Goodbye Charlie

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As some of you will know already, Charlie sadly passed away on what I call Christmas morning (December 24th - the day Christmas is celebrated in Scandinavia). In spite of his multiple ailments it seemed that he initially made some good progress. Began to eat of his own volition (initially he had to be force fed due to painful ulcers on his tongue), did his toilet, purred and even sought our laps for cuddles and intimacy (he was a feral cat!) - and he seemed very present in his eyes. I knew though that it wasn't good with Charlie. He had many possible diagnoses - flu, clamydia, leukemia and feline aids. Two days after bringing him home he stopped eating again. His eyes went glazed and I could see he was suffering. I had told him that I would do all I could to help him - but I also told him that if he was in too much pain that it was ok to leave his little fur coat. DH and I did all we humanly could to encourage Charlie. We tried to make him as comfortable as possible and delighted in having him purring in our laps. In this image I am having a quiet moment with Charlie - brow to brow and he was purring.  

Unfortunately Charlie's suffering was to such an extent that he was beyond bodily repair.  When we brought him back to the vet he was examined by another vet who gave the diagnosis: diaphragmatic hernia (caused by being hit by a car, falling from a high place or being kicked - and making breathing extremely difficult). Or just simply a very bad virus. We agreed to try intravenous antibiotics and fluids in the hope he could recover again, but it turned out that it most proabably was the vets first diagnosis  This poor boy had suffered terribly - most likely with internal injuries plus a flu and the ulcers on his tongue. As you can imagine - I so badly wanted him to recover to experience a good life. If any cat deserved to experience it it would have been Charlie. I rest reassured that Chalie knew during the last days of his life that he was loved and cared for. He was seen. He did not go unnoted. He was a beautiful soul. One of God's little people.