Tribute to Sparty
TLDR; Adopted an FIV+ stray in early November. Despite more than $3K in vet bills, was unable to save him and he crossed the rainbow bridge on April 25. Sparty was a sweet, beautiful soul who deserved way better out of this life.
Sparty showed up on our front porch begging for a meal in early November 2025. Before I even fed him, he let me give him belly rubs! Poor guy was painfully thin with crusty eyes and laryngitis so bad that when he tried to meow no sound would come out. I wanted to bring him in, but with 3 cats, we were already full.
Later that night, I read on Nextdoor that coyotes were out killing stray cats in the neighborhood. I knew this poor cat was too old and sick to fend off a coyote. So when he showed up again for food the next day, I scooped him up and made him comfortable in my bathroom.
We have an active TNR operation in our neighborhood since we are a dumping ground for cats. And it was clear that Sparty had been dumped. What feral cat lets you rub their belly? He also had a lot of excess skin folds on his neck, which looked like he had lost a lot of weight quickly. I ordered him a collar and tag with his new name and I swear he looked proud and happy when I put it on him, as if he understood that it meant he was loved and part of a family again.
Sparty had already been neutered with an ear clip, but the vet found him to be anemic, running a fever, and FIV+. The vet said the anemia was likely caused by tick borne illnesses found in his blood test and put him on antibiotics for a month. They also estimated that he was 7 years old, which was shocking because he looked much older since he was in such rough shape. The vet was hopeful he’d recover with good nutrition.
And he did do better for a while. Once out of quarantine, he easily integrated into our family because he was just such a sweet and chill cat. Sparty had a voracious appetite and, since I was trying to put weight on him, I was giving him 5 cans of Fancy Feast a day. He was also crazy for people food. Really the only time he was bad was during meals when he was a little aggressive in checking out my plate. I always shared some of my meal with him and my other cats. He especially loved chicken and salmon, of course.
Sparty had a minor setback in January when he vomited and stopped eating but subQ fluids and an anti nausea shot helped him bounce back. He gained a little weight and a lot of energy. He started getting interested in playing with toys and even jumped really high for the feather fishing pole toy. I wasn’t successful in turning him into a lap cat, but for a stretch he started sleeping on the bed with me.
Sparty absolutely adored pets. He would aggressively push his face into my hand when I let him like he just couldn’t get enough. And he had a really loud purr. He also loved sleeping on my desk so he could look out the window.
Toward the end of March, Sparty stopped eating as much wet food. I thought it was because he discovered the dry food wasn’t all that bad and it was out all the time so he didn’t have to wait for me to serve him. The vet had said his appetite would level off eventually when he was no longer starving as much. He also stopped sleeping on my bed but I thought maybe my other cats had bullied him out of the bedroom due to jealousy.
However in mid-April, Sparty had blood in his urine so I rushed him to the emergency vet. He had a UTI, but tests also showed he was dangerously anemic with a hematocrit of only 16. The vet was so kind and explained that they typically only saw that low a level in cats that are bleeding out from a car accident. She said he was stable at such a low level because his body had slowly gotten used to it. It was likely either cancer or just the FIV itself that destroyed his bone marrow’s ability to create red blood cells. She said, “No heroic measures are going to save him” and that he’d become more and more lethargic as his body literally ran out of blood. A blood transfusion would only last 3 days and wouldn’t help much.
So we decided on palliative care. The vet loaded him up with subQ fluids, an antibiotic shot, an anti inflammatory shot and a ketamine shot for long term pain relief. He also got a 5-day course of buphenorphine and a 7-day course of gabapentin for pain. Sparty became more lethargic throughout the week until he stopped drinking water on his own. He would only eat Temptations cat treats and I had to force feed him water with a syringe. The next day, a vet came to our house and helped Sparty cross the rainbow bridge.
Although I knew him for less than six months, I loved Sparty so much. He had such a good soul and deserved so much better than he got in life. I hate the people who dumped him, probably because he was sick. I hate our society that throws living beings away because they’re no longer cute or easy to deal with. My poor baby, I’m so glad you’re no longer in pain and hope I get to see you again.