Denny's Eulogy

I’m sorry to inform everyone that yesterday, August 15, 2020, at around 3:00pm, Denny crossed over the Rainbow Bridge to heaven. He spent a beautiful morning outside in the sunshine at his forever home, and was then peacefully put down, surrounded by the people who loved him most in the world.  

What most of you don’t know is that, for the last 4 months and 10 days, Denny was taken into a home by a beautiful and kindhearted couple, Angela and Mike. They’ve been patrons for years at the local Denny’s restaurant, and have always wanted to adopt Denny. Because of this GoFundMe, I was able to connect with them, and it was a perfect fit.  

We weren’t sure of the timeline, but in early April, Denny fell very ill, so Angela and Mike took him in right away.  

They quickly nursed him back to health, and we got to see an amazing new side of Denny - he is a total lap cat. He loved to just lounge all over the bed and cuddle. He loved playing with toys! A senior cat, playing like a kitten? It was the most adorable sight.  

He fell in love with Mike and Angela, and they fell in love right back.  

They were attentive, giving him fluids weekly  (because of his recently-discovered moderate chronic kidney failure), and then daily, at the end. They took him regularly to the vet, and regularly had Patricia, Denny’s long-term caregiver, come over to visit. One bright side to the pandemic is that Mike was home all day, working in his home office, where Denny spent most of his time. They also took turns sleeping with him to make sure he never felt lonely or bored.  

He quickly took to his new pampered lifestyle, and became quite the diva. He knew exactly what he wanted, and would very loudly inform you if he wasn’t getting it. (Here he is, yelling when Angela stopped petting him for 0.5 seconds)

But he still had all the love in the world to give.  

Over the months there were a lot of ups and downs with Denny’s health - in February, he was diagnosed with Moderate Chronic Kidney Failure (this is what spurred on our search to find him a home). His teeth became an issue, but he had a heart problem that made it dangerous for him to be put under for a dental. He also came down with an apparent upper respiratory infection. And the biggest problem was his eventual diagnosis as being FIV+. This created a problem for Mike and Angela, who had intended introduce Denny to their other cats and integrate him into the pack. However, they didn’t have any FIV+ cats in the mix, and they didn’t want to risk the rest of the cats’ health by introducing this disease into their healthy group of cats.

Mike and Angela tried a twice to settle him into forever homes that seemed like the perfect fit... but Denny had decided that he knew exactly where he wanted to be. He made it very clear that he did not want to be anywhere but with Mike and Angela.  

[Content warning - descriptions of animal injury (non-graphic) and upsetting side-effects. If you don’t want to read this part, skip ahead to the next set of brackets]  

About three weeks ago, Denny started limping on his back left leg. They thought he might be injured, and took him to the vet. After several tests, there were no injuries that could be found. The leg was diagnosed with neuropathy. However, Angela and Mike were hopeful that with acupuncture, physical therapy, and other treatment, Denny could regain mobility.  

Unfortunately, after one week, he started dragging around that back left leg. And then the other back leg started failing as well. He was almost completely immobile, and had a lot of trouble going to the bathroom. He stopped eating and drinking on his own. He was tired and frustrated, and was looking at a life of limited mobility, little dignity, and eventually, more pain than would have been fair to put him through. (Fortunately, he never reached the point of being in pain.)  

[End description]  

After a lot of consideration and communication between Mike, Angela, and Patricia, they made the very difficult decision to let Denny pass on with dignity, peace, grace, and comfort. He was not alone for a single moment in his final 72 hours, and passed away in his home, euthanized in his beloved bed, being petted and comforted by the people he loved and trusted most.  

This is a tragic development, but I need to thank all of you on this GoFundMe. Because of your gracious donations, Denny had the absolute best care imaginable for his last few months. He wanted for nothing, and he was supported by a huge community. He had all the love in the world.  

We’re still billing everything out with his vet offices (with the pandemic, everyone is struggling to keep up with emergency demands), so we still aren’t sure exactly how much his care cost. Once we have those totals, we will, as discussed, donate the remainder to the Community Cat Advocacy Team of Springfield, Oregon.  

As a little addition, I’m going to include a few diary-type entries from Angela that I intended to put in an update at some point.  

Denny was excellent for his first ever bath! He preferred being towel dried than me using the hairdryer.  

  

Denny won over both Mike’s and my heart as soon as he came to our home! ❤️  

 

Denny loves the bed that Patricia gave to him!  

One of Denny’s favorite places to take a nap, Mike’s desk chair!  

Denny taking ownership of me on one of our many snuggle in mornings!  

Denny’s first time venturing outside in our yard on a leash and harness!  

Denny on his daily kitty cart ride through the neighborhood to get some fresh air. He absolutely loves the kitty cart!  

Denny just hanging out soaking up the sun on his face! 😸  

We are out at the tennis courts with him right now!  

Mike and Denny take a selfie!

Denny all tuckered out after playing with his toys!  

Denny sometimes likes to watch tv sitting like a human! 😂  

Denny sure does like to sit in this position!  

Denny in his beef cake pose. (What a hunk!) 

Denny saw a girl cat around here yesterday... he seems to be looking for her!

Denny had some glamour shots taken before he went to the first attempted (and rejected) home

😻Denny always warms my heart when he lays his head in my hand! I absolutely love this boy with my whole heart! ❤️  

Hope this helps you with your update on Denny’s GoFundMe page. Now I’m crying again, thinking of him leaving us [speaking of rehoming him]. We do so very much love him! 💔  

Some of the last photos taken of Denny, on his happy morning - he was vibrant and alert the whole time

Denny is a very special cat who meant so much to so many. He was around 14 years old, based on his vet’s best guess - ancient for a street cat! He was so well-loved and well cared for, and he had the happiest last few months he could have possibly had.  

We’re impossibly sad to see him go, but so fortunate to have gotten to know this beautiful soul who touched so many of us. Thank you all for your love and support.