Sad news and odd news.
My cat "Q", the Demigod of Death for anything Rodentia, has died.
I loved this cat quite a bit and quite frankly I am broken up about his being gone. But this odd little event is all that is standing between me and a breakdown.

He disappeared and was picked up by animal control. I visited him several times in the animal hospital in the past few days and we figured he had a stroke and would come around soon. The question of Rabies has now come up. Last night , after seemingly getting a little better, he died with no explanation. Since his rabies vac had run out he has been sent to the labs for mandatory testing. The problem is that he was drooling quite a bit and I have open cuts on my hands and arms.
Combine that with close contact trying to nurture and comfort my boy, and I stand an excellent chance for exposure.

Uhmmmmm...yeah.

Hearing the doc tell me this was like watching a repeat through a foggy window. I dont even know what to think and I have to wait two days before we find out if he was positive.

Like I said, this is bizarre.

At least my boy didnt die in pain, but I sure would have liked to have been with him.

Whoa... I'm sorry for the loss of a good friend and I hope everything comes back OK. Keep us posted.

Sorry to hear about the cat, SJ. From a health standpoint, however, the cases of feline rabies in the northeast are really low, so while its good they are being cautious, I don't think we will have to put *you* down.

I think you might have to worry about other mods changing your avatar text to "Ole Yeller", however.

I have had two cats die in my arms, though, so I understand. It's a hard bond to lose.

Sorry for the loss of the cat, SJ. Sad that it was so sudden...

Man, that sucks.

Pets are more then just pets, they are family members. My heart goes out to you.

About the possible exposure, not to over react but this is ultra serious - don't wait go get the anti -rabies shots now! Infected or not, its not worth the risk.

Agreed ^

an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure

Sorry to hear about Q,



Ez

My condolences to ya for Q.

You should consider shots. To risky not to have them. I believe there is now a pill one can take instead of shots.

We had a long talk with my doc last night and we all agreed that if he comes back positive we are going to treat the whole family. Its a 5 shot series that lasts 28 days. Since rabies is 100% fatal to humans, Im thinking I will not take any chances.

But, he was only out of scope for a year and recent studies have shown animals keep resistance to rabies (via vaccine) for much longer than the standard windows from vets.

Damn I miss my kitty. The house feels totally different now.

Thanks for the kind replies.

Coal black mate of mine
You schooled us in loyalty
Rest well, My Hunter


Damn. I cant tell you how loyal this cat was. How fine he was and how well he kept my kids under his watch. He didnt have any scrap of magic or "catness" about him. He was every bit the loyal dog...or maybe a Bear. Im not sure.

All I know is this...

Q was loyal.
Q Sung to both my children in the womb.
Q went for walks with us, but stopped at the edge of our property.
Q tolerated awkward pickups and rough handling by my girls with never a whimper or cry.
Q was the bane of any rodent that dared cross my land.

and best of all...

Q let us love him like a family member, even though he had no reason to trust us. He was thrown from a car on our road and we took him in.

Rest well my noble friend. Rest so well you need never come back.
For you have enhanced my life...simply by being here.

I shall miss you ...my loyal "Q".

SJ

( maybe I will tell you the story of his name when I get a little better about this.)

If you'd care to share, I'd love to see a picture of him.

(I miss my Kitty a lot sometimes. When I first moved back to Oklahoma to house-sit my mom's house out in the boondocks, I had no human friends but Kitty kept me company every night. She always knew when I was feeling lonely and it didn't matter where she was in the house, she'd come find me and jump on my lap...

Click to view attachment
SJ posted that in my PLOG, right about the time that Destructo-Kitty started breaking my stuff... Again...

RIP, Q.

Woohoo! Test came back negative! No shots for the girls!

Now I can move on with it.

Thanks for all the kind words.

SJ

Wow...he was small then...

Good to know, glad it worked out.