Fly Free, Nelson

Nelson - September 2012

Nelson, age 14, passed away in the loving arms of his parents, Marc and Wendy, at the Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center in Waukesha, WI at 8:22 PM on Tuesday, September 17, 2013. He died just two weeks after being diagnosed with a rare disease, chyloabdomen. He put up a strong fight, but just could not overcome the complications from this horrible disease.

Nelson lived with Mr. H in northern Virginia for his first 13 years of life. He was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of nine. Mr. H had to give him up when his job changed and he could no longer manage Nelson’s insulin needs. Nelson was turned in to the Cat’s Cradle shelter in Harrisonburg, VA, in May 2012. Wendy saw a posting on Facebook about Nelson in August 2012. It said Nelson’s job was giving hugs. He had 3 strikes against him: older, diabetic, black. His picture spoke to Wendy.

On Friday, September 7, 2012, Wendy flew to Washington DC to pick up our new addition to the family, where he had been shuttled by volunteers. In his new home, Nelson was immediately accepted by his cat brothers and sisters because of his gentle and sweet nature. He quickly became the center of the household. Nelly could often be found relaxing in any of the various cat beds and baskets scattered throughout the house, but one of his favorites was in the place of prominence on his orange pad on the kitchen table. He was the first family cat to be allowed on the kitchen table, but Nelson got to… because he was Nelson.

It took awhile, but Nelson’s new parents learned how to take care of his diabetes by changing his diet and testing his blood glucose regularly. Blood from the edge of his ear was tested every twelve hours, followed with the appropriate dose of insulin. Nelson was a magnificent patient and never complained one bit.

Nelson - September 2013

Nelson will be missed for many of the things he did each day: eating grass in the backyard, sitting pigeon-toed on the stool in the kitchen at food time, softly meowing with excitement when dinner was being served, sleeping on Wendy’s pillow while nuzzling her hair, getting lap time with Marc every morning during breakfast, holding our hands with his paw, and of course, those famous hugs! He was the only cat to be allowed outside without a collar and leash (but with close supervision).

Nelson leaves behind his cat siblings Nero, Gray-V, Taggert, Dexter, Princess, Kali and Piper, and bird siblings Jazzabelle and Tino. He was preceded in death by cat siblings Magoo, Tippy, Mister and Derf. Tippy passed away from chylothorax, similar to Nelson’s disease and just as rare, in 2005.

Nelson lived one year and 10 days with his new family. Every one of those days was a true gift, never to be forgotten. Our dear Nelson, from the day you literally flew into our lives, our hearts have belonged to you. Just like when you would wrap your big, soft paws around our necks, they are now, and forever will be, wrapped around our hearts. We love you, Nelly!