Loki’s Forever Home

We don’t know what his name was before he became our cat. A friend of mine found him wondering the neighborhood in early winter he was skinny and shaggy and so lovable. She took him into her garage and fed him and cared for him while asking on Facebook if anyone knew him or wanted him because he seemed like a good cat and needed a loving home before the hard part of winter set in. She posted a picture of him on Facebook and my heart just melted. I knew he was suppose to be mine. He looked like the twin of a cat I had as a girl who had lots of health issues and died too young from them. I had loved that cat so much and I thought adopting this boy would help my heart heal from her loss. 

I contacted my friend right away and made plans to bring him home. We got him fixed and vaccinated and on Dec. 1st , 2022 he came home to me and gained the name Loki. No better name could fit this cat who was playful and mischievous loud and unruly! But he had a loving heart when he was ready for it and only then and if you didn’t pet him enough you got a playful nip like “hey! Did I tell you to stop!?!” 

Loki helped pull me out of a dark depression and seems to always know when I need a snuggle or one of the kids does, without a word there he is suddenly putting in your lap. He loves our dogs even the new puppy we just got he plays with her and is so loving cleaning her coat when she will sit still for him to do so! 

He had what we thought were allergies or a cold when I got him and despite the vets best attempts could t seem to find a med that chased it away. I had found some lumps on him recently which led me to believe he might have feline leukemia. He had been losing weight breathing heavily and having trouble chewing and so we took him in this morning at 8:20Am (March 4th, 2024). After discussing more in detail with the vet and looking at the lumps and considering his history we tested him for feline leukemia and FIV. They also sampled one of the lumps. 

While it was a relief it didn’t seem to be cancer it wasn’t good news either as he had FIV. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) is one of the most common and consequential infectious diseases of cats around the world. In infected cats, FIV attacks the immune system, leaving the cat vulnerable to many other infections. Although cats infected with FIV may appear normal for years, they eventually suffer from immune deficiency, which allows normally harmless bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi found in the everyday environment to potentially cause severe illnesses. Though there is no cure for FIV, recent studies suggest that cats with FIV commonly live average life spans, as long as they are not also infected with feline leukemia virus. which in most cases might seem like good news but with all his other symptoms and investigations by the vet it was determined Loki has reached the end of his bodies ability to fight this virus. 

One of the biggest signs being how large his lymph nodes are, he’s sneezing blood sometimes, and he is chattering his teeth and drooling which means he’s in a lot of pain. The best thing we can do for him now is to put him to sleep so he doesn’t suffer any more than he has. At the moment this is a cost we were not prepared for and it’s hitting me double hard as it’s like losing my boo-boo kitty all over again. 

I have two kids whom are very attached to this cat as well, one too young to really understand but my daughter heart is shattered. When my grandfather passed in September this cat was both her comfort and mine as we cried together learning to navigate life without grandpa and now we are going to lose are very loved fur baby. I would like to have him cremated which I have never done with a pet, I have always lived in the country where we could burry our babies ourselves. But I don’t live out in the country anymore and we don’t have a space to put him safely. I found an urn on Amazon that looks like him curled up sleeping and would also like to get my daughter and I fur lockets and ash necklaces to keep our baby safe and close to our hearts. I promised this cat regularly when we snuggled and talked that this was his last and forever home and I want to keep that promise to him as well as comfort our family through another loss that’s just too close to home. 

As you know I am sure vet bills can be very expensive especially with added things like cremation and they charge extra to put him to sleep with us present but I can’t send him off alone. Nobody deserves to die without their loved ones holding onto them. Todays visit cost us $115.00 which isn’t what I was quoted or had to give today but we did what was best for Loki and made it work. The cost to euthanize him while my daughter and I sit with him is $100.00. The cremation and to have him returned in just a felt sac is $204.00. Then the urn on Amazon is $50.00 and the necklaces range from $14.00 up to $60.00 or more. I know everyone is struggling in this mess of an economy, everyone had their own bills and things to attend to but if anyone had anything to spare to help us help Loki one last time and bring him home to us to keep our forever home promise I don’t think I could ever express how grateful we would be! Thank you for taking the time to read this, share it, and donate if it was possible.