Finn, My Precious Angel

by Kaitlyn
(Austin, Texas, US)

From the time we brought Finn home as a kit, he was the baby of the family and the center of attention. He had such a sweet and playful personality that everyone who met him instantly fell in love; even a friend of mine that was scared to death at first ended up snuggling him on his lap. Finn loved to rob things out of purses, turn over trashcans, smuggle tampons out of the bathroom cabinet, and try to pull the too-big egg cartons under the couch. He adored shoes and socks, and spent a lot of his time inside of them. It was the funniest, cutest thing to watch him flip around and play in the beanbag, which made crackling sounds whenever he moved. Though it was kind of a pain to clean them out, we always laughed when we found the assortment of "treasure" he had stuffed into his hidey-holes under the couch, under my bed, and especially under my sister's bed. He went by many names, including Pooper, Mr. Poop, Goober, Mr. Goob, Sweet Boo Boo, Dr. Doo Doo, and Precious Angel.

We lost Finn after only 15 months, on January 15th, 2013. He developed the symptoms of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), but at the time we didn't know what he had. After many unhelpful vet trips, we began having to feed him a special liquid mix every two hours that my mom made special for him to keep him hydrated. It was heartbreaking to watch him get better, worse, better, and then worse again. After two weeks of seizures, lethargy, problems going poo poo, and finally the inability to walk, we took him to a ferret specialty vet a few hours away to see if anything could be done. The vet diagnosed Finn with FIP, and told us that there was so much damage done to his organs from the inflammation that he would certainly die. We decided to have him put to sleep there, and sent him on his way to the Rainbow Bridge.

I admire Finn most for his fighting spirit, because even though he was in so much pain and was dying, he never gave up. He still tried to play with me, explored as best he could (his back legs were so weak that he wobbled and fell often), groomed himself, and ate all of his food every feeding time. Even hours before passing on, he was fighting to show us that he was still the Goober we loved. I've had many pets, but I've never mourned one for as long as I've mourned Finn. Finn and I spent more time together than ever those last two weeks, for all the late night feedings and cradling him every time he started to seize.

I miss you more than anything, Sweet Boo Boo, and if there was anything I could do to bring you back, I would do it in a heartbeat. I love you, Precious Angel. <3 I can't wait to see you again.