I haven’t written a blahg in almost 4 months. 
I haven’t wanted to write a blahg during that time. I certainly didn’t want to write this blahg. Read on, it’s a sad one.
I have written here before about our found cat, “Frank”. If you haven’t read that post, you can check it out here: The Christmas Cat. Quickly, the story tells of how Frank found us in 2008 just before Christmas. I say “found us” because he showed up at our house and stayed. Everyone loved Frank. During the time he was with us, we lost four of our older female cats and two kittens. I’ve written about the death of our other precious cats before so I don’t want to go into that again. If you search through the old blahgs, you can read all about it.
Frank was always a great cat and very good-natured. 
He liked to spend time outdoors and never wandered too far that we didn’t have to worry about him. On those rare occassions when he didn’t answer our calls, I’d go out calling for him. I’d get frustrated and come back to the house only to find him sitting somewhere on the porch. I’d always say something like “you couldn’t call out to let me know you were here all the time?” It was his little joke to watch us scramble around needlessly.
Sometimes Frank would catch mice or birds and deposit them at the back door as a gift for his keep. One time he brought home a dead baby rabbit. I don’t know if he killed it or found it. I guess in his mind, he was trying to pay his way. We always discarded them appropriately so he wouldn’t bring them back again. He never ate any of his trophies. I guess it was like gift shopping for him.
Frank loved to follow my wife around outside. If she was working in the garden or walking in the yard, he’d be right there. He enjoyed the outdoors and I had to blow a path clear from the snow around the garage in the Winter so he could go for a walkabout and do his business. The other seasons saw him outside from morning to evening. 
He loved rolling around in the driveway and he had his favorite spots to just lie around. He liked lying under the solar blanket for our pool when it was rolled up. It hung on two hooks but it sagged in the middle and created a little tent area. You could only spot him if you were walking in the yard past the deck railing on the outside of where the solar blanket hung. If I went looking for him and forgot to check there, he’d be lying there waiting for me to discover he’d been there all the time.
When Frank was indoors he’d have his favorite spots in the living room or 
on the bed in our bedroom. He never wanted to be in any of the children’s bedrooms but when my wife and I would go to bed each night, Frank would know it was time and would follow us into the bedroom and jump up on the bed. He also had his favorite spot on the couch and if you were there first, he’d jump up on you to signal that it was time for you to vacate his spot. 
He also had his spot on the carpet if he was inclined to lie on the floor. The other cats knew that and left him alone unless he was in playful mood. On those occasions he was very entertaining.
About two or three years ago Frank became ill. At first we didn’t know what it was and thought it was best to just let it run its course. His fur was flat and he began to lose weight. He just lay around and after a couple of weeks he didn’t seem to improve. We took him to our veterinarian and they ran some tests and checked his blood. We waited for a diagnosis. We were told it could be feline leukemia or a number of other things that didn’t sound good. Eventually they found that he had a version of FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) which is a version of AIDS in cats. We were told it was treatable by an initial treatment of a special antibiotic and then a continuing regiment of steroids. Apparently steroids are safe in cats but not so much in humans. Frank quickly improved and remained on the dose of one steroid pill a day for the next three years. He only had one bout of a respiratory infection that was cleared up by an antibiotic but the FIV was kept at bay by the steroid. His health was good and his quality of life was even better. He enjoyed his old routines and even put on weight.
Sadly, Frank became ill again in June of this year. He began to slow down and we thought it was more age related because he was around ten years old. After a month, we began to be concerned because he was not as active as before. After a trip to the veterinarian, he was put on an antibiotic to see if it was just some type of infection. He began to decline and he lost weight. A few trips to the veterinarian and different blood tests later, we were no closer to knowing what the problem was.
One day he was just unable to walk on his own. He would get up and immediately fall over. We had to help him to the cat litter box and help him to get to food and water. The veterinarian thought it might be feline diabetes but Frank didn’t have all of the symptoms of that disease. I researched his symptoms online and some websites recommended Methylcobalamin B12 tablets to help with his mobility. I visited a local health store and found a water soluble version and started Frank on those. After a couple of days, Frank was able to walk on his own. He was unsteady at first but began to have more mobility. He even enjoyed going outside again if only to lie in the sun.
The veterinarian was unable to completely diagnose Frank’s illness. Throughout July we struggled to find an answer . We did not treat him for diabetes but we did increase his steroid treatment. Unfortunately Frank continued to lose weight and did not eat much. He lay around indoors or outdoors with supervision. Eventually he lost his mobility again and we knew that his quality of life was suffering. We made the decision to have him put down. We had been hoping for a miracle but even the veterinarian confirmed that there was nothing more that could be done for Frank. We believe the FIV had come back with a vengeance and Frank’s symptoms resembled those I had heard of in humans during the fatal final stages of AIDS.
The day we had to have Frank put down was the saddest day of my life. Everyone in our house was crying but knew it was the right decision for Frank. We could not see him continue to suffer. My wife and daughter and I drove him to the veterinarian. My son stayed home but even he wept. My wife and daughter stayed in the car and I took Frank in to the vet’s office. They took me to a special room where I was able to take Frank out of the carrier and hold him and talk to him. I cried uncontrollably and told him how special he was and how much I loved him. I held him in my arms like a baby and I knew that he was like one of my children and that his was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Even now, my eyes are welling up just writing about this. I can only hope that Frank is in a better place.
I think I want to end this blahg now. I will only add that our other cat Zoey, who has been with us for two years, also loved Frank. She always played with Frank when he was in good health but left him alone when he became ill. After his death, she pined around the house and was very lonely. We had to eventually adopt a playmate for her. A new little black kitten who we named “Annie” joined our family at the end of August. I will write about her another day. She is not a replacement for Frank. There can be no replacement for Frank. We still love him and he will always be missed.
