Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Fat Eric - A Photo Memorial (part 1 of 2)
Since Eric went to the Bridge a few weeks ago, I have had an unbelievable number of comments and tributes on his blog, plus e-mails, Facebook messages and even cards, for which I need to say thank you. Eric was such a lovely, cuddly, purry floofy boy and Gorgeous Ginger. We miss him very much, and it's clear that lots of you loved him and will miss him too.
I wanted to do some memorial posts with pictures of Eric, which has proved difficult as I have to choose from nearly 500 photos, some of which were never used on his blog. I hope you like the ones I have chosen and they show him at his floofy best!
Eric and his sister Hattie moved into our new house on October 26th, 2003. They were 8 years old at the time and had been waiting to be rehomed at the Chestnut Cat Sanctuary. They settled in immediately and acted as though they had been running the house for years. These pictures were taken about 3 days after their adoption.
Unfortunately we only had Hattie for a few months, as she developed cancer and had to be helped to the Bridge in March 2004. From that time onwards, Fat Eric decided to adopt the role of Spoilt Only Cat, and he discovered the possibilities of cat-blogging in January 2006 with his first post. He was inspired to blog after reading about the adventures of other early cat-bloggers such as Max the Psychokitty, Scooby, Shaggy and Scout, the Crew, William of Mass Destruction and the Big Piney Woods Cats. Eric enjoyed cat-blogging, although sometimes he found using the computer rather tiring...
He soon found that the internet was the perfect place for sharing pictures of his immense floofaciousness...
and for showing other kitties exactly how relaxation should be done...
The friends he made in the Cat Blogosphere helped Eric to discover some of his new favourite things. Darling Millie's mum made him his very own personalised Gizzy Quilt...
...and good friends like Derby kept him supplied with Feline Greenies, which were Eric's most favourite treat right to the end. Since Greenies aren't sold in the UK, many times Eric was in danger of running out, but thankfully the supplies from Mericky always arrived in time in avert a crisis!
Still to come in the next part of Fat Eric's Photo Memorial - tales of Eric's travels across the UK, stories of his constant battle against Evil Intruder Kitties and pictures of him in his garden. I'll try to complete it in a few days.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Fat Eric Has Gone To The Rainbow Bridge
This is Kate, Fat Eric's mum, here.
This is a very sad post for me to write. I have been in America and Canada for the last two weeks and I am in Montana now where Eric's Uncle Sim lives. I have been in touch with the cattery where Eric has been while we were away and I knew on Friday that he was going to see their v-e-t as he was not eating well again and didn't seem to be feeling well. Unfortunately I then spent this past weekend in the mountains where there was no phone or internet, so I have had to wait several days to find out how he was doing. When we got here tonight I had several e-mails and a phone message from Kathie at the cattery, who gave us the devastating news that her vet diagnosed Eric with a tumour on his kidney which had become very large very quickly. He consulted with our own vet and did some more blood tests which confirmed that Eric had begun suffering considerable pain. He was unable to stand up properly at that point. These symptoms had come on very quickly. Kathie and her staff were terribly upset and Kathie had stayed up with Eric nearly all night before he went to the vet. I had told her that I authorised her and the vet to do what was best, and the vet strongly advised that Eric was now suffering and there was no effective treatment at this point, and at his age (nearly 15). They took the decision to send him to the Bridge and put him out of his pain yesterday, Monday. Kathie then had the horrible job of letting me know what had happened today, Tuesday.
Thank you, everyone, for your good wishes to Eric. I am so sorry that I don't have good news to share with you. We will miss him so much. I have told Kathie that she did the right thing and, although I wish I had been there with him at the end, I am glad that he did not suffer for longer than necessary.
When I get home to the UK, which won't be for another week, I will post a proper memorial for Fat Eric with pictures. I know it's going to be so hard when we get home to a house filled with his stuff. Thank you all again for your love for Fat Eric. He was a great character and we will all miss him so much. I have had more than one cat in my life, but he was special, and all his friends knew that.
Kate
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Am In Jail, Please Send Purrs
Well, I tried to make my mum feel as guilty as possible about putting me in kitty jail when I have just been poorly, but I still had to go. My humans are going to Mericky tomorrow (to Seattle, then to Victoria, BC, and then to Montana where Uncle Sim lives) and this morning I was packed up with all my special food, my comb, my Scratchy Mouse, my Greenies, my kidney pills, my Gizzy quilt and all my luggage and taken to the kitty jail.
This is the same kitty jail I have been to several times in the last two years, and it is not too bad as kitty jails go. It is attached to the the cat rescue centre where my sister Hattie and I were adopted from seven years ago. The people who work there are always very nice to me. My mum spent ages this morning explaining all about my recent ailments and my medicine and my food and my likes and dislikes. I sat in my jail cell and looked at her as if to say "How could you abandon me here?" and then I got distracted because one of the ladies who works there offered me a dish of sardine and mackerel stinky goodness and I started eating it, and when I had finished, my mum had left. I know she feels bad about leaving me and she wants me to keep eating and try to put some weight back on, so I will try. I am here for a long time, until August 26th. I am sorry I won't be able to get round the blogosphere to visit my friends. Please send purrs for me to eat well during my time in kitty jail and for a happy reunion with my humans in three weeks. I wonder if Leo will miss me?
Purrs to all. F.E.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Fur and Flowers
Well, once again I have to thank all my friends for their concern over my health. Things have been going along quietly here. My mum is on holiday from school so we have been spending lots of time together while my dad is still at work. I am still being quite a picky eater so she has been tempting me with different flavours of stinky goodness. I am eating every day but still not as much as I once used to. Actually I was out in the garden the other day with my mum and I sort of ate a slug just to see what it tasted like. Then I yakked all over the hall carpet. That wasn't very much fun at all really.
I am getting a kidney pill every evening now. I am napping a lot too. I still have some tangles and knots in my floof, even though the v-e-t shaved some of the matted bits. I used to enjoy being combed but I don't like it any more and I run away when I see my mum coming with the comb; I remember it hurt when she tried to comb out the mats before. She is hoping I will get back to liking being combed again because it is all a bit stressful at the moment. I am still happy to have some cuddling and some laptime, though.
It has been quite warm here. I am mostly choosing to stay in the house and nap when my mum goes out and does sweaty things like gardening. Leo does a good job snoopervising because he is so nosy he can't stand it if people are doing gardening without him. Here are some pictures of his snoopervising techniques.
The flowers on our patio are looking very pretty at the moment. They were supposed to be all yellow and white this year, but some of the white ones my mum bought sneakily came out blue instead. Can you spot some of the rogue blue flowers?
We also had a jungle of potato plants but most of the potatoes have been dug up and eaten by the humans now.
I am worried about something - yesterday my dad went up in the loft and got the two big suitcases down. Why do you think he did that? They wouldn't, would they?!
