One of a Kind Cats Who Loved Humans, Animals, and Car Rides!
After fighting with a very aggressive cancer for about six weeks, Tora took his last breath while my husband and I were beside him. He was so brave, strong, and courageous, and he never showed any wimpy attitude toward his illness. It was about “living” for him, and not “dying”.
My absolute favorite picture of Tora taken by my friend, Johnny, the cat photographer! Fall 2014
He was able to walk (slowly though) and get wherever he wanted to until the very last week. He has been a very active cat his whole life, so we were so thankful that he had good quality of life right up to a couple of days before his passing. He enjoyed going outside through a cat door, sat on a shelf watching the world go by, and Mikan (his rambunctious sister) literally goes by chasing lizzards, moths, and baby snakes. Even after he partially lost his balance in walking in his last week, he attempted and succeeded to move from where he was to where he wanted to arrive by taking short three steps at a time. He even managed to go upstairs alone to rest up until three days prior. I need to mention this, five hours before he was ready to leave for a cat heaven, he hovered on the floor to get in the litterbox! Although nothing was coming out, he “did” it by lowering his butt briefly. He was such a fastidious and clean kitty. It was so amazing to see his determination and dignity behind these actions!
A mobile vet who offers euthanization had been arranged for Monday, but he completed his life cycle by his own on Sunday. He stayed laying down in his bed as if he was taking an exceptionally long nap. He looked very calm and peaceful.
“Does anyone want to pick me up in the box?” He enjoyed the box-ride daily with a special song along with it.
Tora was my first cat. He taught me so much about cats, inspired me to be the best cat care taker for any cats on earth, having fun with cats in life, and make strong loving connections with cats. His typical day consisted of a regular super-chase with Mikan starting from the backyard through the cat door and the living room up to stairs to the second floor bedrooms, “sharking” walk around the kitchen counter at the feeding time, hide-and-seek play in the kitchen cabinet (he wanted us to call his name to look for him while he’s hiding behind the cabinet door), a couple of daily mutual grooming sessions with Mikan, and at night, a long lap time with Jeffrey, and when we were all ready for bed, he would come up on our bed, flopped down next to my shoulder to tuck me in for the night.
“Give me belly rubs, please!”
“I love sitting in my daddy’s lap while he’s driving. Not to worry, I didn’t attempt to drive.”
He was a very rare cat in that he loved a car ride. When his cat carrier showed up in the living room, he voluntarily went in and waited in there for us to close the door because he knew he would get a fun ride every single time, including a trip to the vet. He was also an official greeter to everybody who came in from the front door. He especially loved the house parties. He would sit down in our conversational circle and enjoyed the company. In fact, our most recent house guest came and stayed for several days before his passing. Despite that I had told her that she might not see Tora much this time since he had difficult time walking, she told us in the next morning that he came to her room to say hello to her by meowing and walking wobbly, let her pet him, and lied down on her computer/electrical cords. He had been always a great host and polite to all the guests over the years. He did his last assignment as a chief cat greeter so beautifully and completely. I am so proud of him.
Tora taught Mikan how to properly play-fight with him, but Tora lost some games… His sister has been grown up!
When Mikan came to our house three years ago as an orphan cat, he LOVED her from the day one – he started licking her as if he was her mother cleaning her. Well, Tora didn’t know Mikan had ringworm (we didn’t know that either!). They were a match made in heaven. They play together, eat together, sleep together, and groom each other for three years! She got lots of lessons from her big brother. I’m sure she has every skills needed by now to take over his role.
We miss terribly not seeing Tora physically because he was always around us, and pretty talkative on top of that, but when I go outside and being open to nature, he comes with the wind – I feel him immediately surrounding my body so gently with love and peace, sometimes, with playfulness.
“Selfie with Mikan and Mom.”
Lots of great memories…
In next blog, I will talk about my learning from taking care of Tora, and share the resources I have used and were very helpful dealing with the challenging time of caring a very sick cat.
“Selfie with Mom and Dad in my favorite car.”
Cats are very particular about choosing their favorite toys. They usually do not like decorative, expensive toys we get from a pet store. They like simple and inexpensive “stuff” around the house, like newspapers, shoe strings, a cap ring of a milk jug, etc.
