Tribute to Cue

Hi All,
I wanted to post a tribute to Cue and remember our happy times together. 

I met and fell in love with Cue in  March 2003 when he was almost a year old. At the time, I had his sister Blanca for about a year after bringing her home from my parents' litter of new kittens. I was still single and living on my own at my condo in Dewitt. I was also traveling a lot for work and felt sorry to leave Blanca so many times on her own. So, I thought another cat would be the perfect answer to her supposed loneliness. I found the pet finder website and liked the idea of adopting a cat from a shelter and giving it a chance for a better life. I probably looked at hundreds of pictures of other cats before I found a picture and description of Cue. But when I did, I knew from his sweet demeanor depicted that he was the cat for me. The interesting part was he was residing at a cat rescue in Allegan, which was a few hours from where I lived. After exchanging emails with the rescue owner, I took my friend Monica with me to meet Cue. When she told her husband Jim we were going all the way to Allegan to get a cat, he remarked "That cat better do cartwheels!" Well, he didn't do cartwheels, but he may as well have, because he did charm the heck out of me. Cue came out to meet us and rubbed up against our legs and wanted to be pet. The rescue lady (whom we referred to as the "cat lady") had a three year old grandson visiting, and he proceeded to yank on Cue's tail. Cue didn't mind one bit and Monica noted how good he was with children. I noticed a bit of discharge coming from his nose that was a little concerning, but the cat lady said he had just recently come down with a little something and that she could send some antibiotics with us to treat him. Then, just like that, Cue walked himself right into the cat carrier, as if to announce "Take me home!" And I did.

Blanca was not immediately happy with her new house-mate, which is to be expected. Cue stayed in his own bedroom for a few days so that we could ease into their interactions. They certainly learned to tolerate each other, but they pretty much never stopped fighting. (So much for curing Blanca's loneliness!)

Cue's nose discharge worsened and it took several visits to the vet and treatments to finally diagnose him with a chronic respiratory infection. The vet said sometimes when cats get an infection when very young, it can settle in and never really leave. We tried a round of steroids to treat it, but it wasn't a permanent fix. The vet finally asked me if I could live with it "as is", because it was not slowing Cue down in the least bit. So that's what we did. He was forever after the "snotty kitty", but I didn't mind. I always felt that someone had to take care of him, and why not me? Besides, all the love and affection he gave in return was well worth it.

Cue loved all the things most cats do. In his younger years, he loved chasing mice and other varmints and loved bringing home his catch. We had quite the raucous once, because Cue actually chased a chipmunk into the condo when I called him to come in!  He was so excited by it, I had to lock him in the basement so I could let the chipmunk find his way back out the door without further threat.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Cue. He is standing nice and tall, and you can see how handsome he is with his adorable white patches on his chest and belly.

While they did love to fight, Cue and Blanca didn't mind temporary reconciliations when a blanket, pillow, or cushion was involved......

or even a sunny napping spot on the deck......

I wasn't always successful at keeping Cue and Blanca off the kitchen counters. It was impossible to enforce any rules while I was off at work, so I pretty much gave up. Getting them a drinking fountain did help some. But, Cue loved to go in search of people food. He was especially fond of the butter dish.

Probably one of my favorite things about Cue was his affection. He was my lap kitty and always very affectionate. I could always count on him to greet me when returning home. I would scoop him up and hold him to his (and my) delight.

He loved to curl up with me on the couch and purr while I pet him. He loved to be near people and felt most comfortable around me. We took many a nap together, and he preferred to sleep in bed with me. He loved to be close to my head and would try to sleep as close to it as he could.

Jim and I met in 2006. Cue was happy to have one more person to pet him!

Of course, with Jim came Jim's dog Riley. The cats were not at all fond of dogs, and they had to learn how to deal with Riley. Blanca usually ran and hid, but Cue held his own. After a few run-ins, he and Riley settled in and peacefully coexisted. 

And Cue was even brave enough to claim Riley's bed as his own one day.....

Cue was an avid bird watcher. He used to let out the funniest "chatter" when he spotted a bird that he was especially excited to see. Cue and Blanca spent some time at my in-laws when we were in our "moving around" phase. There, Cue had the best spot in the house for his bird watching hobby, a sun-room surrounded by windows overlooking the back yard! Here Cue is in the sun-room in all his glory, taking it all in from the comfort of his cozy pillow.

And I suppose any avid bird lover also loves to be outdoors, for a chance to get up close and personal. I got Cue a collar with a bell to warn any unsuspecting birds. Here is Cue patiently waiting to be let out to see what fun he could find.....

