Tim called me today, after leaving messages that he was "worried" about me. Finally I answered the phone, and he informed me that Mikey, one of the cats, died yesterday, and that Sosa, his brother, will probably be gone within a few days.
These are the same cats who, not two months ago, were living here and THRIVING. You can see in the pictures--they were big, sleek, healthy cats. They leave here, and two months later one is dead and the other is dying.
He says Mikey got "depressed" from living in an attic apartment, and that Sosa is "all yellow like Tiger was". (Tiger was my tabby, who died of liver cancer when Tim and CR and I were roomies.) He also said that they were "covered in soot" from living in that apartment (what the HELL kind of "apartment" IS this?) and that their eyes were infected (a problem which they'd had here, but which was never really serious.) So basically, no one was taking care of these cats AT ALL, is what I'm hearing here. And Tim PAID the person they were staying with, which is more than he did for me.
I know these cats were not my responsibility. I KNOW they weren't. I know I did way more than anyone else would have done, and took much better care of them than anyone else would have. But I feel so, so bad about this. They were sweet kitties. I didn't want anything bad to happen to them--that's why I refused to take them to a shelter, because I was afraid of what might happen. Now I'm thinking that would have been a more humane way for them to go, than spending two months in god-knows-what conditions and going through whatever brought them to this state.
I know it's not my fault. But I feel guilty--guilty, and sad, and angry as hell. People suck. They suck, they suck, they suck. It's just not fair.
I hugged Whitey and Snickers about a hundred times, after I got off the phone. Snickers tried to chew my nose off, and Whitey let out a "brrrt?" and shed about three pounds of fur on me--I'm pretty sure they didn't get the point of all that hugging.
God, I love these cats.
Okay, so cat's don't get "depressed" and die (they do get depressed, but usually they start to act out then). Is this person taking these cats to a vet? Because if not, you might want to report them for animal cruelty. What you're describing makes me think about whether there is some lead that they are being exposed to...lead toxicity happens much quicker in cats because they are smaller, than in humans.
ReplyDeleteThis is not your fault. They are Tim's cats and his responsibility.
Hug your kitties for me too.
Wow, this is awful. I am the type of person who gets teary eyed when seeing a cat that has been run over.
ReplyDeleteI agree these people should be reported. Then maybe the cats can be taken to a shelter and properly cared for. This is like that show Animal Cops on Animal Planet. Ever see it?
By the way, I love your cat pictures. They are adorable!
Like, seriously, call the Humane Society on whoever is taking care of these cats. This is not normal. My cat - a nervous, finicky, twitchy soul - moved from an enormous posh house to a tiny, sometimes mildly slovenly bachelor apartment AND WAS FINE.
ReplyDeleteI know it's not your responsibility, but there's a third cat here if my math is correct.
Poor Mikey. He's so darling in that picture.