The General aka Louis

[tammy]

RIP Louis hope you're well now...

[sonya]

So sorry about Louis , just take comfort in the fact that you gave him love and care during the last months of his life, I echo Beccas thoughts about insurance, its a must nowadays.  Hope you do find the strength to get another one, the love they give you back is priceless

RIP Louis, say hi to my Toffee at the Bridge little man

Sonya
  x

[carl (billy and baggys dad)]

RIP Louis. You should take solace in the fact you loved him when it mattered.

[Littlebobo]

RIP Louis xx

[Beccles]

I know its a tiny drop when the main issue is the emotional stuff BUT if you got another puss and insured him/her ASAP it would at least protect you from the financial hardship again... I do hope you feel able to again, one day and I'm really sorry about Louis 

[The_General]

Thanks for all your lovely messages.

At first I couldn't get another cat as I was so upset and didn't want to 'replace' Louis. However as I said in my first post, I now feel ready to take on another cat, but my OH is really concerned about the cost and we don't really want to put ourselves in that position again.

I know it was just really unlucky that we only had him for 2 months and he cost us a fortune, but it does make you think twice when you don't have lots of spare cash anyway.

Ela... I don't think I would ever feel like 'thats it I cannot go through that again'... no matter how traumatic it was, I would happily do it again for another animal to ensure they are happy.

I know sometime in the future I will definitely get another cat, it may just be a few months away (hopefully not years).

Keep your fingers crossed for me with regards to nagging OH anyway 

[Marie]

I had something similar happen with my cat Kyle.  He was found as a stray and came to live with me.  He was matted and had to have part of both his ears taken off.  I only had him for 6 months but he was my baby and I loved him, then terminal cancer of his ear was diagnosed and I had to let him be put to sleep, I was heartbroken.  After about 5 months we were thinking of getting a kitten when a 5 week old kitten was abandoned at the animal rescue where my sister works.  Decision made, we then got Tommy to keep Maisy company and whilst I still think of and miss Kyle loads, Maisy and Tommy make me smile and have helped take away some of the pain. 

[Ela]

I am so sorry I hope it does not make you think 'thats it I cannot go through that again'. Sometimes when we lose a much loved pet  we say 'right that's it I can't go through that again', however I  feel that if you can offer a home to another little one it helps with the healing process, helps the little one you are about to adopt and also makes a place for another that is NOW waiting to come in and having a bad time.

TAKEN FROM AN INTERNET SITE:- Dr Sue Duthie at the University Glasgow, has stated that  recent research has shown that cats infected with FIV can live just as long as uninfected cats .A long-term FIV Monitoring Project was also carried out at Glasgow Veterinary School over a number of years and the results indicated that a higher percentage of FIV negative cats died than FIV positive cats! A fourteen year study by Maureen Hutchison B.Sc, BVMS, MRCVS  found that FIV-positive cats are more likely to die by being killed in road accidents or to be alive and well into their twilight years than they are to die from any FIV related condition. Also, a recent survey by Dr Diane D. Addie (Lecturer in Veterinary Virology, University of Glasgow) where 26 cats were monitored for ten years, found that FIV infection did not affect the cats’ life expectancy.

[chrisleitz]

I'm sorry to hear you only had such a short time with Louis.  He sounds like quite a character.  You probably gave him the best time in his life and he went knowing he was loved.
RIP Louis.

[The_General]

I just wanted tell my story as without CC, I would never have met my little baby. The General aka Louis came to our home in May 2006. As we live in a flat, after a lot of research we decided that an FIV+ cat would be most suitable for us. Louis came to us, settled in straight away and brought us so much happiness - he was my little baby.

A few weeks in, the unbelieveable amount of water he was drinking eventually led to a trip to the vets. Louis was diagnosed with renal failure. After being on a drip for 4 days , i was eventually able to bring him back home on a special diet and 2 weeks supply of antibiotics. He had the most hurrendous water infection ever which I felt so guilty about because I had never noticed the colour of his urine was bright red.

Anyway, we battled on for another 4 weeks, but the urine infection was not improving. His diagnosis of FIV+ was not helping him to fight this case, and after a very upsetting evening watching Louis obviously in some pain, it was decided to have him pts. I can honestly say this was one of the worse nights of my life. My OH was away with work and I had to make the decision myself and take him to the vet, meanwhile feeling terribly guilty that my OH did not get a chance to say goodbye.

Louis was approx 12 years old, and I hope that I made the last couple of months of his life very happy. He was found wandering the streets on the Wirral, was in right old state with lacerations etc and then he had cat flu as well. But what a fighter he was and he brough me some very happy memories.

At the moment we don't have any animals but I really do miss the company of a cat - currently nagging OH to let me get another one, but even though Louis brought us some happy times, we became so attached to him in two short months, that it was really upsetting when he went to the bridge.


RIP little man xxxxx









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