One Year Ago

I can not believe this day has come. It feels like its taken forever. 

Today is the ONE year Anniversary since My dear Coco's passing. He was put to sleep at approximately 10 A.M. I cant complain he lived a heck of a live, though I am sure the last 2.5 weren't as great, having to fight through his diabetes. Getting shots every single day, at times twice a day. He was a trooper, that was for sure, never complained.

Coco came into my life as a stray. He was found at one of Danny's friends house, looking for food. He was a baby & I was determined to take him home. I had never seen a better looking cat than him. When I finally did steal him, he spent the weekend at Danny's Moms house & then to my house, my dad wasnt having it. I already had a cat at home & my Dad was NOT going to let me have another one, specially with 2 dogs at home. I was determined to make it work. I remember he used to make threats to get rid of him, but I kept holding it off, eventually he forgot & Coco made my dad fall in love with him.

He sure became part of the family, always playing around & chasing after the dogs or making Annie chase after him.

He owned that house in no time. 

Once I got married & moved out, I moved in bad terms with my dad & he wouldnt let me take the Cat. That made me so mad, but as always, what ChristyAnne wants, ChristyAnne gets... as soon as we moved into our new house, I drove by my dad's to see if Coco was outside by any chance & if he was Id take him. Well, he was outside & the good thing was that he loved riding in the car, & he wasnt a scary cat that would run off, so I was able to grab him & take him with me. I remember a few days later my mom mentioned to me that my Dad called her frantic saying that Coco hadnt come home in a couple of days & was scared someone stole him, & he didnt want to tell me b/c he knew I'd kill him. 

Dad never knew the truth til 3 months later. :)

Coco was always the King of the house, & he knew it, but he was so patient with new dogs coming into the house, he already knew Annie & Sly, but his new patience was with Scoobie, with him being a puppy & all, but Coco took him in like a little brother & I loved watching the friendship that bloomed btwn those two... I am sure Scoobie misses him tremendously. 

Soon Coco met Yalee & they were best friends... she adored him tons. It was just amazing to see the patience he had with everyone. 

When he was diagnosed with Diabetes in September of  2009, it was a major shock for us. We thought it would be very costly to take care of him & the costs that go into buying all his supplies, but at the end of the day it was a drop in the bucket in expenses. I remember the times people would tell me to just put the cat to sleep, how can I be so stupid to spend all this money on him, well... UMmmmm... if you had a child that became asthmatic & was going to take a heck of alot of meds to become better & stay better & can live a normal life, would you put your kid to sleep? Better yet... there is child diabetes, lets use the same example, Umm?? Well yes those were the comments we would get when people would find out about Coco's illness & let me tell you, those people got cut out of our lives in 2 seconds. Coco was my furry child. Instead of speaking he meowed. I can guarantee my cat was smarter than their toddler. Not many understood & I didnt expect them to, but with comments like that... No ty. See ya!

As we were finding out what was wrong with him & why he was losing so much weight in such a short amount of time, I was bit. Yes, this kitty that I raised since he was 2-3 months old, bit me so hard it went through the skin & it was with very careful opening of his mouth that I was able to take his fang out of my hand. I didnt think anything of it... HEY its my cat, I know where he's been. But no! It was too late... cats have bacteria in their mouths no matter how clean u think their mouth's are. Due to them licking their paws that have dirty litter on it. My hand did swell & I was rushed to the ER where the puss was drained & I was told I was hours away from possibly losing my arm from the infection. A couple days later I did have minor hand surgery to finish removing the puss. It was NOT fun. But I never blamed him nor held a grudge. No Way! Hey at least I have a scare to remember him by.