Cue was a good sport when it came to household fun. Here he is at Christmas happily sporting the reindeer antlers that Blanca and Riley both adamantly refused to wear.....

Cue constantly wanted to be on my lap (or anyone’s lap), and he got plenty of it while I was pregnant. I was constantly tired! Here is Cue looking for some lap time....

The birth of Drew and Bree may have been the biggest adjustment for Cue. He really loved attention, and I know it was difficult when the twins were newborns for us to give much extra time and energy to the pets.  As far as lap time, there never seemed to be much of any available with two newborns to care for. I love this picture of Cue. Everyone is asleep and Cue seizes the opportunity to sneak onto Jim’s lap.

Still, he loved and accepted the twins as members of our family. As they grew, he became accustomed to crawling up in to their laps to cuddle also. 

And, remember the story of the three year old pulling his tail when I got him? Yup, he was a good sport about it to the end! 

Here he is mixing it up with Drew and Bree. He loved them!

Oh yes, I even caught Cue napping in the cribs on several occasions. I didn't approve of this, simply because Cue likes to sleep on heads. But he would never intentionally harm the children and no harm ever came of it.

While I was busy with the twins, Cue started losing weight and behaving strangely. It was Jim who said Cue should go to the vet, because he was looking awfully thin. We treated him for dehydration two times over a few months. But he never got permanently better and was hiding behind our t.v., darting around the house, having potty accidents and not wanting to be near us much.  In June, we ran lab tests at the vet and discovered his kidney failure. I was so sad to learn of his diagnosis. It was terminal, so I felt we were just handed a death sentence. I started to prepare myself mentally.  The vet gave us the option to put him on a special diet and give him fluid therapy, which meant injecting fluids under his skin via needle. The vet thought it may extend his life a few months, but there were no guarantees. I didn’t even know if I could do that. But Jim was supportive and said we should to try. Cue loved his special diet and was constantly begging to be fed. His gained weight steadily and easily, which was a good sign. We gave him fluid therapy every other day. Jim quickly became a pro at inserting the needle while I held Cue, and on good days we could perform the therapy in well under five minutes. While Cue initially avoided the therapy, we learned a few tricks to make it go smoothly. We fed him while we did it and also warmed his fluids. Plus, I think he learned it made him feel better and we were doing it from a place of love. He was amazingly transformed back into his sweet old self, and I was so happy to have my lovable kitty back. 

We knew he was feeling better, because he was back to sneaking table scraps and antagonizing Blanca. We have a rocking chair that Blanca spends a lot of time in, but Cue often would stir up trouble by jumping in next to her and starting up a fight. And, he was back to wanting to be his fun, cuddly self around the family.

What cat doesn't like to nap? Cue was no exception. He was one for finding the warmest spots possible. He loved sprawling out anywhere there was a patch of sun shining in. For this reason, he spent lots of time on the kids' diaper changing table which was located by the window. Here are a few other interesting napping spots he chose after his kidney disease diagnosis (when I think being warm was of ultimate importance to him).

While Cue was improving, I was still holding my breath and feeling we were on borrowed time. All I could think about was the vet gave us four months. When we started the therapy, I watched Cue closely for signs he was not feeling well. I never wanted him to suffer. But there were none, only a constant and steady improvement. A few months in, I stopped looking. He was doing fine.  His fluid therapy comes in bags that last us twenty days. In the beginning, I cautiously replaced them one at a time. But my last trip to the vet, I was so confident that I picked up two bags.

On October 7th, the four month mark arrived. Cue was in excellent shape, and I remember how thrilled I was that we made it. Jim and I talked about what a special day it was. I spent a little extra time with Cue and told him how great he did with his therapy. I envisioned him being around for years. That was Thursday.

And Friday brought the unthinkable. It was a shock and I hate that there was no warning. Looking back, I am in a strange way thankful for his kidney failure diagnosis. It was a bold reminder that we wouldn't have Cue with us forever. And it helped us cherish the last few months with him. He received lots of attention and surely loved the canned food that his special diet called for. I think he went out a happy kitty!

I miss Cue very much. I miss him tracking me down and climbing into my lap. I miss him asking for his food. I miss his funny meow and his warm purrs. He brought our family so much entertainment, joy and love. Deep down, I know the feeling was mutual.

I couldn't have asked for a better cat. There will never be another like Cue.  This is one of our last pictures of Cue. He crawled up to snuggle while I was laying on the couch and has his leg wrapped around mine.

This and the others are so typical of him, and that’s how I want to remember him – happy, rested, at peace, loving, well loved.

Cue, we love you and you will always be with us in our hearts!