Vicious and his litter mate, Rotten, were found abandoned together at 1
week of age in 1990. They were fostered for 3 weeks and we got them at 4
weeks of age. We had to bottle feed them and litter train them. They were so
cute, hence their names ☺. They were loving
brothers and played and cuddled together. They have lived many places, from
San Francisco where they were born, to New York, and a cabin in the woods –
their favorite place, I believe. They had a cat door and together tag-teamed
to chase away raccoons. Later in life, they lived in a house with a fenced
yard, and together they worked the perimeter to keep away intruders. Vicious
survived an attack by a pack of dogs in ’98, and the emergency surgery,
hepatitis and spleen disorder he developed as a result.
They traveled across country twice in a car and twice in a plane, and camped
in the woods. Hippy love cats for sure.
Vicious had one toy since he was tiny that he kept with him all his life.
His string. Like a security blanket. There is a picture of him totally
airborne, flying through space to catch that string. He especially like to
chase it in circles, catch it between his teeth and walk the house
vocalizing and holding his head and tail proudly. If you held onto the other
end of the string, he’d walk you like a dog around the house. We would find
his string in his food dish, his water dish, his litter box, and our bed.
Rotten used to sit on one of our chests and hit us in the face with his paw
when he wanted breakfast. He would silently come up behind us while working
at the computer and tap one of our elbows – pretty freaky when you think no
one is around. Rotten could pretty much speak English – he understood it and
would have spoken if he could. He also would have smoked cigars and drank
whiskey if he could. He did drink beer and liked olives.
At age 12, Rotten developed diabetes and kidney failure. We treated him with
insulin shots and Sub Q fluids for a year and a half. Rotten sat so
patiently as we tested his blood sugar from his ear, gave him shots and
fluids. After a year and a half Rotten suddenly developed symptoms of
congestive heart failure that could not be treated and he had to leave us.
He was almost 14, but still, too young to go.
Vicious stayed with me through divorce and career change over the next three
years as he slowly developed chronic renal failure and declined in health.
In his last few months, he no longer played with his string – a shocking
event caused by weakness of the hind quarters. Eventually at almost 17, it
was his time and he stopped eating and walking. He sat with his head on my
shoulder all day his last day.
Since their departure, they have both visited me and given me signs of
wellness, wholeness and happiness, as well as togetherness. It is a blessing
to have their guardianship. Even as I live without their physical presence
in my daily life, they affect my life in many ways. And I still miss them.
Joya C.
