My Beautiful Cat

[JuneausDad]

This past Thursday we had to do the hardest thing we ever did and that was to put down my beautiful Bengal cat, Juneau. Juneau had lymphoma and a tumor growing on his intestines. He started going to the bathroom outside the litter box and he was always a very clean cat for fourteen and a half years. I am a widower that had a dog when I met my current wife and she had a cat. I hated cats when I met her but pretty soon got used to her black and white Oreo. When my dog died, I wanted another animal but wasn't ready for a dog. I saw a Bengal walking on the street with his owner and I was hooked. I adopted a kitten and fell in love with him. Juneau had good looks, personality and was a lot of fun. He thought he was a dog! He was my constant companion for fourteen years and when I had major spine surgery three years ago, he was my nursemaid. He was on my lap as I slept on the recliner for three weeks. He knew when I was having a bad day or was in pain. He helped me to recover.

When we realized he was in pain and he wasn't going to get any better, we started making plans. Our vet came to the house. Juneau was even doing his trick for the doctor in the last minutes of his life. Now my wife and I come downstairs to an empty kitchen where he'd be waiting for his breakfast and we just cry. Our lives were touched by this wonderful cat and we'll never be the same without him. We do have two other cats in the house and its interesting how things have gone with them. Juneau had problems with other cats so we kept them separate. Now they have the run of the house and I think they knew something had changed. Its so sad. How do we continue on without him? The pic is right before he passed.

[MartyT]

I'm so sorry for your  loss, my friend. Your Juneau is just beautiful. Those intelligent, penetrating, emerald green eyes!

[JuneausDad]

1 hour ago, MartyT said:

I'm so sorry for your  loss, my friend. Your Juneau is just beautiful. Those intelligent, penetrating, emerald green eyes!

Thanks Marty. He loved us and we loved him. Unconditional love.

[kayc]

I am so sorry...I too am struck by his eyes, he is beautiful.  I can't tell you how to survive without him because I'm floundering to survive the loss of my sweet dog Arlie, he was my wild-eyed boy and was everything in the world to me.  It 's been four months today.  Wednesday my son brought me a puppy...it helps, I'm falling in love with him, but it's not the same as with Arlie, no one ever will be.  He alone holds that special place in my heart.  That doesn't detract from my love for Kodie, the pup, he's created a spot all of his own, but I love him in a different way.

The pain of loss feels unbearable, it's hard to carry, hard to adjust..  I don't know how we live through it but somehow have.

[JuneausDad]

1 hour ago, kayc said:

I am so sorry...I too am struck by his eyes, he is beautiful.  I can't tell you how to survive without him because I'm floundering to survive the loss of my sweet dog Arlie, he was my wild-eyed boy and was everything in the world to me.  It 's been four months today.  Wednesday my son brought me a puppy...it helps, I'm falling in love with him, but it's not the same as with Arlie, no one ever will be.  He alone holds that special place in my heart.  That doesn't detract from my love for Kodie, the pup, he's created a spot all of his own, but I love him in a different way.

The pain of loss feels unbearable, it's hard to carry, hard to adjust..  I don't know how we live through it but somehow have.

Thank you Kay. I am so sorry for your loss too. I feel the same as you do. We have two other cats and I love them dearly but its not the same relationship that i had with Juneau. Juneau was an exceptional cat, thought he was aa dog. He was our problem child and he got all our attention. Unfortunately he did not like other cats so we lived separate lives. One cat would be on one side of the house and we'd switch them every so often. We did this for 13 years! Its amazing how quickly the other two cats figured things out They knew something was different the next day. One is a rescue Birman and the other is pure bred Maine Coon, my good cat in training as I call her! I love them dearly but its different than with Juneau. I look at that pic I posted which was an hour before he passed and he looks so normal. He lost half his weight, he was all skin and bones and he used to be a very muscular cat. 

We do have our memories to sustain us and I'm sure you have a lot of good memories. I'm posting a pic of when we brought the little guy hime. He's on my desk checking things out. I love him so much.

[kayc]

He's so beautiful.  I've heard they are more work but like the Husky, when people know what to expect and how to deal with them, they're wonderful to have.  I have a friend who had some.  I love his coloring.