Picking Up the Pieces

We were on our way to get a late lunch in early July when we saw a white and orange cat laying on his blood surrounded by people by the road. My brother and I stopped a few feet away and asked them if he was still alive. They said that surely he was going to die already. He was run over by a car. We were quite scared that we would see his insides scattered on the ground. But there was no other choice but to get him and hope for the best. He turned his head to us and made a very weak meow. On the way to the hospital we could hear him gurgling blood, we called ahead so that the doctor would be ready for us when we came in.

He had a broken palate and one of his eye suffered trauma. He had to be stabilized before they could do any x-rays or any more tests and was put on pain killers.

We named him Cheesecake. He was hiding the lower part of his face when we were able to see him. This was late Friday afternoon. My friend Marvie rushed to the hospital to see Cheesecake so he would feel people were rooting for him.

On Saturday I went to see him and his face was so swollen that I couldn't help but cry for him. The nurses assured me that they were doing everything to keep him comfortable. The swelling was to be expected after that much trauma. I spoke with the doctor and she said she will try to insert a tube in his trachea on Tuesday so they can feed him. We had to wait for him stabilize.

On Sunday morning, my brother and I visited him and he was just laying there. We talked to him and he would meow quietly. We returned in the evening when the nurse told us that he was unresponsive. He did try to move his head and meow when we called out to him. Close to midnight, we received another call that he was in a lot of pain. I called Marvie and together with my brother, met in the hospital to see him. We were utterly shocked to see that he had deteriorated in such short amount of time. He was barely recognizable, there was blood in every orifice. His other eye was popping out and had glossed over, staring vacantly. We talked to the doctor on duty and he said that the pain medication were no longer working, they were already giving him the high calibre pain killers. We knew what needed to be done, even if it was breaking our hearts. We went with him when it was time so he wouldn't be alone when he was released from his suffering. We shed tears for the loss of his precious life.

I will never forget the heart wrenching pain I felt for this cat that I barely knew. Some people do not realize the pain and suffering they inflict on another life, but this I saw with my own eyes. They never knew the life they changed, the misery they caused. The rest of us are left to pick up the pieces - the broken bodies and the loss of will to live. I hope that Cheesecake left this world feeling that he was not alone and that he was not worthless. He made an impact in our lives and he will never be forgotten, rest in peace Cheesecake.