In Loving Memory of Hudson
Hudson was rescued from city streets. On a summer day, one of our volunteers was visiting the home of an adopter to see the kitties after they had settled in. Upon leaving, she heard a cat meowing in the bushes outside of an apartment building across the street. She went over and started talking to him. After a few minutes, this funny orange cat came peeking out of the bushes. When he realized she was friendly, he just started rubbing his face back and forth on her hand, purring loudly. His eyes were crusted over with infection and he was filthy dirty, but he was so grateful to have some friendly human contact. He was named Hudson, after the street that he was found on. For the first week or two, Hudson was being treated for his eye infections, as well as an awful urinary tract infection. Every time he used the litter box, he would cry out in pain. This poor little boy would not have survived much longer on the streets!
Hudson loved every person he met. You can tell by his picture that he was an unusual looking cat. He was cross-eyed, and his head, feet and tail were too small for his body. Nevertheless, Hudson was an instant favorite of the volunteer who found him, as well as his foster mommy. Hudson was adopted when a family came into our adoption event one Saturday. There were kittens there that day, but two little girls fell in love with Hudson and made the decision that he needed to join their family!
Taylor and Emery knew what an amazing cat they were adopting, and their parents Pat and David were in agreement. Left, you can see a picture of Hudson with his girls and David, on the day of his adoption. He was already in pure bliss! Later, the family adopted a kitten named Cricket to keep Hudson company. Hudson was more interested in people than in Cricket, but they were a very happy little bunch.
After almost 3 years of having a wonderful life with his new family, Hudson became ill. He had enlarged kidneys, intestines, pancreas and heart, as well as calcification of the liver. On Sunday October 30th, we received a note from Pat, saying "I wanted to let you know dear Hudson died yesterday between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. Taylor and Emery held him before they put him in his travel case, so I could take him downtown to the hospital for an emergency check-up. Since he came home from the hospital the other day, his condition deteriorated: he was weak, bloated, did not eat, drank plenty of water, but seemed to be very uncomfortable going to the bathroom. By the time I brought him to the hospital yesterday, he had died. I think he wanted to say goodbye to the girls, and then he knew it was time for him to go. The night before, I cuddled him, and stayed by his side until late into the night. I heard a very faint purr, but by then, his condition had really declined.
We are so grateful he was a part of our lives, and we will always remember his unconditional love. He was truly a special cat, and member of our family. We are so happy you rescued him. Thank you both for all your support."
Saturday, October 29th, 2005 marked Hudson's last day on this earth. He was one of the most amazing cats that we have ever had the honor of knowing, and we are so grateful that we helped to give him a few years of happiness before he passed away. Hudson was between 14 and 16 years old when he died, so we can only imagine what his life was like before we found him, or how long he was living on the streets trying to fend for himself. David, Pat, Taylor and Emery made the last 3 years of his life so happy and warm. Hudson knew that he was loved when he left us, and we are so grateful for that.
The family has recently adopted a kitten named Button, who was rescued from the hurricane tragedy in Louisiana. Cricket and Button will live a wonderful life with a very loving family.