Pete & Kezzo

Mixed

Pete was a Norwegian forest cat mixed with a traditional Turkish van (not the show type American Turkish van/angora type) possibly maybe even Maine coon or ragdoll; he was my soul-cat & he was extremely loyal & like velcro to myself but was docile, friendly & just loved everyone he acted more like a dog than a stereotype felines often get told they are! Pete was 19yrs old when we had our last forever goodbye! I had adopted & loved him for 8yrs & 4mths. I gut wrenchingly had to say goodbye and help him pass over on 15th December 2021. He was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease in 2019 but on the 7th December he developed stage 4 in which meant his kidneys completely failed which meant they no longer could function at all it was devastating on both of us. I rescued him off the streets due to a hoarder neglect situation which I only found out a year in when he got attacked by another animal! His sister was also taken in by someone who lived close by! He was previously sold as kitten, then owned, then but in a shelter with his sister, then taken in by the neglecting owners & then finally me where he lived 8yrs & 4mths with me I adopted/took him in when I was 18yrs & he was 10 going on 11yrs. He brought so much unconditional love into my life; though he was a pain in the arse sometimes when his behaviour the last 2 &1/2 years was worsening the sicker he got but was still the best cat in the world! I would give anything to have him back! If I could swap places with him I would of, I had managed to keep it at stage 3 & stable for nearly 3years but 2weeks before I said my goodbye, I switched up his diet hoping it would benefit his weight but despite making sure everything stayed as healthy & similar as possible; it’s something I hadn’t done in a long time & he showed stage 4 failure around 2 days later so I blame myself for his condition just worsening out rapidly it was horrific he developed head tremors, went blind over night & could barely stand up by 2:30pm & even the putting him to sleep forever & out of his suffering it wasn’t peaceful like it was ment to be for either of us & the vets I used have lost me as a client forever! the reception staff that night were disgusting, cold & had no empathy at all they forced me to put him in a carrier despite how much pain he was in which is why I brought him in on his big bed (there was no one in the vets at the time as I took him in near closing time except one other person) he was in so much pain due to the toxins building in his body/arthritis in his back legs & he only weighed around 2.8kg the day I let him go! he used to range around 6.5-10kg he was the size of a large cavalier King Charles spaniel so he was just skin & bone you could feel every bone in his body through his triple long coat although it hide it well visually! But yet they made me put him in a carrier which he then cried and hissed out in pain as me and a cat owner I work for gently tried to get him into it!!! The receptionist tried to make me feel bad for rushing him to the vets because they were closing in 35mins & I didn’t have an appointment!!! despite his condition causing him to die slowly even though his body was rapidly declining fast!! He also had some incontinence and so being forced into the carrier caused him to urinate all over himself which I had made sure all day he hadn’t had to go through!! He then had to be forced back out of said carrier in agony 5mins later when called in to the room where he would be let go, in which the vets proceeded to flinch and step back as he cried out despite his fragile state and just being in pain!! With him being blind and not being able to stand he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone & he wasn’t like that by nature anyways yet they still put his favourite blanket over his head as sedation was injected into his spine instead of his vein & again which he hissed/loudly cried out in pain!!!! I will forever have this pain in my heart & flashes of these memories in my head of his horrid ending were I felt like his dignity & comfort as well as my feelings were just discarded, this cat was my world my child & he had to die in a way that I was trying to avoid! I wish I could of done more to save him, even though I know deep down I couldn’t; I wish that the at home euthanasia vets had just got back to me that day when I messaged them so he could of died peacefully at home but they responded to late the next day but I didn’t want to wait another day knowing he would most likely have a seizure or stroke and with him going blind over night & not being able to stand meant his heart was failing and maybe caused a clot this would of been a extremely painful death and I didn’t want to risk that but instead he still suffered before passing it was gentle at all; euthanasia is meant to be painless & peaceful & comfortable not agonising!💔 kidney disease stage 4 quickly deteriorates animals due to lack of vets especially my ex vets not giving me IV fluid to take home or regular appointments for that or pain killers or appetite stimulants which should be given as dialysis/transplants are rarely ever given to pets….so please if you can find a vet that actually knows what they are doing, what to look for in bloods to stop stage 1-2 happening please do!! As once symptoms start showing their already at stage 3 meaning they have lost over 70% of kidney function! Find a vet that knows how to handle this horrid illness and treat the condition with management. Ask them to look & test their SDMA levels regularly throughout their life even without symptoms as this can detect stage 1 & 2 which show no symptoms or very few meaning you may think you cat is healthy but could just not showing signs but if these levels are low or high then it can be an