In Memory of James

James 2002 – 10/27/2016

James was one of my first foster cats for the LAPCATS program when it started in 2005.  The vet and I estimated that he was between three and five years old at the time.  He had a terrible cold and ear mites, fleas, etc, and the cold did not want to go away. He was a difficult patient and did not want to take the pills, have me fuss with his ears, or give him subcutaneous fluids. I just kept nursing him for months and told him that he could not die on me, I am stubborn that way.  I also noticed that he was drinking and peeing a lot. It turned out that he had diabetes. At that point I decided to adopt him as I thought he would be hard to adopt to the average pet owner due to the cost and on-going care involved.  James got better once we started treating his diabetes. 
 
It took some time to determine which insulin would work, and then more time to stabilize and determine which dosage was correct.  James required twice daily human insulin (the most expensive kind), and daily testing of his blood since he had a couple incidents of his blood values being too low or too high and ending up in the hospital.  James had his ears pricked daily or twice daily for the last eleven years depending upon how stable he was at the time.  James would sit still and upright for this even when he was concerned about the dog being too close.  He became a good patient because it became routine to him. 
 
James was a beautiful Maine Coon mix and was a good mix of the aloof cat and the people friendly cat. James loved to chew on my ring.  I most fondly remember the late night lie downs on the couch when he would make a beeline to make biscuits on my chest.  Within seconds, the biscuits moved to my stomach which was easier to take.  He didn’t mind moving his biscuit making operation, because it put his face at a better angle so he could rub noses with me or my chin.  Many times, during this activity, I would say to my husband, I just love this cat.   It turned out he was not perfect.  I told my friend Leslie that he did not counter surf; I was wrong.  Leslie provided some great pictures of James proud as can be sitting up tall on my counters.  Oh well, he knew not to do this when I was around. 
 
For the last few months, James was requiring less insulin, and was losing weight.  Then he started eating less, and then not at all.  James was euthanized on October 27, 2016 while I was holding him.  I will always remember him because I just loved that cat!

- Kim, Lapcats CoFounder