We will miss you very much, Merlin...

Yesterday, New Year's Eve, we lost our beloved ragdoll can, Merlin.

This is the last picture that we have of him from Christmas Eve. He loved hanging out on the catwalk (pun intended) upstairs so he could see everything going on in the great room below.

This is our recounting of yesterday...

This morning about 9:30 we found him having difficulty breathing. At first we thought he was just coughing up a hairball or something. But when I listened closer to his nose, I realized it was his breathing. He was wheezing very badly and his breathing was very labored.

I immediately called a vet and we took him in.

As soon as we got him to the vet, they took him back and did a chest x-ray. He had bad edema (fluid and swelling) in his lungs. The vet said the x-ray looked like he had bitten an electrical cord.

They gave Merlin some steroids (cortisone) and a diuretic to try and get the swelling to go down and get the fluid out of his lungs. They also gave him constant oxygen and several puffs from an inhaler of albuterol to try and help him breathe.

An hour or so later, they took another x-ray and the edema had gotten markedly worse. He was also visibly in a lot of pain and suffering. His breathing had gotten worse too.

Eventually, they put him under with an anesthetic, intubated him, and gave him oxygen through a breathing tube and hand-bag. They put a monitor on him and even with 100% oxygen through the bag they could not get his blood oxygen level to a good place.

There was about a 2% chance that if they put him on a ventilator to breathe for him that the lung damage would reverse itself. However, with as bad as it was, and if it was an electric shock, there was likely damage to other organ systems as well.

We had to make one of the most difficult decisions of our lives...to put our precious Merlin to sleep. Signing that piece of paper was so hard.

By 1pm the ordeal was over. We were there with Merlin the whole time. Watching it all happen ripped our hearts out. It was all so sudden.

When I got home, I immediately searched the house for frayed electrical cords. Sure enough, I found the power cord to the telephone in our bedroom had been chewed. It was right next to the place in the corner where we put our shams and throw pillows from our bed. He liked to lounge and sleep there a lot. I feel somewhat guilty for not being more mindful of the cords there. He had never chewed cords before, so I thought nothing of it. If you have animals...please don't make the same mistake.

It may sound totally goofy, but I was very attached to that cat. His breed (purebred ragdoll) is well-known for attaching to one person. He decided that person would be me. He was my favorite photography subject. I loved taking pictures of that animal. He was only 3 1/2 years old and he was a first anniversary gift from Kim and I to each other. Ragdoll cats are known to live over 15 years. He was just a big, 20 pound baby. :(

My wife and I have cried pretty much all day. We distracted ourselves for a few hours by playing a video game.

Here are some pictures of Merlin. The album was previously entitled, "Merlin the Magnificent." I have since added our latest pictures of him from 12/24, just one week ago, and renamed the album, "Merlin the Magnificent - In Loving Memory."

Merlin the Magnificent - In Loving Memory

Goodbye Merlin...You were a wonderful cat and we loved you very much. We trust the Lord that you are in a better place.