indication stage 1 or 2 is present but it’s possible to be reversible or if not at least you will be able to prevent further kidney damage and stop stage 3 & 4 happening at all! my vets didn’t even bother to try and wouldn’t even treat the kidney disease at all saying it was something they didn’t do!! let alone even manage it, they wouldn’t even treat his dental issues which is a massive factor in kidney disease developing!!! Which I had asked them to do repeatedly!! PDSA might say they save lives but only the ones they want to save or what conditions they want to treat, if you are struggling with money why should that prevent pets getting all conditions treated you cant selectively treat animals because someone has less money currently! this means many animals are dying or being out to sleep for treatable conditions or preventive conditions!!! I’m appalled at the behaviour of their receptionist as well as how little experience these vets seem to have with animals who display any behaviour other than completely relaxed, if an animal displays any behaviour other than lethargic or chill they will outright refuse to treat a sick animal even if it’s just them reacting out of pain or cause more suffering by stressing them out; I’ve never known anything like it, I work with sick animals all the time in pain & being calm as well as patient with them is key but showing fear & flinching/acting nervous & skittish just makes the animal more stressed, anxious & fearful!! Why is it double standards with animal health than human health & conditions they want to live as much as people!!! If you work with animals you should know how to handle all animals & personalities & behaviour why are they not trained in animal behaviour??!! Ive always taught myself animal behaviour and it’s served me extremely well I know how to handle different behaviour because I know what they are displaying their telling me with their body language and vocals they are communicating they way they only know how to cause they can’t verbally tell us no different than a human who speaks a language we don’t understand body posture & tone & subtle ques is what you look for to indicate what is needed & how to manage them! its like they are just a bunch of book smart uni kids without any actual experience around living, moving, un-sedated animals it’s frankly stressful to watch & be around! My boy needed IV fluids on another visit and outright refused to treat him because he was “aggressive” he was stressed after being injected with a painful antibiotic injection which they said would be quite painful but instead of doing the IV with me there to keep him calm and handled they waited till I left and then wanted me to come back and refused to treat him he was severely de hydrated!!! My cat only ever new pain & stress around this vets, if it hadn’t been for the fact pet insurance wouldn’t of helped him at all due to his conditions being pre-existing & lack of funds due to that issue, he would of been taken somewhere else!!! I feel so bad for him every bit of help he got was all from me & my own research! If it was down to them he would of died 3yrs prior to the age he was & them wanting to put him down when he was still acting himself 💔 I just wish I could of done more every penny I did have as little as i had went on him! So please remember if you have a cat or dog get them tested for SDMA levels via bloods every year as if those levels are high they are already in stage 1-2 even if you don’t think there is anything wrong with them currently as they show no symptoms as like I said symptoms only show up once in stage 3/4 and you could prevent them from ever even getting to stage 3-4! if I had known this information at the time or if my vets had bothered to know this information first hand he would be in my arms right now still giving my his obnoxiously loud purr maybe living into his late 20s! my world crumbled when I lost pete just like the day I lost my shared dog kezzo which I’ll talk about on another pet section. Pete was my son and best friend! Everyday I cry, I feel worse & worse everyday the lonelier it gets my life will forever be empty without him now as it was when I lost my soul dog who pete helped get me through without him I couldn’t of coped, but he isn’t here now to help me get through his own death, if I cried he would jump on my lap or bed and put his paw on my arm, rub his head against my face & try to cheer me up he just knew when I needed him even in his dying hours he mastered up the little energy he had to turn around & look at me & rest his head and paw on me even though he no longer was even able to see me but him hearing me cry made him want to show he was here for me & that he was always loyal until the very end I wish and regret that I didn’t hold him as he passed away doing the same selfless act he did but I couldn’t bare it he was so fragile, I just stroked him gently, cried into his fur & kissed his head telling him how much I loved him but I will forever hate myself for everything I wish I could go back and do it so differently! I hope he knew how much I loved him & how much he changed my life 💔 kezzo was a German shepherd who was my soul-dog, son and best friend! I met him at a shelter I worked at he became my shadow & attached to my hip instantly & he was very wary of people he had been brought a day he was meant to be killed at a pound after no one claimed him but the shady shelter I volunteered at took him; one of the very few things they did right! We just connected I had bonded with many dogs but something about our bond was just different he was just like my soul-cat pete we just saw each-others pain and sadness I guess like we all knew we needed each other! He was just like me in dog form my spirit animal or familiar. I just felt an instant motherly