Farkus

Farkus came in to my life in 2011 when he was two years old, on the Big Island of Hawaii. The story I heard was that he was originally adopted from the Kailua Kona, Hawaii Humane Society as a kitten along with his brother. The person who adopted them at that time had both kitties declawed, and then, for some reason, returned both kitties to the Humane Society. The kitties were at that point adopted separately and Farkus was given his sweet, unique and hilarious name. Apparently, he was named after the neighborhood bully in the classic 80’s movie ‘A Christmas Story’, Scut Farkus “with the yellow eyes”. However, Farkus the kitty was not a bully by any stretch of the word, but he did have yellow eyes, and peach colored fur. The women that adopted and named him needed to move away from Hawaii and ended up leaving Farkus with a friend of mine who already had three cats and two dogs. But she welcomed him into the family. Shortly there after, my partner and I moved into a house on her property and Farkus and I became fast friends. She said I could keep him. In that moment, I 100% won the cat lottery. Farkus was the best. He was incredibly sweet and snuggly and social. He loved people, and people loved him. Even my friends who would say they are not cat people would say, except Farkus, I like Farkus. He was just so personable and friendly. Super cute and handsome as well! With the cutest little squeaks and clicks. He was very talkative. Farkus was an adventure kitty. He like riding in the car. He loved going for walks. He would follow us for long distances during a time when we lived out in the country and walked a lot. I eventually trained him to walk with a harness and leash and he liked that too. We moved several times with Farkus and he always adjusted so well. He even has flown on a airplane between Hawaii and Oregon three times! When Farkus was about 10 years old he developed feline urinary disease. He had a blockage, which thankfully we discovered right away. He was treated and was fine and it never happened again. He strictly ate the prescription urinary diet from that day forward. Then when he was 16 more health issues began. He developed thyroid disease and started meds for it. The meds helped and he seemed to be doing well for awhile though we started to notice him slowing down and just looking older, showing his age. At a certain point he started loosing weight again and then sort of suddenly seemed lethargic and generally unwell. Bloodwork showed he was anemic. I didn’t know it at the time but this was the beginning of the end. He started on new meds and then steroids for the anemia. He perked up, started eating a ton and seemed so much better. But unfortunately it didn’t last. His bloodwork showed the anemia was back. As well he had a heart murmur, that had been intermittent and very mild, but was starting to get worse. We discovered some pretty significant heart disease at that point. As well, his bloodwork now showed kidney disease. And his thyroid was getting out of control again. He was facing 4 different comorbidities that were all working against each other. Farkie was such a trooper though. He had so many medications. My days were scheduled around his medication schedule. Plus visits to the clinic for bloodwork once a week. But we made it work. This went on for about 2 months. Vacations were cancelled, events postponed. Fortunately I was on leave from work anyways, so I had time. It was so hard, but I’m so so grateful I had this time with him. We snuggled and sat together for hours every day. We went out on the deck every day so he could enjoy the sunshine on his fur and sniff the fresh air. I cooked chicken and fish for him and gave him all the treats he could ever want. Things were good and stable for awhile there but eventually went downhill, and fast. Farkus rapidly declined over about 2-3 days and it became obvious it was his time to go. I was able to schedule an at-home euthanasia and he passed peacefully, in his favorite cozy spot with his favorite person by his side. He was 17 years old. I miss him so much. Farkus was the light of my life. My sweet little soul mate, my best friend and my baby. I will be forever grateful for my time on this earth with him. He was the best. The veterinary care that Farkus received here in Portland, OR was incredible. The doctors at Bethany Family Pet Clinic, and Bridgetown Veterinary Emergency and Dove Lewis Emergency Hospital quite literally saved Farkie's life (on multiple occasions) and gave me more precious time with him. I am forever grateful for the care he received, especially at Bethany Family Pet Clinc.