Coco had his good days & bad, eventually in December of 2011, he started losing too much weight & it seemed like the insulin we were giving him wasnt working, but by the time we figured it out, it was starting to be too late. Sometime in the end of March, beginning of April, I noticed he wasnt doing too well. So he had been going to the vet every couple of days to be checked out & if anything be on fluids. They were even checking for other things that can affect a diabetic cat, on this particular day for some reason the vet didnt test him, but I took him home, intending on bringing him back the next day. Within hours, he went from fair, to bad to worse & we ran to the vet at 1AM. He was brought in & we were told he had Ketones in his urine, which can kill a cat within hours & this didnt just come up all of a sudden, the other vet could have prevented this if she had tested him properly. Eventually Coco stayed at the vet for 6 days & cost me a good arm & leg. Thank goodness Danny had just finished doing a decent size job in Tampa & we were able to cover the costs. Once we got him he was to be supervised pretty much 24/7... he didnt seem to be doing any better, but wasnt getting any worse. Until one morning Danny woke up & every time Danny passed by the room he would Meow at him, So he woke me up & came to check in on him. He was freezing, his paws cold & he was getting worse & worse... Thank goodness I knew the beginning signs of a seizure & we ran to the vet. By the time we got there he had had 2 seizures & the 1st thing they did was check his blood & it was in the mid 20's... he was minutes away of dying on me b/c his system was low on sugar. He was rushed to be put on fluids & then transferred to the other vet which opened at 830. Once again he was saved. To tell you the truth, Idk how many lives this cat had b/c he was one lucky lil man. 

During the next several weeks, he would come to the vet about 2-3 times a week, thank God for Banfields wellness plan. 

Many people asked me if he was good to go or if it was best to put him down & I said NO, hes good. I wasnt ready to play God yet, not again within 2 Yrs. Many people reading this may think Im crazy but then others will understand me... Coco & I had an understanding with each other, that HE would tell me when its time to go. I wouldnt have to doubt it. So I knew he still had some life in him... he was a happy cat, enjoying the puppies & still playing around. 

The last video taken of Coco on 6/29/12

( This video has me bawling as Im uploading it)

Then one day Friday in July, we notice he got picky with eating. I tried everything. But when I say everything, I mean everything. Nothing. As soon as Monday came along, we took him in & they put him on fluids & realized he was having more issues than they expected. To fix one thing it would take this medicine, but that one medicine would give him a bad reaction to something else & on & on... we gave him til Tuesday to get better & when he came home that day... him & I had that little talk & I prayed about it & I felt like there wasnt any weight on my shoulders. I didnt have any worries or anything. That night on July 24th to the 25th, I couldnt sleep. I woke up every 2 hrs & would go check on him. He wasnt getting any better. It was 3 AM & I sat on the kitchen floor on top of the dog's blankets & just sat there with him, watched him, talked to him, prayed to my Dad & all my other animals. Got us ready for the morning. 

These were taken at 3:50 A.M., July 25th, 2012

In the morning we went bright & early. I got to the vet & they put me in a room with him & they just let me sit there & we sat there for nearly an hour. The vet came in & she talked to me & she told me that is was the best thing to do, didnt look like he had anymore lives left. 

As we were there, I was talking to him & I prayed to my other animals & asked them to come be with him & take him to Rainbow Bridge. A couple minutes later I see his head move up & he starts looking around, I figured my other animals were there, he then all of a sudden tried meowing about 3 times, very, very lightly (like he had no voice or strength). I then knew it was time. I said my last good byes & was ready to give him to the vet. Yeah right, she had to take him from me... I wasnt ready to give him up. At least I know my other animals were there with him & he wouldnt be alone. 

& with that... he was gone. I did NOT watch them put him under. No No No. That scene scared Danny when Annie died & I knew it would scare me. I dont need to see that. I can feel it. 

That day we had a field trip with camp, I didnt want to go but I thought it would be best, to take my mind off him. But it was no easy task. 

This year has passed so slowly, it feels like torture. Remembering all this is killing me tonight & I really hate this feeling. I have barely dreamed of him this past year... that can only mean one thing- He's having too much fun up in heaven & in rainbow bridge. But I do know he's looking after me & the puppies & the kiddos. I know he comes to visit, the dogs seem to see him around here. 

Now that I think of it moving out of this house & heading to Tampa, will be hard. Knowing I am leaving this house behind, where he was last at. But I also keep in mind that he's a spirit now, he can go where ever he wants & with that, he'll be right there with me in Tampa. 

RIP Coco... Mommy loves you & misses you like you can't believe. I know you are there & always will be. There is no cat in this world that can love us the way you did & you are greatly missed in our day to day lives. We Love you- Papi, Sly, Scoobie, Yalee, ElleJai, TJ, Febz, & Monkey. 

July 25th, 2013