Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Super Poker!



I'm writing this post Monday night and since today (yesterday) was the first relatively normal, non overly emotional day since we had to put our kitty Poker down, I want to try and avoid bringing all the emotions rushing back.  So let's have a happy fun post about Poker!

Everyone who met Poker knows how great a kitty he was and he will be missed for a long long time.  The emotions are still right at the surface, but having gone through this with my life long kitty Stinky back in May, I know it will get easier over time.  Poker suffered from Cardiomyopathy, which is basically an enlarged heart.  Which I guess explains how he had so much love to give!  :)  We had doubled up his meds at the end at the direction of the vet, but unfortunately nothing was going to help at this late stage. 

Typically pets with that condition are given a 6 month-1 year prognosis and we were warned early on, but our good boy managed to beat the odds and remained mostly healthy throughout a 3+ year period after diagnosis.  There were a few flare ups and 1 or 2 scary brief episodes in between, but overall we were so thankful for the extra time and he was quite a trooper!

The wifey got Poker a year or so prior to when we met and he was 2 at the time, which was in 2001.  I'm sure he could sense I am a big cat person and he welcomed me in with open paws.  I'd go over to her apartment and he'd come right up and cuddle and purr.  He won me over immediately.  I also remember any time we'd leave the apartment he would go into the bathroom window, which opened to the parking area and he would meow and meow through the screen.  He was sad when she would go and so excited when she got home.  The meowing part is so weird, because somewhere along the way he completely lost the ability to meow unless he was getting picked on by one of his brothers later in life. 

And I remember one very scary moment when she called me on the phone and said she couldn't find Poker around the apartment.  The cable guy had come and left her door open while he went to grab something from the truck and she realized later that Poker got outside and she was frantic, with good reason.  I was as well, but there wasn't much I could do except be there for her on the phone while she looked everywhere.  After what seemed like over an hour at the time, she eventually heard Poker meowing but didn't know where he was.  Turns out he had gone out the front door, around a huge apartment building and was sitting on the back step meowing to come back inside.  :o) 

Within the next year or so, we combined living quarters and we combined our individual kitties and Poker and Stinky became brothers and good friends.  We then purchased a home and since we some extra room and our own place, we decided to pick out a kitten of our own to add to the mix and we brought home Monkey. 

Poker could not stand the little guy initially, he was quite the pest, since of course he was only 8 weeks old, FULL of energy and Poker was 3-4 by then.  One of our all time favorite first pictures of the two of them is the one below with Poker and his hand on Monkey's head, basically saying calm the F down and leave me alone!  Kinda like that thing older/bigger kids due to the little kids to keep them at arms length.  Too funny.

Down boy  :o) 


This is the one and only time we've ever caught a picture of Poker showing aggression and we probably snapped the picture just at the right time.  He was not super excited with us bring a new kitten home, ya think?!  ;) 

 But it didn't take long for Poker and little Monkey to get along!

 Such good friends

It was also funny to see them grow up together, because Monkey and Poker grew up to become best buddies.  He really loved Poker and when I say loved him, I mean REALLY loved him.  :o)  Despite the fact that they're both male and both fixed, he would proceed to "love" him in that way on a daily basis and sometimes multiple times on any given day.  Poker was just that lovable!  Haha...

They were all good buddies!

Later came DooDee (his name was Sage initially, but really we NEVER call him Sage so he will now be known as DooDee, Doodles or Doo Doo).  He was a little problem child initially, very scared for quite a while and still the skittish one of the bunch, but of course Poker was always the one he would go to and rub up against when he was scared to be re-assured.  

Then little baby DooDee came along and they played together

 And of course became buddies too

 And just because Buddy and DooDee are way too freakin cute, had to throw in a picture of them.  Glad to see they are best buddies just like Poker and Monkey were. 

Our most recent kitty Buddy or Bud Bud got along with Poker as well and despite the fact that Buddy is much younger, probably around 3-4 and is super playful at times, he didn't mess with Poker.



The only one that messed with Poker was Stinky and I think that was because the two of them were together the longest and Stinky would just have his moments where he liked to latch onto whoever was close by, but in general, Poker was the king of the house.


Lots of great memories and now he won't have to suffer any more and Stinky has someone to play with!!  I've done good so far on the emotion scale, so let's leave it there and celebrate the good times we all had with Poker!  :o)  


4 comments :

Jen S said...

What a lucky kitty to have you and Marla as his human mom and dad!

Jen said...

Love Poker! Such happy memories we've all had cuddling and playing with him.

Mock family said...

Poker didnt care for Bella too much! He was more dog than cat and would come when you called him, such a good boy

Chris said...

I don't remember how Poker and Bella got along, or didn't get along, I just remember her and DooDee were friends. :o) Maybe Poker was part doggy, that would explain why he appealed to doggy peeps too.

 
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