Our hearts are heavy today with the loss of our kitty.......
Last night at around 20.15 we heard Socrates outside on the patio crying. He never does that so it raised an alarm in us. Andrew went out to check him and found that he couldn't move his back legs and he seemed to be in a lot of pain. Because we don't know the language (yes, that has been a hinderance!), we called our wonderful neighbors, Linda and Bruce, (who were, thankfully, home!) who called their vet to get the number for the emergency vet clinic. Linda brought their small crate over so we could take him on the bus. The only carrier we have is a huge airline transport crate, which is very big and heavy. Bruce went with us and we headed over to the clinic (which was close to the Haarlem train station) where we were to meet the vet at 21.00hrs. To get the number for the emergency clinic, they called their regular vet and got the number from the vet's after hours recording. The recording, of course, was in Dutch. We would have been lost without Bruce and Linda! Apparently the location for the emergency vet changes every weekend (it sounds like the vet's rotate the duty).
The Vet took one look at him and said he most likely had a clot break loose which paralyzed his legs....she then asked if he had heart problems. We told her that he was diagnosed with an enlarged heart over four years ago. At that time we were told he would be with us maybe another 1-2 years.
The Vet told us there was nothing she could do and suggested we put him to sleep.....we agreed. We didn't want him to suffer. She gave him an injection for the pain first. While waiting for that to take effect, we could hear his breathing becoming labored because his lungs were filling with fluid. She gave us a little time with him to say good-bye and then gave him another injection.
The Vet was so very kind and caring. Bruce and Linda were so wonderful and helpful.
Even though we knew this would happen one day, it still is very painful to lose our kitty.
Comfy in his favorite spot in our house in Pleasanton, CA...the bathroom sink!
Enjoying the sunshine...
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