Posted: 2/27/2026 8:02:48 PM EDT
[Last Edit: ME2112][Edited]
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Monday night I got home from work, said hi to the cats and topped off the bowl since it was about 17 bits from full, and my big boy Skitter started eating. I went in my room and was watching something on YouTube when I heard a strange sound. Stopped paying attention to YouTube, heard it again, and stopped the video. Looked out the bedroom door, “Skitter?” Got up and he was on the bathroom floor, not moving. Grabbed him by the scruff, it was like picking up a wet towel. Put him on my bed, listened to his chest, no heartbeat, no breathing, just faint gurgling. Opened his mouth, nothing in there. Pushed his tongue down with my pinky so I could see farther in his throat, nothing. Pupils were fully dilated, if there was 1mm of iris showing around them I’d be surprised. Touched the eyeball with my finger, no reaction at all. From the time I first heard the strange sound to when I picked him up was maybe 20 seconds tops. I was holding him on my shoulder for a few minutes and felt something wet on my shoulder, when I looked there was a little blood trickling out his nose. Aneurysm? Stroke? Heart attack? Whatever it was he basically dropped dead in his tracks from it. Hopefully I’ll be that lucky. How old was he? That’s a good question. 3 people who knew or had him before I got him gave 3 different answers. My best guess is 11-14 years. The other 2 cats (both girls) don’t seem to notice or care, I’m sure they notice because neither of them liked him. He was twice their size and got aggressive when playing. Before I got him he lived with a dog bigger than him so he didn’t have to watch his strength. I had him on Prozac, between that and me paying attention to redirect him there was a somewhat shaky cease-fire that held up for the most part. I’d try to explain to Biscuit (one of the girls) that when she stared at him first she can’t claim to be the aggrieved party. So now it’s just me and the girls, I’ll let the Cat Distribution System work and deliver the right one at the right time. I miss my buddy.   |
| Thanks everyone. He was an awesome cat, very well-behaved on the 140-mile semi-annual round trip to the vet (for bloodwork due to the Prozac.) I let the cats ride outside the carrier and he always just sat/lay on the seat purring his heart out or looking out the window. No screaming like Biscuit or drooling like Lucky. One of the best things was that for a long-haired cat he rarely got poop stuck in the fur around his butt. I was always ready to clip it but never had to. He rarely said anything, I doubt I heard him meow or make any other sound 10 times in the 4.5 years I had him. Which was probably why I knew it was him that night - I’d heard every sound the girls could make and it wasn’t one of them. |
