Words you never want to hear

Post by: Dee

He’s sick, and had to be put in the Hospital….
That was the phone call I received when our cat, Bosco, had to be taken to the vet yesterday.

Bosco is a big lovable grey and white ball of hair. He and Rio, or female cat, were our first “babies”. They are our family. Any animal person knows that the term “pet” doesn’t cover it. They are more than that, they are family.

Last year when I joined Nate on the Mamma Mia tour, our whole family came. That included myself, and Bosco and Rio. The cats did awesome, and became road warriors like the rest of us. It was wonderful having our whole family together.

Then Lilia came along (yay!), and decisions had to be made. We knew there was no way to travel with a baby and two cats. But Nate’s job required travel, and without his job we didn’t have health insurance or his income. Both necessities.

The difficult decision was made to continue on the road, but find someone to take care of our beloved kits. (my lingo for furry kids). We toyed with the idea of having someone stay in our home and also take on the job of being cat parents. But I would only trust certain people to do that, and they weren’t available.

Then, to my relief, my parents agreed to be temporary guardians for our kits. I cannot tell you what a generous gift and blessing this was! Not only are my parents animal people, but Bosco and Rio consider them their second home. We’ve stayed with them often, and the cats Love, LOve, LOVE it there! They get to romp around the house, and watch their birds, go outside in their amazing backyard, and spend quality time in my parents laps or stealing their chairs.

There’s no question in my mind that the cats are happy there. I know they miss us, and not a night goes by that I don’t say a prayer for them and will them to know how much I miss them and love them… but I know they are happy, loved and well taken care of.

(Yes, I agree - it’s not fair that I had a baby and then left them to go on tour with my husband. It’s not fair to them at all. But I was between a rock and a hard place and a decision one way or the other had to be made. We chose to stay afloat and have income and insurance, and part of our family together. But, we eagerly await being reunited with the kits.)

Fast forward to now and Bosco gets sick..again. Yes, you see he’s had this problem previously and they warned me it could reoccur. It's like this - his plumping was backed up. Yep, he was impacted. As silly as that sounds it’s very dangerous for a cat. Thanks to very observant guardians they saw he wasn’t well and took him to the vet right away. Still, the call wasn’t an easy one to get. I felt even more guilt for not being there, and that he wasn’t well. Top that off with the fact that Rio seemed to miss him while he was in the hospital and I was a mess.

The good news came today when I found out Bosco was ok. He’s back at home with my parents and Rio and he’s almost his old self. He'll have to be on medicine, and may have to switch to some other food but at least he was already begging for food even though he’d just ate. Ata boy Bosco. Hang in there buddy, I’ll be home to visit you soon. I miss you both more than words or tears could ever relay.

Thanks for taking care of my babies Mom and Dad. I owe you much more than I can ever repay.