R.I.P. Milton

Our beloved Milton passed away last week.  We received word from the lovely couple who adopted our cats that his kidneys had failed him.  Shortly after we moved we received word that Milton had been in a fight with a racoon and we thought we might lose him then, so this came as a surprise given that he seemed to be recovering just fine.

Here is what they wrote:

I 'm very sorry to pass along the sad news that Milton passed away yesterday. Despite that after his surgeries and being confined, his leg was doing fine, and he seemed be happy as always, we noticed he lost weight very rapidly over the last week or so. 

I have been home in Indiana for 4 days, and Garrick and I had a conversation Thursday night that Milty needed to be seen, he seemed sort of lethargic, just laying around and sleeping. So Garrick took him in yesterday morning for xrays, and blood work, and we found out his renal levels (kidneys) were off the charts, along with 2 others. The doctor had never seen levels so high before. His kidneys were failing and there was not a lot that could be done other than temporary solutions that would help for a little while but the problem would continue to recur. Looking back Milton's renal levels were high following both surgeries, at the time they said it could indicate a problem or it could have been aside effect of the surgery. They said kidney failure could be cause by any number of things and I guess there's just not much you could do about it. He drank water all the time, but it his kidneys weren't hydrating his body properly. So we decided against prolonging his life and putting him through more stress.

I wish this hadn't happened while I was away, I can't believe the timing. But Garrick was with Milton so he wasn't along at the vet, and to make him more comfortable yesterday. I called to say hi and I loved him over the phone. We're both a little shocked, I thought he might not be feeling well, but I never thought it he would have a condition that couldn't be dealt with. We are very sad, we'll be missing him around the house, asking for water at the sink, sleeping on my pillow, but we are comforted to know he won't be suffering now. We've got lots of cute photos and good memories to think about.




Needless to say, we are pretty heartbroken.  Milton was our first baby and we loved him very much.  He was a quirky cat who was full of personality.  He loved to cuddle and was SUCH a lover.  Though we had to say our goodbyes when we left DC, we loved thinking of Milton and Cowboy frolicking in the backyard and giving love and snuggles to their new owners.  I am comforted to know that he did lots of frolicking and snuggling over his nine years.  I only wish he could have had nine more!

We will miss our sweet cat.  Our dear Millpie, Millicent, Milly, Miltonion.  He lived a happy life and made our lives much happier as well.

Goodbye dear friend.