bond with him. He was very protective and liked who he liked and didn’t who he didn’t. He just always wanted to be by my side whether that was trying to catch rocks i threw into the river, playing fetch on the fields, hiking through rocky hills/woods & forest or playing in the snow all day day or night. He always wanted to please and playing fetch was his favourite of all not a day goes by where I don’t miss his happy derpy face as he ran back and forth; day in day out trying to catch anything I threw! He was a cuddle bug and a big softie playing fetch was they way to win his heart & see his true loving side. He acted a tough guy & after his rough beginning can you blame him but I had trained to the max because he just wanted to please but deep down he was a lovable big baby! But the family member I shared with somehow untrained him in a lot of things I originally fixed!! So its a shame most people were to scared to see that side of him! I wish breed discrimination wasn’t a thing it’s as bad as racism just cause some have done wrong does not mean all are the same!! He had IVDD which is a slipped disk illness there are two types one that effects younger dogs as is genetic and the other that effects older dogs cause by injury. This illness is common in German shepherds/dachshunds/corgis any dogs with spinal prone illness or long backs & short legs. It’s identical in symptoms as DM with is a genetic illness which can happen in young or old dogs and is again prone in all 3 breeds up top as well as other breeds! but DM sadly isn’t curable like type 1 IVDD, DM is painless and causes hinde leg paralysis which sadly spreads to the front legs and then starts to shut down other organs like the ability to breathe, unlike IVDD type 2 which is curable in most circumstances with laser treatment, water/swimming therapy, pain medication, surgery or wheelchairs they can live a long life. DM has a span of life 1-2yrs but by 2yrs they are fully paralysed front legs as well. DM can be tests via a DNA test to see if they are a carrier of the gene, have it themselves or don’t have it (clear) this can help you know what your chances with your dog is and rule it out and stop dogs passing it on to puppies. IVDD can be found via CT/MRI scans both can be seen in autopsy if it’s too late. IVDD causes pain from mild to severe which is why pain meds are recommended until they have recovered from treatments, IVDD also cause hind leg paralysis but they still have feeling in their paws meaning if you pinch or tickle they will twitch or kick back (DM dogs will not react at all as their is no feeling in the nerves anymore) hind leg paralysis in IVDD type 2 can be reversed with surgery or laser treatment! Sadly my dog I shared was wrongfully put down due to denying of IVDD & the preferred diagnosis of DM this disease is wrongfully mistaken and misdiagnosed with IVDD all the time and especially by vets and owners who would rather not treat the dog for the curable latter, whether that be costs/neglect/abuse/novelty of a dog has wore off/lack of information or research on both condtion ect! This sadly was the case with my boy I had mentioned something was wrong years prior March 2017!! (He was put down in January 2020 his front legs still working!!) I said that he was dragging his back paws/nails (first sign) & offered to pay for laser/treatments & instead nothing was done & the family member I now no longer talk to due to their wishy washy caring, cruelty/neglect & lack of trying/giving up to throwing in the towel (putting him down because it was more convenient & less time consuming) & wrongfully going with “DM” because of the bleak outlook making it a convenient diagnosis to get rid of him clearly. I’m haunted by the memories of his condition & state he was left in before being wrongfully put to sleep! I’m forever blaming myself for trusting this person because they were “family” to do right by him & blame myself for the life he ended up having in the end because I wasn’t allowed to be with him all the time, despite all I did for him that I could wasn’t enough 💔 I wish he could of understood that me not being with him comforting him & by his side like I used to be so often before he died was not my choice & that it was out of spite on their part just like leaving me out of things we were meant to all do together, I’m sorry I couldn’t save him & I’m sorry that I didn’t live on my own the day I first met him at the shelter & adopted him myself maybe now he’d still be here. I hope he knew how much I loved him & that 3yrs later I’m still crying almost everyday over him & the way things turned out even while grieving over pete I still shed tears for him too! I know it’s most likely not likely that an afterlife exists but I really hope I’m wrong because if I never see him & pete again that is the worst unbearable thing to know when my time finally comes that I won’t get to love & cuddle my best sweetest & loyalest boys ever again after all those years my heart, mind and soul can’t take it & it breaks even thinking about it I still lose my mind & shit about it I’m trying to not cry as I write this like I did writing Petes story! You may of just been a dog & pete just a cat to some people but to me you were my family & my babies & best friends! You shown me more loyalty & love than any of my human “friends & family” ever have which is saddening & why it’s so lonely not having you in my life! You both were my pack forevermore my soul-dog & soul-cat, my family, my babies, my best friends, my familiars, my spirit animals & my deamons & no others can ever compare or replace you 💔 both had such an impact on my life I hate living especially without them! So please Cherish your fur babies/children while you can I have so many regrets & things I wish I had done differently or more of!