Our Inky Boy

I know this post is non-aviation but our Inky boy has been family for almost fourteen years. It's taken me a few weeks to finally post this but I thought I should share some of his photos and story.

When Mary and I first moved in together she had a Turkish Angora cat name Sam, he ruled the house. Yes, even my loving Roxi (Rottweiler) cowered to the mighty Sam. 

Sammy

Our Sammy boy had cancer and passed, which of course broke Mary's heart. I thought I would find her another tuxedo Turkish Angora, not as easy as first planned.  I ended up finding a breeder in Illinois and I had our Inky boy shipped into Philly. This was one of Mary's first Christmas presents.

We named him Sam's little Ink Spot or Inky for short. Little did I know how much he would be just like Sam. From day one he was confident, headstrong and thinking he was in control. We put him in the wash room located in the basement where we kept the litter box, cat food and water bowls, hoping he would learn to use the two cat doors to get from the basement to the family room. It took very little time for the tasmanian devil child to run through the wash room cat door, up the stairs and burst into the family room through the second cat door. Inky had arrived!

L-R,  Jake Inky Roxi and George

We had just adopted Jake and ended up with George on the same day we picked Jake from the Humane Association. Inky was the last to join the family.

It didn't take long for Inky and Roxi to bond, they were best buds. They slept together and played together. Inky sat by Roxi's side when I came home and found Roxi had finally fallen to Cancer. Maybe that's why we bonded like we did, Roxi was my baby girl and he didn't let her be alone. After a short time we decided on bringing another puppy into our home and brought home Maggie, our Italian Mastiff. Inky quickly bonded with Maggie and they, like he and Roxi, became very close.

Maggie helped Mary and I heal and I think it really helped Inky too. Unfortunately we lost our Maggie to kidney failure following a teeth cleaning surgery at just eight years old.

As time marched on we wanted to fill the void of not having a dog and we were very fortunate to find our Ziva girl. We brought her home and introduced her to the cats and while giving her a good sniff Inky latched on her muzzle letting her know who was in charge. We were shocked, he loved Roxi and Maggie. It took a few weeks but they eventually bonded and from that point on Ziva was his dog. The daily head bumps and sleepy time together seemed to comfort our boy.


Inky and Jake

Inky and George

We had retired and moved to Ocean City Maryland and over time the zoo adjusted. The cats loved the back porch and the bird feeders provided plenty of entertainment.

This past summer, May of 2017, we noticed Inky was loosing weight. With a follow up to the vet our boy was diagnosed with cancer. As if it wasn't bad enough he had become diabetic earlier in the year. So the regime began; pills, pastes, special foods, antibiotics and appetite stimulants. The tasmanian devil boy did not like be handled for any of that nonsense and his health declined.


Ziva and Inky

When Mary and I were heading to Sint Marteen in September for vacation we were on the fence of having him put down, he was in that bad of shape. He still had plenty of fight, that Turkish angora spirit in him, so together we decided to switch vets and give him the chance to battle on. The new vet made some changes in his care and he was boarded in a ICU unit for around the clock care while we were away. Sadly, Mary and I left very specific instructions if he needed to be put down and to write about it here would have me and our readers burning through boxes of tissues.


Our security team, Inky and Ziva

When we returned from Sint Marteen we headed straight for the vet. We picked Inky up and to our surprise, he had his meow back and that strut he was noted for. It looked like he reverted to at least three years younger. Mary and I were both in total disbelief and shock. The new vet had bought us five more months with our boy, we were very thankful.

On February 8th, it was time to let go. The last few days he had pretty much quit eating and didn't want to be in the same room with us, he was telling us it was time. Mary and I spent his last moments together at the same clinic that did so much to help him. As much as it broke our hearts, he passed quietly and peacefully.

I had many nicknames for our boy, some good, some funny and some I shouldn't repeat. We both will miss our Inky boy very much. I'm sure he has found his canine girls, Roxi and Maggie waiting for him at the rainbow bridge to once again head bump, play and cuddle with.