# Jade



## Fraido (Nov 18, 2014)

This is something that happened four years ago, but I'd like to share it.
Jade had been the cat I grew up with, it was very much a hate-love relationship, and I'll admit I was pretty cruel to him sometimes. Knowing how awful I was to him made losing him even harder. I was only thirteen when we put him to sleep.
Funny, typing this is bringing on some tears. I didn't think it would. It's amazing how even after four years it still makes me cry.
Anyways, Jade crossed the Rainbow Bridge January 17th, 2011. We helped him to do so, though I think he would have on his own very soon.
All seemed well leading up to what seemed like his incredibly sudden decline, but I think I noticed something before. I noticed that he had lost weight, and brought it up to my mom, but we both disregarded it. He had to have been eleven, and we assumed old age, I guess. Even with the weight loss, which was most definitely a sign of what caused his death, it was pretty sudden. 
I came home from my dad's on Sunday, and he seemed fine. I picked him up, he leapt from my arms like a perfectly fine kitty. The next day we certainly realized that he was far from okay. I didn't go to school that day, it was too cold to walk, and I'm glad I stayed home. Later in the morning, Jade appeared near the computer where my mom was, laying on a pile of dirty laundry waiting to be washed. I remember my mother making a joke because he was just laying there, she said to him, "You dead Jade?" and laughed a little.
God, I wish she hadn't of made that joke, because honestly, he was pretty close to it.
He was scrawny, he was weak. He wouldn't move at all.. and to think he seemed fine just the evening before. He had bile on his chin, which led us to search the house and find multiple puddles of it. It wasn't normal, it was stomach acid, bright green-yellow stuff. 
We had my dad come and take us to the vet later that afternoon, I held him in the car, wrapped in a sheet, on our way there. I told him everything was going to be okay. 
I went with my dad to his place after dropping my mom and Jade off, to wait. Seeing my mother standing outside the building on her own, crying, upon picking her up.. it was clear what had to happen. I cried for a long time in the shower that night, and many night after that. I cried to and from school, singing lyrics from a sad song to myself. Thankfully, I had a four month old Nugget to comfort me.

It turns out, Jade had a tumor in his abdomen. And the poor guy was only half the man he thought he was, he only had 'one nut' as my mom put it, at least there was something to giggle about through the tears.


I hope you are resting in peace, Jade, and know I loved you no matter what. I still do, I'll forever miss you.&#55357;&#56852;


----------



## spider-man (Jan 9, 2015)

so sorry, fraido. that sounds rough. i am glad that you can look back at your time with jade positively, and i think it speaks to your depth of love that you still feel so much.


----------



## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Fraido,
I'm sorry for your loss of Jade...
Sometimes our fur friends teach us important lessons...ones which we wish, we knew "back then"...
These lessons are their gift to us, to carry forward and incorporate into the caring of a new fur friend...
Sometimes, we don't realize, until they are gone, just how much, they've taught us...
(((HUGS)))
Sharon


----------



## Fraido (Nov 18, 2014)

It was pretty rough, I spent many months crying before bed.. there wasn't really anyone I could talk to about it, as I never really shared my feelings like that. Which I think is why I grieved for so long after it happened, I had myself and my big teddy bear.
The kind words are appreciated.☺


Oh Sharon, I never even realized how important he was, or how much I really loved him until it set in that I was never going to see him again. He has left some serious pawprints on my heart..


----------



## marie5890 (May 18, 2011)

atback


----------



## my5kitties (Sep 13, 2005)

Wow...I lost my Smokey just three days before you lost Jade. If you had been a member of Cat Forum back then and had posted about Jade, I'd have comforted you by saying that my Smokey had just made the journey over the Bridge and that since he was so new there, he helped Jade cross over, too.

My condolences on your loss. Even though it's been four years, there are times when I really bawl my eyes out because I miss my baby boy so much. He wasn't even two years old when we lost him.


----------



## Fraido (Nov 18, 2014)

Aweh.. I'm sure they helped each other out up there. 
That's far too early to lose a kitty, I hope it hasn't been too rough without your Smokey, I bet he was a lovely boy.


----------



## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Oh, I'm so sorry about Jade. We always remember them, no matter how much time has passed. It sounds like he had a long and happy life with you, and I hope you'll hold on to the good memories and the things about him that made you laugh. He does know you loved him, even if you say you were mean to him. If you have a pic that you'd like to post, we'd love to see him.


