We are missing our dear Hermes

The photo you see above is of our cats Hermes and Plato. They always lay on each others hips and spent endless time together. The Yin and Yang of the cat world. That beautiful image is no more.

This photo was the last picture taken of the two of them together. Hermes passed away on September 18, 2002. He went from a young 2 year old healthy strapping tom cat to a deteriorated shell within 10 hours. It happened over night so, by time we realised what was happening it was too late.

We rushed him to the vet the moment we realised that he was not well.

The vet watched as Hermes convulsed and stumbled. He checked his lungs and his mouth as well as his eyes. After watching our poor cat spout liquid he explained to us that Hermes could only have one thing wrong with him. He had been poisoned. It was wise and humane to put him to sleep as there was very little left of him and there was no stopping the effects of what had happened. Our orange tabby was gone.

Martin went into work late that day and I returned home with our friend Dave in order to scrub our place from top to bottom. Martin and I had very little strength, as the experience was shocking, but life had to go on.

We had just moved into this place. After a hell of a move across this country (from Toronto to Vancouver) and the stress of recovering (financially, emotionally, physically...) which had already left us tired, we had to face this. Our sweet, strong cat was dead. His long flight from T.O., his first look out the window at the mountains, his new home in the world..... Gone. BUT! No matter what we felt at that moment we still had Plato and we WERE NOT GOING TO LOSE HIM AS WELL!

We left Plato at the vet's over night and scrubbed the house up and down. The only conclusion we could come to is that the previous renters poisoned the rodents residing in the cupboards. It had been explained to me at one time (when I worked for a groomer) that the poison can transfer into the droppings and that could poison the animal. I had heard about it but never thought it could happen to us. We had to clean every inch of this place.

Plato is home now. He spent a few days meowing for his brother. He seems okay but we still worry. He follows us everywhere and meows more than ever. He climbs up us for attention and holds on as tightly as he can. It's hard to make it seem like everything is alright. I keep saying that it's like a war and we lost a soldier, that we have to go on for those who remain.... It's a small comfort but it doesn't erase the pain and I expect it never truly will.

We have a new kitten now (pictures will be up soon - I hope). As much as it all still hurts I couldn't stand the thought of our Plato lonely. He's never been without a friend around. He's having a bit of a hard time with the new friend but he hasn't done anything really nasty. The hard part is keeping the kitten away from Plato's adult food. The little guy is only (roughly) 7 weeks old. At this time we're keeping the new addition with Dave at night. We have named him Phoenix as he is also Orange and with his longer hair he looks like a fire ball.

GOD! I HOPE THIS TURNS OUT TO BE JUST FINE.

PLEASE!! WHATEVER YOU DO, WITH OR WITHOUT PETS AT HOME, DO NOT USE POISONS. IN THE TIME IT TAKES FOR THE POISON TO KILL, A RODENT CAN TRAVEL ACROSS HALF A BLOCK OF HOUSES.

Thank you for your time.

Christina

(Martin and Plato)