Merlyn

My sweet sweet cat Merlyn has been with me for 15 years. Yesterday I had to put him to sleep. He has beaten some serious ailments over the years and has always come back strong. I know cats don't live forever and I've been dreading the day that I'd lose him. I wasn't quite prepared for it to happen all so quickly. Shortly after Colin was born, we moved him outside. Merlyn had always loved to be outside so I knew he'd be in his own element. My dad built a dog house for our dog but Merlyn was the only one who'd go in it so I guess it became his house. When I did yard work, he was always my little shadow. I truly enjoyed his company while I was outside. Colin simply adored him, always tried to hug him and love on him and surprisingly was very gentle. I worried about ole Merl since he had never been around children and had a full set of front and back claws but he was a totally different cat when Colin came around, he let him climb on him and poke at his ears. Anyone who knew Merlyn always thought that he was the coolest and most laid back cat you'd ever met. He was a big ole boy and had a full gut to show off. No matter what day of the week, Merlyn would wake me up at 6 am to let me know he was hungry by meowing in my ear and if that didn't wake me up, he'd start putting his paw on my cheek and finally if that didn't work, he'd sit on your head. The last time I had him at the vet he was 19 lbs and when I took him in Tuesday, he was only 10 lbs. The vet was very saddened by this rapid weight loss and very concerned about his health. I went outside Tuesday afternoon and the swelling in his face was so puffy that his eye was swollen shut and he was bleeding from his eye and nose. I was home with a sick Colin so I couldn't take him anywhere but as soon as Jay got home I took him up to the vet. I first noticed the swelling a few days prior but thought he got stung by something or Jay thought he got into a fight with another cat. Needless to say I already thought the worst. The vet examined him and decided to try to get some blood work done first to see what sort of health he was in. She initially thought he was bitten by a snake and because of his advanced age it had gotten infected which his body wasn't fighting off. Because of the amount of pain he was in they weren't able to get him still long enough to get some blood work and would have to sedate him. The vet expressed concerns about his overall health and if it was in the best interest to try to save him. I'm so very happy that she wasn't an all mighty animal lover that tried to talk me into thousands of dollars of life saving measures for an aging kitty. Although I wasn't prepared to make the decision to let him go so quickly. I knew it was the right thing to do and so glad that the vet sort of helped me make that decision so easily. I called Jay to let him know what was going on and immediately started crying (like I am now just reliving in) and then I called my mom. The nurse came in to have me sign all the paperwork and get the procedure going. I didn't want to be back there to see him die but now I wish I had been. To think that he died alone just makes me so angry at myself but the only thing that helps is that he was already sleeping from the sedation because his veins were in poor health that he had to be put under even to be put to sleep. It was so hard to come home without him knowing that he was back there dying and all happened within an hour's time. He's been with me for half of my life and has been there for me through all the moves like a trooper.

I got Merlyn from CAPS in Houston in February 1994. I was bitten by my own dog Toby the previous fall and we decided that a cat would be a way to go. I had him picked out but my mom and I decided to go over to the SPCA just to see what they had before I decided. We headed back to CAPS only to see the precious kitten I had picked out in the hands of another person. My mom went up to him and told him that her daughter had picked that kitten out and he gave him back to me. I named him Merlyn because of the "M" stripe on his forehead and at the time I was studying King Arthur in English class.

Thanks for the wonderful years Merlyn, I'll miss you terribly!