Frankie J Schumaker

2002-2012

Frankie wasn’t just  a good cat, he was probably the best cat I’ve ever know. The first thing you would notice about him is that he is very tall, since I am also tall I liked that. He was very regal, he liked to stand like a Egyptian statue and just look around the room. He wasn’t interested in string or toys like other cats, he just wanted attention from you. As soon as you sat down on the couch he would try to make you pet him and eventually he would fall asleep on your chest or stomach. He had a very loud purr that I will miss very much.

He wasn’t a very old cat, but he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure two years ago. After the first ‘incident’ and emergency vet visit he was put on 4 separate heart medications. At first he didn’t seem to show any effects from it. He became in indoor cat and at first I think he missed the outdoors, but he eventually settled into his life on windowsills and backs of couches. But the disease was steadily progressing and he went from once daily pills to 3 times a day in the last 2 months of his life. He was always very cooperative with the person giving him the pills, just open his mouth with your fingers and throw them in. I think he knew we were helping him.

In the last couple months we could tell that he was very weak. He used to be able to jump from the floor to on top of the refrigerator, but recently he was having trouble just getting onto the couch.  His fur was always perfectly groomed, but it was looking worn out. We knew he didn’t have long, but since he survived multiple strokes and times his lungs would fill with fluid we weren’t sure what the end would look like. In the last couple weeks of his life he was very interested in licking clay pots, which we learned was a sign that his organs were shutting down. In the end he just stopped eating and went quietly on his own laying in the sun in his favorite room of the house.

If we were stronger we would have had him put to sleep sooner. Frankie taught us a lot of things over the years and this was his final lesson.