Wesley

About 9 months ago this little guy showed up at my house.  Truth be told, Todd bought some cat treats to feed the cats across the street and out of no where comes this long haired, very friendly cat. We nicknamed him Fatty because he had no qualms about jumping in your lap to steal all of the treats out of your hand.

From that day on he never left my front porch.  He slept next to the front door and waited for me to come out every morning and pet him.  If I sat in the rocking chair, he jumped right up in my lap and went to sleep.  It was clear he wasn't going anywhere and although I hadn't planned on it, I had a cat.

Eventually Wesley got a name and spent a few hours each night inside.  This cat lived to be loved on.  A few hours turned into "spending cold nights inside" and eventually that turned into leaving the back door open so he could come in whenever he wanted.  I have never met a more loving animal.  Never more than a foot away from me, he slept on the kitchen rug while I made dinner, on the bathroom rug while I got ready, on a pile of clothes while I did laundry.  If I was sitting in a weird position in a chair that didn't allow lap-laying, that's fine, he could weasel his way into a little corner so that he could still put his little head on my hand.

On Friday night, Todd went to pet Wesley who was laying on the porch balcony.  He let out a cry like Todd had touched a sore spot so we started to check him to see if he was hurt.  He tried to stand up and immediately fell over as if his back legs were paralyzed.  I didn't know if he had a broken leg, if he was sick,  we both kind of panicked and tried to get the emergency vet's phone number.  He tried to stand up two more times and immediately feel over so I helped him lay down and petted his head.  He started to gasp and in about 30 seconds, he had stopped breathing.

We were devastated and shocked.  There was absolutely nothing we could have done.  He was perfectly healthy 30 minutes prior.

My sweet neighbor who works for the Humane Society came over and took him in on Saturday to find out what happened.  He had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  If the vet had recognized his irregular heartbeat a few months ago we might have been able to treat his condition and spend a few more months or years with him.  Wesley just had a bad heart.  Please have your vet check your cats heart health- this condition is the number one cause of sudden cat death.

I wish there was something we could have done for him.  He brought so much joy to us in the past nine months and it wasn't nearly enough time. It's a little quiet around here now...