all agreed it was time before he suffered any further, especially with our going out of town Wednesday for a whole week.
He came into our lives as a tiny kitten on my birthday in September 1993 as I was taking my doctoral comps. DH pulled me out of our spare bedroom/office to show me a mother cat and five kittens parading across our front lawn and under our car. They were all brown tabbies except Socks. Shortly after that we began feeding them. By that January, we had captured Socks using a trail of sardines that led to our basement. Because he had been feral, it took us almost two years before he'd even approach us to be petted. He was always a good and loyal companion to other cats in our household, and he became quite affectionate with us once he learned to trust us.
We will miss him terribly. Give your furkids some extra loving today in memory of Socks.
Socks Jordan (whose first name came from the Clintons' cat and middle name came from the basketball player Michael Jordan), world's best tuxedo cat, lost his battle with lymphoma today and went over the rainbow bridge at age 15. When he was diagnosed in October 2007, the vet gave us six months, so every day after that was a gift. He initially rebounded very well with steroids, but they stopped working over the past few weeks. He lost half his body weight and was not keeping food in his system long enough to absorb any nutrients. The vet gave him some fluids and a steroid injection Friday, as well as a new anti-nausea medication, in hopes of keeping him around at least through the holidays, but that worked well for only about a day.
He was very sick last night and began vomiting blood this morning as well as drooling uncontrollably. DH and I took him to the vet today at 11:30, and we all agreed it was time before he suffered any further, especially with our going out of town Wednesday for a whole week.
He came into our lives as a tiny kitten on my birthday in September 1993 as I was taking my doctoral comps. DH pulled me out of our spare bedroom/office to show me a mother cat and five kittens parading across our front lawn and under our car. They were all brown tabbies except Socks. Shortly after that we began feeding them. By that January, we had captured Socks using a trail of sardines that led to our basement. Because he had been feral, it took us almost two years before he'd even approach us to be petted. He was always a good and loyal companion to other cats in our household, and he became quite affectionate with us once he learned to trust us.
We will miss him terribly. Give your furkids some extra loving today in memory of Socks.
Your story was so sad, I cried & cried.
Socks Jordan