Remington

Years ago, Jeff and I decided we needed a cat.  Well, anyway, I decided we needed a cat.  We used to visit the Ames animal shelter on a regular basis.  In no time at all we found an adorable orange kitten who needed a home.  Jeff agreed.  He was THAT adorable.

We named him Remington, because he is a classic tabby with the bulls-eye pattern on his sides.  We had an old advertisment that said "Remington High-Speed 22" and when he would race around our house, that's what we called him.

He immediately claimed a place in our home.

Like all good cats, the mighty hunter brought his first kill to show me

Remington has such a great personality- not too shy, and not too needy.  He adapted well to the changes in our family, like moving to different houses.  And babies being born.

Remington helping me pack coats when we were moving

A new puppy was a huge adjustment. 

Remington liked to sleep in the baby's car seat. 

He apparently felt the need to continue claiming his place in our house!  Yes Remington, you are still our baby!

Erin pretending that her stuffed cat is nursing on Remington

Christmas 2009

When Remington was six years old he developed some issues.  Most noticiably, he was urinating a lot more than usual.  He also had some sores on his chin called feline acne.  We took him to the vet and were shocked to get the diagnosis of feline diabetes.  We were faced with a choice- either put the cat on a strict diet and give him insulin injections twice a day, or not.  If we chose not, Remington would get sicker and sicker and eventually die.  Giving a cat- all that fur!- injections was really hard to get used to, but we did, and he thrived.  He has had some ups and down with his health, but most of the time he is a happy, healthy, regular cat.  And we have been giving him insulin shots twice a day for six years now!

Cats like to sleep in bags

and coats, and baskets of clean laundry.....

We recently switched veterinarians, and Remington's blood sugars had gotten out of whack.  Last Saturday evening Remington seemed to be doing OK.  He decided he wanted out, and was begging at the door incessantly.  I gave in and opened the door.  I figured he would want back in as soon as he felt the cold.  Instead, we watched him hop off the deck and into the dark.  We went after him a few minutes later but he was already gone.  Jeff and I spent two hours walking around in the dark, and then the dark and the freezing rain searching for him.

We waited up all night.  We kept all the outside lights on.  We kept calling for him.  He was gone.

The next day it was 32 degrees and rained on and on.  We kept looking, and we hung up a sign for our neighbors to see.  Remington has never been outside longer than a few hours at a time.  And he always came back.  Something was really wrong. 



Monday morning (today, 2/11/13) a neighbor called, and Remington was on her deck.  He was very, very cold and very, very dehydrated.  Jeff took him immediately to the vet.

Earlier this year- Rem taking it easy

Remington is at the vet getting tests done, and being kept warm and rehydrated.  We have been told that he may die tonight, or he may get better and able to come home tomorrow.  We are praying for the best.

When we learned that he had diabetes I couldn't imagine taking care of him for six more years.  Now that he has been with us so long, we can't imagine not having him.  I know in my head that we have been blessed to have him twelve years.  But my heart, my greedy heart wants more.

I will keep you updated.