The World’s Best Cat, 1997-2024
The World’s Best Cat (WBC) was brought to us from a difficult situation in 2020. We were told he was in his early 20s. He had a magnificent four years at our house, where he was acknowledged by our other cats as the supreme feline from the very start. He charmed the neighbors, and was surprisingly active for an old guy. We thought he was a Bombay; DNA testing revealed some Bombay but also some La Perm—he had soft, curly hair on his belly!
August 28, 2020—First day at our house. The World’s Best Cat purrs a lot. Healthy, other than arthritis. We cannot get him off our laps. You lift him off, and before you can stand up, he’s right back on again. We did manage to introduce him to the cat heating pad and the sheepskin bed, which he accepted as an alternative to a human lap so we could go upstairs and eat dinner. One of us will sleep downstairs with him tonight.
Sept. 8, 2020—playing with a mouse.
Sept. 15, 2020—Very relaxed
Sept. 19, 2020—Have just replaced the casters on my office chair with glides so I don’t run over the WBC, who likes to sit next to my foot.
Sept. 29, 2020—His first day outdoors.
Dec. 1, 2020—The WBC sat in front of my computer this morning and demanded that I donate to Whisker City Rescue, the folks we got him from. After I did, he licked my hand. This guy is kinda scary sometimes.
April 12, 2021—The WBC has a deep, throaty meow that sounds like he is trying to bring the house down: MOWOWOWOW!
He was outside my office, yowling at the top of his lungs, and getting louder with each meow. So I stood up and went to the doorway to look at him. Once he saw me, he switched to this soft little “mew.”
I told him this did not fool me in the least.
August 8, 2022—This is his “Get out of the bathtub and pet me” move.
February 25, 2023—The WBC and Tink sleep in K&H Thermo-Kitty Fashion Splash heated cat beds on the desk in my office. I came home from a trip to find their brown beds looking pretty scruffy. We have a second set of K&Hs, so I brought the clean (blue) beds upstairs—only to find that WBC had already finished breakfast and gotten back in his heated bed. Not wanting to disturb him, I put down Tink’s new bed and plugged it in.
To my astonishment, the WBC, who’d been watching me solemnly, slowly stood up and stepped into the cold new bed. That enabled me to switch his bed for a clean one—under his supervision. Once again, the WBC is in charge.
Oct. 27, 2023—The WBC on Black Cat Appreciation Day:
2024
Jan. 11, 2024—As his arthritis gets worse, we’ve added a medical-grade foam cushion beneath his heated bed on my desk. He also gets the new monthly Solensia shots for arthritis relief.
June 11, 2024—WBC has severely arthritic knees. He staggers around, yet insists on climbing onto couches and, via a series of low benches, onto my desk (where he has a bed). At a yard sale a few weeks ago we bought a 40″-long SweetBin adjustable carpeted wood ramp (designed for dogs). It’s awesome! The angle adjusts to fit the target furniture (12″ to 20″ high), the ribbed carpeting provides great traction, and it doesn’t look bad at all (natural wood, grey carpet). We bought a second one on Amazon–I mention this because they seem to be discontinuing the wood model in favor of plastic, so now is the time to get one.
Aug. 1, 2024—The WBC is old and has a lot of health issues for us to deal with but every afternoon he and I spend some time together on the front lawn and it’s all worth it.
Aug. 29, 2024—Last night the WBC was unable to walk. I was devastated. This morning he was able to move around a bit. We took him to the vet for his monthly injection of Solensia (a monoclonal antibody that relieves arthritis pain by blocking pain receptors) and he came home and went lumbering energetically around the house and yard all day. The improvement in his mobility was simply miraculous. (The injection can only be given every 28 days, because of possible side effects, and the last four or five days before his shot are always pretty miserable.)
Oct. 8, 2024—Yesterday we left the WBC at Timberline Emergency for an ultrasound. Issue with his bladder; considerable bleeding. The cat said he was fine, but we disagreed. The ultrasound found a mass near his bladder. They are doing a urinalysis to find out more. Meanwhile, he’s home with pain meds and antibiotics, surprisingly alert and energetic, eating and drinking well. He is bloodwork was good, and he hasn’t lost any weight. Our goal is simply to make sure he is comfortable. When we have the test results we’ll likely schedule an oncology consult. Toby is easy to deal with even in a health crisis.
Oct. 11, 2024—Great news: The Veterinary Speciality Center of Seattle (in Lynnwood) called last night to say they had an opening today so the WBC got his oncology evaluation and the news was good: His tumor is small, located in a good area in the bladder, and seems to be a type that responds well to a NSAID therapy I’d read about (meloxicam). The once-a-day liquid oral med has a good track record for inhibiting tumor growth and inflammation from the tumor. (Meloxicam is even more efficient when combined with chemo, but we all agreed that chemo is pretty harsh for an extremely elderly cat, even one as tough as Toby.) Toby’s got plenty of energy, is eating well, and we are optimistic about being able to keep him active and comfortable for the next several months. He’ll have checkups with the oncologist every six weeks to monitor the tumor. We will sleep better tonight.
Oct. 23, 2024—This is hard to write, but tomorrow we are going to be saying goodbye to the WBC. It’s tough because he’s very much present and has beautiful fur and a good weight. But he has a bladder tumor and that, coupled with severe arthritis that impairs his mobility, makes his life painful. We are giving him more and more pain meds. With meds, he is still able to follow his daily routine–even went out and sat in the sun yesterday–but each day is more difficult and less active.
I sat with him last night and watched The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today (a delightful anime based on manga of the same name). He loves watching anime.
We’ve had him for four years, and never thought he would live so long. But still, we are wrecked.
Oct. 24, 2024—Toby, 1997-2024
He loved the warm, sunny outdoors and resting his head on someone’s hand. He lived long, and well, and had a good ending.
Tom and I send our deepest thanks to the folks who helped us insure the quality of this cat’s 27 year of life: Jenny, Better Kitty In-Home Cat Grooming & Care, Lisa Newton and her colleagues at Aurora Veterinary Hospital, Veterinary Speciality Center of Seattle, Timberline Veterinary, the Feline Hyperthyroid Treatment Center, Compassion 4 Paws, Catherine Whitney, and the neighbors he visited, especially Gwen and Paul.
And thank you for all the kind thoughts on Facebook yesterday as we faced this farewell.
Mr. Tippy and his friends 