Godspeed, our beloved "big guy."

Sorry for the delay in posting...with the maintenance issue with Blogger, I was unable to post this until now.

In the midst of the current turmoil in our house (me recovering from my car accident, and ESM working part-time and also trying to start a new business), I must report some very sad kitty news. Mr. Hubbard, our oldest (16 to 18, we’re not sure exactly) and the first kitty we adopted together, made his journey to the Rainbow Bridge Thursday afternoon.

He has been in declining health for some time now, however that decline has been noticeably accelerating over the last several weeks. We finally made the difficult decision that it would be better for him not to suffer any more than he had already. We made the appointment several days ago to allow us some quality time at the end, including both of us taking time off to spend his last day with him. We took lots of pictures and video, to add to the already large collection we have.

For our final act of love, we took him to the vet that has been seeing him for the last six plus years. They have treated him through all his various age-related illnesses, including his cataracts, pancreatitus, diabetes, arthritis in his hips and several other issues. They have been so good with him (and us) over the years, we felt they should have a chance to say their good-byes and help him in his final journey. He passed peacefully from this earth with the vet, his favorite vet tech and his adopted parents by his side at 5:02pm on Thursday, May 12^th, 2011. He will be individually cremated, and his remains returned to us on Tuesday.

ESM and I are planning to plant some orange tiger lilies in our yard, in his honor. We wanted something symbolic for us to remember him by (even though tiger lilies are poisonous to cats), and when they bloom each year we will have a beautiful reminder of his 13 years with us.

I know I have urged this before, however you will have to suffer through my urging it again. Please, go find someone you love (furry or not), give them a big hug and tell them how much you love them. You never know when you might not have the chance again.

As part of my healing, I will post again very soon with more about his life with us.

Mr. Hubbard, we love you so very much and you will always be in our thoughts and hearts. Vaya con dios, big guy. We’ll see you again at the bridge.

Remission? Not Quite...

Well, remission may not have been the right word. When we took Hubbard in to the vet yesterday, his glucose was high again (320). They did a few more tests on him that had to go off to the lab, so we won't know the results until early next week. However, we're back to no one being sure what happened and looking like we'll be back to giving him insulin very soon.

Hubbard is still doing ok, although with his blood sugar high he is drinking and using his box like crazy! We'll be keeping a close eye on his condition today.

We have family in town this weekend and through the early part of the week, which is nice. My folks are here, and we all went out to brunch with my sister and her husband yesterday to "belatedly" celebrate ESM's birthday. We had a great time all being together, and the $8 bottomless Mimosas certainly didn't hurt! *grin*

We'll keep everyone up to date on Hub's test results when we get them next week. We have our fingers crossed that he is still ok beyond the elevated blood sugar.

I better cut this post off, the "Horde" is demanding breakfast...at the top of their lungs. *grin*

Good Hubbard News!

Hubbard is home! I picked him up from the vet this evening after work and he is home and doing good so far.

According to the emergency vet, his diabetes is apparently in remission and his pancreatitus is much better than it has been. That is why his blood sugar dropped like a rock; We gave him insulin when his body no longer needed it. Nobody is quite sure how or why it happens, only that it does happen occasionally.

So, he is off the insulin for now, and we are supposed to reduce his medication for the pancreatitus (which makes him happy, as it tastes terrible!). We also have an appointment with our family vet tomorrow to get his glucose tested again and make sure he is still doing ok. But for now, everything is right with the world once more!

My deepest thanks to everyone who wrote in and wished us well! I am overwhelmed how everyone responds in these kinds of situations. It is humbling for me to associate with such thoughtful and caring people.

I'll update everyone tomorrow after our trip to the vet on how our boy is doing.

I apologize for the poor cell phone pic, but I wanted to get this up quick.

Hubbard is sick!

Just a quick note to say our 15-year old, grumpy mancat Hubbard is at the emergency vet. ESM rushed him in this afternoon after she got home from work and found several poops and large piddle spots on our bedroom carpet, and there was no sign of Hubbard. She finally found him down the hall in my office, huddled between my server and my workstation on the floor. He was cold to the touch, but still conscious. When she pulled him out, his back legs wouldn't work and he couldn't stand.

She grabbed a carrier and rushed him to the emergency vet, while simultaneously calling me at work and letting me know the situation. After running a quick blood glucose on him (he is diabetic after all) they found the issue. His blood sugar has been running high (high 200s-low 300s) for the last several months, but when they tested him it was all the way down at 26. Anything below 70 is very dangerous.

He was resting in the warming chamber when we left, and they had him on an IV and were trying to bring his sugar level up.

We are hopeful this is an insulin reaction, and something can be done for him. However, we are preparing one another for the worst. He has had a good long life, and if it is his time...I refuse to let him linger and suffer. I would very much like to bring him home, and let him go amongst his family and familiar surroundings. However, his comfort and well-being is paramount to any of our wishes.

On my way to the vet, I had a long talk with the big man upstairs, and asked him if he had to take our Hubbard, to please make it quick and painless. I also spoke to Ziggy, our beloved gray boy who departed last August, and asked him to be on the lookout for Hubbard and meet him at the Rainbow Bridge if he makes that journey in the next little bit.

We'll keep you all posted on his condition, and update when we get any more news.

Please find someone you love, be they four-legged and furry or two-legged, hug them and tell them how much you love them. And, we'd appreciate any good thoughts you can spare sent along to our Hubbard.