gentleman rex

When I left for work this morning, I kissed my beloved cat Rex goodbye, knowing it would be the last time.

Rex had been ailing for about three months. The vet discovered that he was jaundiced, which meant that his liver and kidneys were in trouble. When he continued to lose weight despite medication, he was hospitalised for over a week.

Being kept on a drip with round-the-clock medical care for eight days didn't improve anything. Instead, his jaundice got worse and he refused to eat. Despite our visiting him twice a day, every day, he just got sadder and sadder.

So we tried leaving him at the vet's for the day and taking him home with us in the evenings. He liked that a lot better but he caught on really quickly. After the second morning of being carted to the vet's on our way to the office, he hid under the bed on the third morning when he saw us getting ready for work.

Worse, his condition did not improve.

In the end, after speaking to the vet, who assured us that Rex was not in pain, we agreed that we would all be much happier if we just took him home. So on the night of Nov 13, we picked him up from the vet's after work.

No medication was given for him. We all knew that he was coming home to spend his last days.

What we all did not expect was that he would live for a whole month more.

But Rex has always been the epitome of grace and love. He was a gentle soul, peace-loving and patient with everyone. He could always be counted on to accept a new arrival in the house, and even when the younger cats were extra naughty or annoying, he seldom lost his temper.

In all his 14 years, the times when he actually lost his cool and smacked one of the other cats never failed to surprise us -- proof of how few and far between such instances were.

I called him Gentleman Rex because he always did the right thing and had such a charming, courtly way about him.

And oh, how he loved us. I didn't realise how much until now.

Because he was no longer eating, the vet had advised us to simply syringe small amounts of chicken soup, water, an isotonic drink, and even a solution of glucose and water into his mouth at regular intervals throughout the day.

So we would make different Chinese-style soups for him every day -- chicken one day, pork ribs the next, fish the day after. We wanted him to get whatever nutrients he could take in. He didn't like it, but Rex, ever the gentleman, patiently accepted our awkward, amateurish attempts at syringeing liquids into his mouth.

We spent as much time as we could with him before and after work, and we brought him up on our bed to sleep with us at nights. Sometimes we'd put him on the bed first and potter around a little more before coming to bed, and he would sit up alertly, watching and waiting for us to join him. Then he would walk on unsteady legs to lie between our pillows.

Every morning, he would wake up just after 6 because breakfast for the other cats is about 6.30, and he knew that once everyone had had their breakfast, it would be his turn for some soup. And then I would carry him out into the garden for some fresh air, where he could watch the others play.

I would sit outside with him every morning, until he decided he'd had enough and turn towards home. Then I'd bring him in, towel-dry the dew from the grass off him, and settle him down on a fresh towel under the bed, where he liked to be the rest of the day.

Last Friday morning, after being home for three weeks, he rose from where he'd been sitting on the grass for several minutes and walked away from the house.

"Don't go too far, Rex," I said to him. "Mummy'll come get you soon."

He turned back to look at me and then carried on walking.

I'll join him soon, I said to myself. He's too weak to go too far, anyway.

And then i got distracted by something.

Minutes later, I walked in the direction Rex had gone and realised he was nowhere in sight. I panicked. I couldn't believe he could have moved so quickly and so far in his condition.

The thought that he had gone into hiding in order to die, as animals do, crossed my mind but I pushed it away because I could not accept that I had lost him.

But I had.

I can't remember how many times I combed the grounds of the condominium estate, stooping low to sweep aside leaves and underbrush, looking into drains and calling his name. I couldn't stop weeping because I blamed myself for allowing him to disappear.

People who saw me that day must have thought I was mad. Because for eight hours, at regular 15-to-20 minute intervals, this red-eyed, dishevelled woman would comb the grounds, calling for Rex and invoking the angels for help.

I ventured further afield to search the nearby canal, which is connected to the drains in and around my estate. I walked along the roads surrounding my estate, looking into drains and calling his name. My worst fear was that he had gotten lost in the network of drains and would be swept out to sea when it rained.

