I really hate days like

this. We had to take Sparky (see below) to the vet just down here at the Pet Smart. Anne hauled him down this morning about 11am and it didn't look good she said. When she came back latter she said Sparky had a heart condition and a virus and we were to go in at 5pm. Anne said the vet was going to try a few things throughout the afternoon. So, at 4:30pm we went down in the brisk clear afternoon air as the Sun was almost blinding me. 

 
This was one of the hardest walks I ever had to do. We had about a 15 min wait. The vet was a small complex just off the side by PetSmart. The Doctor came in and showed us xrays and sample fluids he took from Sparky. The Doctor said he had whats called the Corona (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) virus or FIP. There are 2 ways a cat can get this almost fatal virus. 1.) From birth as a carrier and have it all the cats life and activated at anytime. 2.) From other cats in the food or bite marks when cats fight each other. The Doctor gave us 2 alternatives; A.) Take Sparky home and monitor his condition, which will get worse. He might have days left. B.) Put him down. I thought the easiest thing to do for Sparky was to put him down so he wouldn't suffer.

We said our goodbyes as Anne went in first and I went in second. Sparky perked right up when he say me. I kissed him told him I loved (love him) him and spent some time with him. I still have this sickening feeling inside. I left the door first and Anne later and we went to the reception desk to settle up our bill. 

What we're going to do is to have him cremated and then we're going to get his ashes in a scatter box and buy an urn from Micheal's and at the end of the month have his ashes alongside Pledges. Anne was reluctant at first but saw the wisdom in it. With Sparky dead it's going to leave a huge hole in our hearts and this place is going to be so empty without him. This was his last Christmas with us. On the bright side we still have his brother Sporty & Silky and those two love each other and we have Boots as well, but I'm going to really miss Sparky.

When Pledges went in 2009, I didn't mind it so much because he was old and had a long life and we still had the 4 other cats. Little did we know that Sparky had a time bomb in him that could have gone off at anytime. Did he get FIP from Boots, or from the mother as a kitten? It's hard to say. 

But it's going to feel pretty empty around here over the next few weeks and the months ahead. We'll get through it but in the meantime losing Sparky was like losing a piece of my soul. When it was their turn he'd always cuddle up beside me. He was a very loving cat.

We left out of the vet at about 6pm over to Tim's for a coffee with Sparky weighing heavy on our hearts. By 6:30pm as we began our way home crossing the 50th street intersection it was hard to keep my vision focused on PetSmart knowing we were less then a 100 feet from our lifeless cat. If there is a heaven and I think there is, if I go I hope I'm with Sparky and Pledges and my wife. Sleep is going to be hard to come by tonight. 

I love you Sparky, always. Anyway, that's all for now.