Cosmo came into our lives in the fall of 2011. His owners were moving and had just decided to “leave him behind.” According to the owner, he’d demonstrated poor litter box habits so he’d been relegated to living as an outside cat. The owner felt “someone will take him in” but since they lived in the country we were pretty sure the coyotes were going to be the ones most interested in him. After some “diplomatic” discussion, he agreed to surrender Cosmo to us and bring him halfway for the handoff.
We met in the parking lot of a shopping center. The man got out of his car with the carrier, put it in our car and walked away without a backwards glance. We peered inside to see a gorgeous, but very concerned looking lilac-point Siamese cat, staring back with two huge eyes. We told him everything was going to be okay, but he was silent the whole way home.
However, Cosmo warmed up very quickly. He was a very sweet, friendly, talkative cat. Since we had been warned about his bathroom habits, we waited to list him for adoption. The number one reason cats are surrendered to shelters – or dumped outside – is out of box urination. Since we disclose all known history and problems to our adopters, we wanted to be able to assure any adopter that he was being a good boy. Medical problems are often the root of litter box avoidance, and although his tests were fine, we wanted to make sure his good behavior would continue. The number one non-medical cause for this is stress – often about other cats - but he seemed to be fine with our founder’s cats. Our founder picks up the story here - A few days before Christmas, Cosmo was suddenly sick. On the surface it just looked like he had a bad cold, but instinct made me ask the vet to check his SPO2 which measures how well blood is carrying oxygen to the rest of the body. His was 83%. Normal is 99-100%. He was immediately admitted to ICU and put on oxygen support. Several things can cause this including lung disease, heart disease and/or anemia. Blood tests showed he was not anemic. Chest x-rays showed his lungs were clear and the vet couldn’t hear any wheezing or “crackles” through his stethoscope. Cosmo did not have a mass (tumor) in his upper airway. While a brief cardiac ultrasound revealed a little thickening in the walls of the heart, it was not enough to cause the symptoms we were seeing. Cosmo was getting worse and we did not know why. Christmas Eve his veterinarian and I had a tough conversation. We were trying everything
available to treat his symptoms, and nothing was working. Cosmo was on antibiotics but we were seeing no improvement. His doctor changed antibiotics and we decided to give them another day to see if there was any improvement. If that didn’t work, we were out of ideas. Even with the oxygen support, Cosmo was not happy, not eating, weak and generally getting worse. If we couldn’t make him better, it wouldn’t be kind to keep him hanging on. I left knowing I was likely have to make a decision to euthanize a very sweet cat on Christmas Day. It was heartbreaking. Fortunately his doctor was working Christmas Day, so the vet that would be helping me decide was the one who already knew the cat and the case. I spent Christmas Eve with family having our annual Swedish smorgasbord and checked in with the clinic a few times during the night. The update was the same each time – no improvement. I stopped checking after 1 a.m.
Christmas Day I arrived at the hospital when it opened. I hadn’t called ahead; I didn’t want to hear the bad news any sooner than I had to. The front desk called ICU to let them know Cosmo had a visitor. About one minute later his doctor came bursting to the front. “He’s eating!” he declared with a big smile and arms spread wide.
“What?” I asked. It didn’t sink in.
“He’s not “just eating”, he’s EATING(!!)” came the reply. “C’mon back!” We quickly walked back to ICU. Cosmo was still in the incubator, but he was standing up, scarfing down food and making biscuits while he ate. I couldn’t believe my eyes. His demeanor was back to the sweet, friendly, happy, fully-engaged boy I’d grown to know and love! He still needed oxygen support, but this was a big step in the right direction! I was in and out of the hospital all Christmas Day visiting him. The entire staff was bubbling with joy. We all called him The Christmas Miracle. Cosmo remained a few more days while they weaned him off oxygen support and made sure he would be stable at home. We never determined what the underlying problem was, so even after he recovered, I kept him a little longer to make sure he really was healthy. Then, I put him up for adoption. I did it even though he and I had really bonded, because that is what rescuers do. We love, and then we let go, even though sometimes it is painful. We got a referral from a mutual friend to someone who was looking for an adult Siamese cat to adopt. The application was a good one and the reference was from someone I knew well. I was really happy for Cosmo! We had the meet’n’greet and all went well. We don’t do same-day adoptions because we want people to “sleep on it.” We are asking them to make a 10 to 15 year commitment and we want them to be sure. The best way to make that happen is to take remove the “emotional pressure” of making a final decision at the time of the meeting.
Surprisingly, the next morning, Cosmo’s potential adopter called very apologetic. She talked about what a wonderful boy he was, but she’d changed her mind. He just wasn’t the right cat for her. I took it as “a sign” and took him off the adoption site. Cosmo the Christmas Miracle had his forever home with me. Cosmo readily integrated with my cats, and he joined them in taking care of whatever feline waifs I brought home that needed extra love from their own kind. And he was friendly to every person who came through the door! He was quirky and had a special talent for finding the most unique places to sleep. He made life brighter and more humorous! Sadly, Cosmo succumbed to inoperable cancer in February 2018. He was a happy, loving boy right to the end. We all miss him terribly.