And the sky threatened to open up that day. I prayed to God for help: Please don't let it rain.

I begged Archangel Michael to protect and find him.

I pleaded with Archangel Raphael to continue nursing him, making sure he was not in any pain or suffering.

And I called for both Rex's and my guardian angels to bring him back to me.

I prayed for a miracle and I got it.

Eight hours later, I went on yet another round of the estate, still pleading with the archangels and angels as I scoured for Rex. And I saw him.

Almost obscured behind some tall grass, he was tentatively peering around him. My heart stopped. I couldn't be sure it was him as I was still fairly far away, but I wasn't taking any chances. I ran as fast as I could and jumped down a high ledge, hurting my wrist in the process, to get to him before he disappeared again.

It was him. He didn't realise it was me at first and tried to run when he saw me coming towards him. But I managed to catch him and lift his frail, slight body into my arms. The moment he realised it was me, he purred.

I walked home with him held tightly in my arms, thanking God, the archangels, Rex's guardian angel, my guardian angel and all the angels who had been with the both of us all this time. All I can say is, I understand what the Bible means when it talks about how the angels in heaven rejoice when the shepherd finds his lost sheep.

The thanksgiving that filled my heart overflowed. I could feel the angels and archangels sharing my joy, just as Brian (who had been struggling to work despite his fear and worry) and Jordan (who'd had to go to school that day) did when I told them I'd found Rex.

And through it all, not a drop of rain fell around my estate, although I heard later that there had been heavy rain in many parts of the island that day.

Rex stayed with us for another week before finally going home, into the light, at 11.58am today. Sadly, Brian and I had to leave him in the loving care of our maid Rowena earlier on because we had to go to work.

How I wanted to call in sick, but as I had actually been on medical leave just a few days before because of a particularly virulent stomach virus, I couldn't do it with a clear conscience. And Fridays are the heaviest work days for both Brian and me.

And so we stroked, cuddled and kissed him one last time this morning. We thanked him for coming into our lives 14 years ago to gift us with his love. We told him what a difference he had made, what joy he had given us, how much we loved him, how we would always be a family, and that we would be together again.

We told him it would be okay for him to go when it was time, that Archangel Michael had promised he would pick him up in his strong, protective and loving arms and walk with him into the light, that Archangel Raphael had and would continue to take away all pain so that he would remain comfortable, and that his guardian angel would carry on loving and watching over him.

He was too weak to purr, slipping in and out of sleep as we sat with him. Then just before we had to leave, he suddenly stiffened and stretched and called out. Immediately we gathered closer, reaffirming our love and telling him not to be afraid to go into the light if it was time.

We thought it was the end. But then I noticed that he was still breathing, although very shallowly. And he seemed to be sleeping. I actually could feel Michael's presence and I knew it was almost time for Rex to go.

We couldn't do anything more. We had made the necessary arrangements for his burial and we were already late for work.

Reluctantly, our hearts breaking, we left the house. And over an hour later, Rex passed on. He never woke up from his sleep.

Looking back, I believe that Rex probably did go away to die the week before.

But because we were so distraught by his disappearance, and because I prayed so hard for God and the angels to bring him home to us, I believe the archangels and angels had a talk with him, explaining the situation.

I believe that Rex, out of great love for us, chose to come home to save us from heartbreak.

For why else would he, in such sickly and weakened state, have come out of hiding after eight long hours?

And I believe that because he told them he would return to us, the angels helped to orchestrate my finding him -- for I was led to the place where he appeared out of nowhere at just the right time, for me to spot him.

Last but not least, I also believe that the first time he stretched and called out this morning was the actual time for him to go, because I felt Michael's presence so strongly. But Rex chose to stay on for just a while longer, to be sure that Brian and I had really accepted and made peace with his leaving. And God and the angels granted this for all our sakes.

I am both awed and humbled by the power of such love. How blessed we are to be loved so much and so well.

Thank you, my beloved Rex. Till we meet again, my perfect gentleman.



Visiting Rex while he was hospitalised. Both his paws were swollen from the constant intravenous drip that he was on.