----------



## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

Anytime I think of the passing of one of my fur friends, I cry. It is the sad part of life. Jade had a home and a family and was taken care of. Try to remember the times where you pet him or just said hi. It is never perfect because we are not perfect. RIP Jade.


----------



## Fraido (Nov 18, 2014)

I do my best to remember only the positive when I think of him, sometimes it's difficult. I go to see him on his last good day, and for that I am grateful.

If somebody could ever so kindly explain to me how to delete older photos or whatever I have to do to post more, I would gladly post a picture of Jade. Do I have to just go to older posts and delete them? Or is there somewhere on my profile I can go to? I looked lastnight, but I couldn't find any sort of option.


----------



## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Fraido, did you link them directly from somewhere like Photobucket, or did you have them in an album in your profile?


----------



## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

I think you can only put 10 photos on the photo gallery, unless you have a membership that you pay for....I think. I'm not sure if you can delete some, hopefully one of the moderators will answer that question for you. Do you have a photobucket or some other type of photo sharing sight? I know that is how most of us add pictures to this forum, is through one of those sights like photobucket. 

I know you feel bad because you had wished you had appreciated Jade more while he was here. I felt the same way about my dog Buddy, who died 7 years ago. He was a high maintenance, smelly, pain in the butt springer spaniel, who I very much loved, but he was always in trouble, he was just like the dog in Marley and Me, he was that bad, almost his whole life. I loved him, but I am not really a dog person, and I am very much a cat person, so mostly I was annoyed with him his whole life. And then he got sick and it lasted for about 2 years until the sickness got really bad and we had to make the decision to let him go. And I took care of him for those last two years, the last 3 months being really, really bad, but my husband wouldn't let go. But during those last few months, something in me changed, and I knew that I never wanted to be that person again, who was aggravated with this poor, helpless animal. We did get another dog, a few months later, a beautiful doberman who was a rescue. My attitude completely changed as far as how I did not let myself get aggravated with her. You learn and you grow, and you do better the next time, and I have no doubt that you have done that. You were pretty young when you had to say goodbye to him. It sounds like you have definitely matured in these past 4 years, and that's a good thing. 

I hope you are able to figure out how to put some pictures up. Hang in there, it's obvious that you really did love him.


----------



## Fraido (Nov 18, 2014)

Uhm, well I'm using the PetGuide app, and just used photos off of my phone through the option to upload a photo in my reply/post. So I'm not really sure what you would say that is. I've never used Photobucket or anything before, so I'm not even sure how that works. It's also not often that I use my laptop, I tend to stick to my phone, except for when I need to do things such as deleting photos so I can add more on other forums. 

I saw the ten photo limit lastnight when I was on my laptop searching for a way to delete other photos I've posted. I didn't even know you could upgrade your membership like that! I was somewhat shocked. But yeah, no photo sharing site for me!
It's interesting to read about another person's similar experience. The only difference, really, is it was a dog rather than a cat! It's just hard to think that I, as a major animal lover, could be like that. I adore all animals! Reptiles, rodents, cats, dogs, birds.. tarantulas even! My father's side has some anger issues, and my mother's side gave me some 'tude, so being an irritable snotty person doesn't go well with animals sometimes. But that has changed, a lot, and I have no doubt that's because of Jade.
(For the record, I only seem mature because I have good spelling and grammar.?)


----------



## Fraido (Nov 18, 2014)

I found what I was looking for and deleted a few photos! Though, I'm always sad when I have to delete any photos.
However, I don't have an unedited photo of him on my laptop, just the one I edited after he was gone.
I had this awful habit of pinching his ears between my fingers and sort of, rubbing, I guess. (If anyone's familiar with InuYasha, Kagome does the same thing to him in the first episode, lol.) So his ears kind of lost feeling, or something. I screwed up the nerves in his ears, and they folded over like that, made him unique though!

I'm also not too sure I actually attached the photo.. we'll see! (I'm using my laptop to post one for the first time!)


----------



## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Beautifully done...♡♡♡
Sharon


----------



## Fraido (Nov 18, 2014)

Why thank you.


----------



## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Aw, what a little sweetie!


----------



## Fraido (Nov 18, 2014)

I agree.


----------

