Today Nelsen passed on. About 3 weeks ago he was having trouble breathing, we tried steroids which helped some, but then last week his breathing got worse again. He had a heart attack today as they tried to drain the fluid from around his lungs. The diagnose - lumphoma. He was probably born with it and his body has been able to fight it off for these 4 short years.
Nelsen was wonderful peaceful cat who came into my life on a whim, when a friend found him as an alley cat. Originally the plan was for him to live in the barn - but Bernadette had other ideas. She beat up on him, thus the move to the house. Horace and Sage accepted him - no big deal. My Dad called him "The Admiral" after Admiral Nelson from the battle of Trafalgar - do you know your British history??
There was a kittenish side to Nelsen occasionally, he was still young after all. He loved to grab my feet when I walked around in wool socks. And the morning ritual of rubbing my legs while I put the fresh goat's milk away after chores. He often followed Wendy and I outside in the mornings at chore time, although he usually didn't come to the barn. He just waited for us on the back porch to finish and then came back inside when we did.
He was only about 4 years old - I had expected him to out live Sage who has lived for 2 years with a tumor that we continue to remove. Sage shows no signs of being ill.
As with all our furry friends, we must out live them - I had just not expected this so soon.
We will miss you Nelsen - someday I will see you again.
I'm so sorry for your loss. It's never an easy thing.
ReplyDeleteI am so saddened to hear the news of Nelsen's passing today. I remember when he first arrived at the farm, and he resided in the barn, though that was short-lived! Nelsen made himself at home, not in the barn, but in the house. He is a beautiful, big boy of a cat, and he will be very missed.
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