01:55 hrs.
Dear Readers, I am writing this short blog to tell you of the loss of a family member at the Wayward Inn. Mr. Teddy Buttnuggets was sent on his way yesterday evening and due to my work requirements I was not able to attend his passing.
It all started about three weeks or so ago when after I had come back from checking out the site for Base Camp when I saw, and learned from my Better Half, that Teddy wasn't doing so well. He was listless, uncoordinated, had lost weight and wanted to refrain from human contact. I quickly made an appointment for him with the vet. Now, I had thought he was having bowel issues, which he had in the past and which we had remedied with a higher fibre diet. But this turned out not to be the case. After a thorough check it was found that he had a fever and his blood smear test showed no white blood cells. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that a fever denotes an infection of some kind but with no white blood cells how could he fight an infection. The concern was there was something wrong with his bone marrow and it was hoped that by treating the mysterious infection with a spectrum of antibiotics that it would give some relief to the bone marrow.
Teddy remained overnight and was rehydrated. The course of meds got rid of the fever and over the next ten days or so he regained strength, weight and looked to be on to a path to recovery. The vet had us bring him in to recheck his blood and it was discovered that his white blood cell count was still near zero. The vet had us continue the oral dosage of steroids which would drive him to eat fuelling his body and hopefully restarting the bone marrow. Sadly, it didn't work.
On Sunday he had eaten supper but appeared stand oafish. Monday morning he never came around for breakfast and when I retrieved him from upstairs he ate very little. I worked graveyard shift that night and he did not greet me when I got home at Oh-Dark-30. Nor did he come for breakfast later on. Something was certainly amiss.
Throughout the day Teddy had kept himself hidden away. Animals will do that when they feel the end is near especially predators. It's an instinctual behavior that they all exhibit and our housecat was no different than a cougar in this respect. When my Better Half came home we discussed the options and knowing that there was only one she took up the banner and called the vet for an appointment. Early in the evening she, the Sr. Couch Monkey and the Oma-nator escorted Teddy on his final trip. Later my Lobster told me that he must have known that we were helping him with his pain as he was calm and purring up a storm.
As the boys interned him at the Wayward Inn near the blueberry bushes a CC-115 Buffalo rescue plane soared over the house. I would like to think that Teddy was now safe from his pains.
God Speed.
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