Tony(GA)-- Tabby's Place acrocat

Just got the April newsletter from Tabby's Place. Jonathan had to help Tony to the Rainbow Bridge.

Fly free dear, sweet Tony... you were loved by more people than you know. (((hugs))) to Jonathan and the rest of the Tabby's Place friends who loved and will miss him...

Here is what Jonathan wrote:

Forever Loved: Tony
by Jonathan Rosenberg, Founder & Executive Director
Tony had the best personality
of any cat I have
known – and that’s close
to 1,000 cats. Despite his
terminal disease, Tony was
perpetually good natured. I
never saw him lift a paw in
anger. Despite a truly insatiable
appetite, caused by
his disease, Tony would
let kittens take the food
out of his mouth. He never
resisted or complained
about medical procedures,
but was grateful for the smallest kindness
shown him. A brief pat on the head or a chin scratch and
Tony was your friend for life.
Unfortunately, Tony had acromegaly, caused by a tumor
on his pituitary gland. Though benign, the growing tumor secreted
excess growth hormone. This was the cause of Tony’s
unstoppable appetite. The other effects of the disease were
more worrisome. Tony was virtually resistant to insulin, which
gave him uncontrollable diabetes. At one point Tony was getting
10 times more insulin per day than any other cat.
The worst problem was that his internal organs started
growing, even as his muscle mass disappeared.
This distressing symptom eventually became problematic, as Tony’s
organs began crowding each other dangerously.
It was very difficult to make the decision to let Tony go. But
when we saw that he lost his zest for life and didn’t respond to human
attention, we knew it was time.
Tony was surrounded by all of the employees and several volunteers
as he left us gently. I still look for Tony’s handsome face outside
my office several times a day. I miss him more than life itself.

 

Poor baby! I actually saw a picture of him once. I have no idea how or why, but I stumbled upon him on the Internet.

 

OHHHH Carolynn,
I'm just seeing this now. I had been following Tony's story ever since he came to our attention. It's obvious how loved Tony was by Jonathon... "I miss him more than life itself." There's something about our acrokitties that does that to us! Tony was surely greeted by sooo many of our loved ones and now he too can run and play and be happy and free! rb_icon
Thanks Carolynn for posting this!