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Alec
I met Alec on September 26th 2003 around 6:30pm. I was returning
home after a short trip to the grocery store when I noticed a small
cat on the side of the road. Sadly, I pass dead animals almost every
day out here. I see everything from deer, skunk, porcupine, fox to
cats. Normally as I pass the animal I envision a ring of light that
I visually toss around the body, then I imagine the ring grow
skywards in to a shaft of light. I like to think that the spirits of
the animals see the light and are able to find their way to the
other side with my help. I then have a moment of silence and tell
the animal how sorry I am and how much I care. Silly perhaps, but it
helps me to cope with seeing each animal.
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That fateful evening was different. I felt as if something was not
right before I envisioned the light. Something told me I had to
stop. I slammed on my breaks (I was traveling about 60mph) and spun
around in a tight U-turn, passed up the cat and spun around again,
stopping 20 feet behind the body in the middle of the lane. I could
see thick blood dripping from his mouth and as I opened my door I
noticed his little chest move and could now see he was struggling to
breath. I ran to the cat as several cars raced past me, turning to
give me dirty looks as I was blocking the lane with my car. Another
car came and pulled up by me. Not seeing the cat the passenger asked
if I was okay or needed help. I pointed to the cat and the woman in
the passenger seat looked shocked and asked if it were my cat or I
hit it. I quickly explained I stopped when I saw it on the road and
that I had to get it to a veterinarian right away. I had taken off
my jacket to use to pick the cat up, but as the other car was there
I asked the driver if he had a blanket or towel I could use. The
driver got out and went to the hatchback, opened it and pulled out a
white blanket and handed it to me. I thanked him and ran to my car
as he drove off. My groceries were all on the passenger seat floor
and I grabbed the bags and threw them into the backseat so fast
everything flew all over the back.
I ran back to the cat with the blanket in my hand and I started to
cry as I looked down on him. I gently wrapped the blanket around the
cat, who was still struggling to breath. I carefully placed him on
the passenger side floor and grabbed my cell phone. I called our
veterinarian to tell them I was rushing in with an emergency. The
receptionist answered and asked I could hold. I barely let her
finish the sentence as I cried out that I could not hold and quickly
told her who it was, that I had a cat who was hit by a car, I was on
my way in and would call back as I approached the office so someone
could meet me outside. I spun the car around and raced off faster
than I have ever driven on that road before, tears still flowing
down my face.
As I raced towards town I spoke gently to the cat, telling him how
sorry I was, how pretty he was and how I would help him. As I
approached the vet’s office I phoned and told them I was only a
minute or two away now and to meet me in the parking lot as I pulled
in. Two vet technicians came out to get the little cat from the car
and placed him on more blankets then ran in the office with him. I
jumped back in my car, backed it into a space and ran in the office.
Still in tears I told the receptionist that cost did not matter, do
what needed to be done. She told me two vets were in back with the
cat and to wait here, someone would come out soon. I was not able to
sit still. I paced the room still in tears. Finally our vet came out
and asked me to come in the examination room.
He explained that the cat had sustained a fractured jaw, many broken
ribs, a collapsed lung, his lip was pulled off and back to below his
chin, massive head trauma and cracked spine. He said he believed
that the cat would be better off if it were put to sleep and if not
there was only a slim chance it would survive all the surgery, years
of healing and he still would likely never be a normal cat again. We
decided it would be best to end the suffering and tears began to
well up in my eyes again. The vet handed me a box of tissue and left
the room.
I could hear the beeping of the equipment that was monitoring the
cat. Over the next several minutes all I could hear was the “beep,
beep, beep” then silence. I was crying harder now, questioning my
decision. The door opened and the vet came in. He told me we did the
right thing. The cat was no longer in pain.
I asked him about the cat and he told me the cat was a male, about 6
old and a Siamese mix, possibly part Himalayan. The vet planned to
have him cremated and have his ashes scattered on the ground by the
clinic. He told me I could stay in the room as long as I needed and
that he had to get back to a sick dog. He left and I heard him tell
someone to enter the cat’s name in the paperwork as "Tom-Cat".
As I drove home I decided the cat needed a proper name on the
paperwork. It came right to me. Alec. Short for "A LovEd Cat". I
called the vet and made sure the paperwork contained his name. I
also decided to pay for a private cremation. We have his ashes now
and keep them on the bookcase with Copycat's ashes and near
Electra's picture and Itchy's picture.
Alec was loved, if only for 30 minutes. Someone cared for him, I
cared for him. Cared enough to stop. Cared enough to bring him to
the veteranarian. Cared enough to bring his suffering to an end. I
cared. I still care. I will always care and I will think about him
every day. Alec, you are our unofficial CoolCyberCat angel.
I will always miss the CoolCyberCat I met on the road one very sad
evening.
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