 Sex: Male
|
 |
|
|
Leave a treat for Studley
Nicknames:
Studmuffin, Studmonster, The Stud Man, Studs, Pumpkie, Fur Face
Quick Bio:
Coloration:
Gray Tabby
Arrival Story:
*In Memoriam*
I met Studley at the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, Long Island, New York in 1994. I had come to look for a male tabby as I had grown up with them. I was really looking for a kitten -- but the attendant showed me Studley (at that point named Mickey). He was about a year old, not neutered, but also not at all shy. He was looking around and interested in everything. Well, I took him out and held him -- I was with friends and I asked for their opinion. They thought he seemed so friendly and well-adjusted, particularly being in a strange environment with all different people handling him. I decided, after looking at a few other cats, that he was the one. I went to their Adoption Processing room and they took my references. After that I was sent to the Adoption Waiting room while they called my references and I paced like an expectant father! I was nervous and the large signs around the room saying "Are You Ready For a Fifteen Year Commitment?" made me even more edgy! But, I knew I was doing the right thing. I had grown up with cats (and hamsters). Our gray tabby cat Tiger had lived until he was 21. Now, here I was, 2 years later, waiting to see if this cat was going to belong to me. While I waiting I asked my friends to remain in the waiting room to hear when my name would be called while I went back to the cages to look at him again. While I was there, the young woman handler started talking to me about him. Apparently they had rescued him the night before from a shelter that was going to put him to sleep. This beautiful animal -- I just couldn't believe it! Then other people who were looking for cats came up, complete strangers, and told me how lucky I was to be adopting him because he was so handsome and so clearly friendly. The young woman then said to me that he was just so masculine looking, a real handome GQ kind of guy. I said "what a studly little guy he was". Now, growing up my sister had often referred to guys when we were in high school as "studly" if they were really cute. So, suddenly I knew in one of those rare bolts of lightening that actually do happen in life -- he was going to be Studley (I'm not sure why I spelled it that way but it stuck). He was a bundle of energy when we got back to my little studio apartment in NYC. I had wall dividers in my place that stopped a foot and half or two feet from the top of the ceiling. He worked out a way by jumping on my dining room table and then hopping onto one of the lower steps in the wall that he could run around the top of the walls! They were wide enough for him and because the wall dividing the dining room from the living had steps down each side he oould get up and down with ease. I also learned within 3 days of having him that while North Shore was backed up 2 months with a waiting list to have animals fixed -- I had better find a vet pronto -- because he was spraying my walls! By the third day he could cover 2 feet with one swipe of the tail! So fixed he was! In any case, Studley and I lived in NYC for about 5 years. Then we moved back to the suburbs to help my folks out when my dad got really ill. I commuted to work and Studley lived in house with lots of windows and lots of places to look at birds and squirrels or just lie in the sun. Years later I moved to Michigan to get a graduate degree. At that point I had to fly Studley to live with me -- at the age of 11! He was amazing -- I was more nervous than he was! Luckily, although he was a big 13 pound Tabby he still fit in a carrier under my seat. This was a good move for me, but a sad time. My father passed away right before I moved and I was living on my own in a town where I knew no one, although I knew I would make friends quickly with the people in my program. I just thank goodness for having Studley with me because I couldn't do it without him. However, things were not to always to be as I thought they would. After being there only 6 months Studley started sneezing a lot. Later he began to lose weight and bring up his food much too often. No matter how many times I took him to the vet -- and it was frequent, we never could determine what was wrong. Anyway, I moved back to the New York suburbs last May. He had alreay dropped to 11 pounds and had gone through many tests -- but nothing seemed to show what was wrong. During the summer the vomiting got worse and I had to bring him in often to my local vet at home who I was so happy to find -- a lovely, wonderful and talented woman vet. We had a specialist do an ultrasound and it looked like it might be pancreatitis, but it was hard to tell. We tried different meds to help with keeping his food down, but he just lost more weight over time. However, during all of this he was the wonderful, spoiled, demanding, adorable lap cat that he was. I often said it was amazing I got my graduate degree with him always on my lap and me trying to type research papers on the computer with one hand! He was the most loving animal -- when he was very comfortable in my arms he would lie on his back like a baby and scoot his head in my under arm and just look up at me with love (and some very deep purring). Anyway, the months went by and he seemed more stable by January and February. However, in late March he suddenly didn't want to eat and his breathing looked a little labored. I took him to my vet on March 24 for another ultrasound and we found out that he had very advanced Feline Lymphoma. I still don't know how he contracted it. He wasn't an outdoor animal so my vets had told me for years not to give him the feline lukemia shot and that's seems pretty standard nowadays. Anyway, I suppose I may never know and agonizing about it won't bring him back. I brought him home to make him comfortable -- we thought at first he had 2 days or at the most a week to live. He lived for another 2 and half weeks. Finally, his breathing became so labored that I brought him to my vet to have him put to sleep. It was so terribly hard, but they all told me I was doing the right thing. The hardest thing was that as sick as he was -- he was still Studley, still interested in things. The night before he'd even trotted over to me and jumped on a couch in order for me to pet him and hold him -- and yet he was so incredibly ill and thin at that point. I know he really truly loved me and that it was mutual. I made sure that during that whole two weeks I was always there for him -- I didn't even leave the house the whole time. I needed him to know I was there. I would tempt him with food or water and I would talk to him softly but the way I always did -- upbeat and happy to be with him. When I cried I left the room. He went so quickly and I know it was all for the best -- I made sure the last thing he saw was me. I miss him terribly and much of the time I'm not even sure I've taken it in completely. He's only been gone since April 10th -- but these seem like some of the longest days in my life. Still, I know I gave him the best life he ever could have had. And he gave me joy and happiness every time I was with him.
The Groups I'm In:
♥ TABBY CATS: WE HAVE THE 'M'!♥, ♥A TEAM♥, Hey! You Look Like Me!, All kinds of Tabby cats, New York City Cat Lovers, Stripe-y Tabbys, Tabby Boyz
I've Been On Catster Since:
| April 18th 2008 |
 |
More than 1 year! |
Catster Id:
772857
See all my Feline Friends
See all my Feline Friends
|
|
My Account
