Neko

Neko first came into our life when Shannon was visiting her sister in the USA. Neko was a stray that frequented the house. Shannon said that he was so tired outside, trying to stay safe and alert that he would almost fall over. Shannon brought Neko in and proceeded with plans to bring him back across the border. Shannon had just got a tattoo of a Buddhist Prayer wheel on her hand the week before.

We chose the Name Neko as he looked like a Japanese Lucky Beckoning Cat, Maneki-Neko. He actually has raised his paw just like the Maneki-Neko on occasion.

When he arrived at our home, Shannon’s mother was living in the lower part of our home. So he was quarantined with her initially. It was discovered on a vet visit that he had Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). It is kind of a kitty AIDs. At that time we were told that it would be very dangerous to have him around other cats. Shannon’s mother had taken a trip so we had to feed it and tried to keep it company. He was adorable and cuddly. His fur was soft as a cloud.

After doing some research, and personal risk assessment, we decided that FIV was not quite as dangerous as presented. We decided to introduce him to our cats. He did quite well. At that time, our Alpha cat was Gusto. He was Gusto’s little buddy. 

All cats get sick, and Neko had a few close calls in his younger years. He had a respiratory issue that we were worried was going to kill him very young. He could barely breathe. We had to place him in a small bathroom and run hot water and use a humidifier so he could breathe. He eventually recovered. Later on he had a nasty abscess. It got messy enough for a surgery. Again he recovered

As he got older he saw many cats come and go and he learned things from all of them. Gusto and Tahl used to sleep on my neck and next to my head. When they passed on, he comforted me and took up their wonderful habit. He was there for me on many dark and lonely nights. My emotional support cat. Now that he is gone, I don’t feel the same peace that he could bring by pushing his head against mine just before bed. He would often hug my neck at the same time. He would start to purr and extend and retract his claws near my jugular. He never killed me, although sometimes I worried he might 😉 

When Gusto passed, Neko took the laborious job of being the Alpha. He was truly the glue that held the pack together. Wherever he was, they would soon congregate. Trolley, one of our most nervous cats, took a strong interest in him and would rarely leave his side. When Neko started having dementia, he would mount Trolley, and he would dutifully submit. The week after he passed they all seemed lost and depressed. But they are slowly finding their new places.

In his younger years, he was deathly afraid of thunder. We could barely find him during a storm. He slowly grew out of that as he got older.

He only took to one toy, and we could never find another like it that had the same magic to it. It was a large blue spongy felt mouse. It came with an Alpine cardboard cat scratcher. He would not really play with it, but walked around with it in his mouth while meowing. Often he would need to take a pee, drop it in there and leave it. We washed that mouse a lot! 

I remember he loved his paws rubbed and he would curl his paw to cup your finger. He liked his tummy rubbed and was always rolling around, exposing his tummy and doing ‘the cute thing’.

He loved his nip, but was not an addict.

He loved watching the water get flushed in the toilet. He would often wait when I used the toilet on the back tank, so he could watch the show.

When we got two new cats, Friendly and Rusty, we tried to introduce them. Friendly is very much a people cat and does not care much for cats. Neko saw this as a threat to his dominance and many cat fights broke out between the two. Picture a cartoon cat fight, a cloud with paws sticking out and that’s what actually happened. Afterwards there would be tufts of hair everywhere. I remember watching one fight as the both hugged and bit each other’s heads. There was remarkably very little blood. Neko was around 10 lbs and friendly is 20 plus. To Neko’s credit, he held his own. I initially tried to break it up, but realized too late that they need to work it out for themselves. It took some time, and maybe the dementia helped, but eventually they got along as well as two rivals could. I even saw Neko lick Friendly’s head a few times. 

Around the age of 12 or 13 we found out he had a Kidney Disease. We settled on Potassium supplements and Kidney friendly foods. Since we have 5 cat’s we had to pretty much hand feed Neko so the others would not eat all his food. It was a lot of work, but it gave me a lot of Neko time. And the other cat’s were there too, as I had to fight them off as he ate. Along with the Kidney issues, he had what could best be described as dementia. He would walk into a room with a spacy stare and leave, like he forgot why he came. He would see us and look at us if he just remembered who we are. But all in all he did very well. He may have had kidney issues for much longer. He had always had a hard time evacuating his bowels. So one wonders.

We have a nice large Cateo that we open up in better weather. He always loved staying outdoors. But during his last two years, he would stay out in the nip and grass, sun up to sun down, and have to be dragged in. He would not come in to eat or drink. He seemed at peace, and I think he understood, he should see as many sunrises, and sunsets, as he could.

I never realized how much noise Neko made without actually making a sound. His presence was his voice. He only meowed with his mouse, he made a lot of deep digging sounds in the litter, and purred me to sleep. The rest of the time he was stoic silent.  With him gone, it is so very silent. No sound whatsoever. Our home sounds like a tomb.

His last week he knew it was over. He often wandered aimlessly around the house looking for something. Like someone doing ‘one last look around the house before they go’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISmTP2E-XbU

We took him in. When the doctor came in with Neko she placed him on Shannon’s lap where she comforted him. The infusion tube was a foot or more in length. I watched as the fluid slowly made its way to the needle. Just as the fluid reached his arm, there, he looked up into my eyes for the last time. And then his eyes went dead. I was the last thing he saw. I will remember him.

When a cat passes, happenstance usually brings a song to mind that I will associate with that cat. With Neko there are so many that I hear and think Neko. If I had to pick 2 it would be: