In loving memory

Last night around this time, we brought our kitty, Beso, to the emergency vet. He had been acting a little off for several days but seemed normal enough that we figured he must be okay. Then he took a turn for the worse. His chest was heaving and he seemed lethargic and weak. It reminded us uncomfortably of the chest infection he had about a year and a half ago. At that time, he went through several rounds of antibiotics and chest taps and ultimately (and ambivalently on our part) had a chest tube placed that saved his life.

After a very kind friend came over to watch our sleeping son, we took Beso to the pet ER in town. We'd been there once before and had to wait hours to be seen then. Turns out, having a breathing problem sends you to the front of the line, because this time they whisked him into the back right away. The vet came to talk with us and showed us some of the fluid they had tapped out of his chest. The chest infection was back. Instead of the clear fluid that was in there last time, this was thick and red and very infected. There was a lot of it. We had had over a year to think this over and were clear that we didn't want to do another chest tube. It was so traumatic for all of us the first time that we just could not do it again. And, he was so sick this time that it might just have prolonged things.

So, when they said we needed to decide between a chest tube and putting him down, we sadly opted for the latter. They made him as comfortable as possible and brought him to us in their "comfort room," which was actually somewhat comforting. We cuddled him and petted him and told him how much we loved him and what a good kitty he had been. We told him what a great job he had done with helping raise Mateo, and how much we would miss him. He nuzzled our hands and faces and gave Sacha one of his trademark lickings. And when it was time for him to go, he went peacefully, cuddled up in our arms.

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Our Beso came to us on July 5, 2004, just after we moved to Portland. We had gotten one cat (Rio) and decided he needed a friend and playmate. We went to pick out a kitten, having heard that it was best to pair an adult cat (which Rio was) with a little one. It came down to two black kittens and one was just about exploding with purrs and love. We knew it had to be him.


Beso had a rough start in life. Someone had found him near a busy intersection and brought him in to the shelter. We found out as we were filling out paperwork that he had a bad cold that hadn't responded to three courses of antibiotics. He was in the middle of his fourth course and they hoped he would get well once he stopped being constantly exposed to other cats' illnesses.


We all had a roller coaster of a beginning together. We fell in love with him right off the bat. He was so loving and lovable that we named him Beso, which means kiss in Spanish. We also had to deal with his formidable respiratory issues. He was so congested that he would spray little showers of blood when he sneezed. He only weighed three pounds and lost even some of that before he started to recover. We gave him lots of TLC and eventually he began to thrive.


He developed into a cat with quite the personality. He had episodes of loving where he was just beside himself with affection. He would climb all over us, purring and grooming and letting us know how happy he was. At other times, he exuded that aloofness that cats so often have. He and Rio, our first cat, got to know each other and mostly got along quite well.


Beso's life changed when we decided to let him and Rio roam outside. He trotted around the neighborhood, making sure things were in order and sometimes skirmishing with the many other cats in our area. He proudly brought us birds and spent most of the rest of the time lounging in the sun, when it was out, or snuggled up somewhere inside.

When Sacha's cousin, Rachel, lived with us, she and Beso became best buddies. When she would come home, all it took was her opening the door and Beso's little ears would perk up. He would trot happily to the door and say hello. When she would open the door to go downstairs, he would hear it and come running. After she moved out and would come back to visit, he would sometimes act aloof at first, but it never took him too long to warm back up to his best friend again.


When our little guy was born, a lot changed for Beso. His normally doting mommies had a baby to take care of and he and Rio didn't get much attention for quite awhile. As Mateo got bigger and started to notice the world around him, the kitties came to his attention before many other things. He loved his cats and they seemed to love him right back.


After Rio ran away a few months ago, Beso and Mateo developed a special bond. Mateo would chase Beso all over the house and try to pull his fur and yank on his tail when Beso came into range. Beso would never anyone else treat him like that, but he seemed to understand that Mateo was his baby. He treated Mateo with more patience and gentleness than we could believe. On the morning of Beso's last day with us, Mateo finally learned how to pet him gently.

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We really miss him. We were so sad at the vet's last night and fell into an exhausted sleep after we eventually came home. We're sad today, too. We keep seeing his favorite places around the house and expecting to see him. We took a nap this afternoon and he was missing from his usual place at the foot of our bed. For some reason, he had a habit sleeping on my side of the bed, so I've been adjusting my feet around him for months. I'm going to miss my little foot warmer. And we're all going to miss his presence in our lives. He was such a good kitty.

We love you, Beso. Rest in peace.