Three years ago, my girlfriend and I noticed a cat hobbling around the back yard, dragging his left front paw on the ground. He was looking for food, but wouldn’t come near either of us. Sometimes we would leave the door open and he would sneak into the house to eat from the bowls of our other cats. We tried for six weeks to catch him. Finally in a July heat wave, emaciated with fur all falling out, he gave up and let me walk over and pick him up.
We brought him to the vet first thing the next morning. He was down to eight pounds (normal weight 13-14 lbs.) and, infested with fleas worms and ticks. The vet estimated he was around 3 years old. He had been beaten up, several teeth knocked out and his shoulder had been pulled out at the brachial plexus nerve. It was paralyzed and useless. We had his arm amputated and cleaned him up to bring him home. We named him Hyzer,
which has special meaning to me.
When we got him here, it was about 3 months before we saw him come out with anybody around. He would hide anywhere he could, coming out only at night (or while we were working) to eat. Slowly he began to trust us. Over the last three years he has turned into the best cat we have. He routinely follows Dani around the house like a puppy, talking to her every step of the way. He comes to bed with us everynight. In fact, the minute you look at him and say the word “Cookies”, as you turn out the lights, he takes off upstairs for his nightly treats.
Even with his three legs, he loved to go outside. He would just stay around the back of the house and hang out on the hillside. I think he knew his limitations and never went into the front of the house where cars would drive by. One day about 3 months ago Dani came home to see Hyzer sitting in the driveway in front of his first kill. It was the most vicious field mouse I’ve ever seen!! He was so proud of himself, there’s no telling how long he waited in the front yard to show us his accomplishment.
He started to lose weight quickly about 6 weeks ago. Turns out he has FIV and is battling an infection which has weakened him to the point he can’t recover. Today we will put him down so his suffering will end. We are crushed by this turn of events. Dani and I have had many cats in our day. However, there is something special about this kitty, which overcame so much, in order to trust people again and give us 3 years of great joy. He does not deserve this
We will miss him terribly!
The best ever!
| Hyzer |
| 2, Aug 2005 |
| Gary and Danielle |