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Never Is the Next New Thing

RIP, Purrkoy the Kitten

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Today, four years to the day after Henry the dog — who was senior in age — crossed the Rainbow Bridge, Purrkoy the kitten unexpectedly flew off to join him at the tender age of 4.

On Sunday morning at 4 a.m., our current dog, Edward, woke me up with some strange behavior. He was jumping all over the bed, including all over MrB — and he knows better than to do that! I coaxed Edward out into the living room, where I found PK, as we called Purrkoy, having trouble walking and standing. By 5 a.m. I had left a note for MrB and sneaked away to the 24-hour Animal Medical Center with PK. The neurology team came in at 8 a.m., confirmed that PK had had a stroke, and started treating him for swelling of the brain. I was hopeful at first, but he experienced a cascade of complications, and by this morning it was clear we had to let him go. I am thankful we had a chance to say goodbye.

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I tell Henry da dog we must paws at da 🌈bridge so I can make sure meowmie iz doing everything the way I want her to because I iz bery particular always! She sez thank you for all da condolences and she iz reading every message and will acknowledge every single one. She sez iz great consolation to know how much everyone loved me and I am like duh of course I am da most lovable and also a famous opurra star! Thank ewe to aunt @stacylomman for coming to visit me and for my turtleneck sweater and for taking a last picture of da magic toe bean for meowmie who waz bery stressed she hadn’t taken one. Thank ewe to @amcny and Dr Gutierrez for twying so hard to help meowt. Meowmie knows I was so speshul that this world couldn’t contain me and that having four years with me was like winning da lottery for a zillion dollars. I sez to meowmie da same thing I sez to her after I 💩 in da 🛀- you’re welcome!! Meowmie and Aunt Stacy are organizing all my photos and opurra purrformances and will share more of dem (and repeat da ones dey love da most). I’m so glad I let meowmie record a big purrformance the other day – even doe I made her do it in da dark! Like I said I iz particular about how I does things ❤️🌈 love to you all.

A post shared by Purrkoy the Kitten (@purrkoy_the_kitten) on

I’m also thankful for the outpouring of condolences from Purrkoy’s 15,000-strong Instagram family. I always knew many people were entertained by the antics of “babycat,” as he was also known. Those included his love for sink drinks and his habit of singing the “song of his people” — which we referred to as “opurra” — at the top of his lungs in the wee hours of the morning. By the way, he was strangely reluctant to perform his music for the camera and would literally hightail it out of the room if he saw me coming with the phone, but just four days ago, I kept the lights off and thereby managed to get a full aria recorded for his fans.

Anyway, I did appreciate how many people were amused by him, but I didn’t expect so many to tell me that they had shared him with their friends, family, and colleagues, and that he provided a bright moment for them on dark days. I find consolation in knowing that he made thousands of people smile.

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Hewwo, IG family, it iz me, babycat. Thank ewe for all your good thoughts. Da @amcny neurologists made da big fuss over me after my stroke but I kept feeling worse and worse. Henry da dog flew to da 🌈 bridge four years ago today and he was telling me that I could have all the sink dwinks I want there AND live in my family’s hearts forever. Dis sounded like a good plan. Also I iz going to be da new star soloist of da heavenly choir! 🎤🎶🌈 Meowmie iz amazed that her little devil on earth was in such a rush to become a little angel but I haz always done things my own way. I promised her that I will report back and tell her if Gigi da dog iz still as bad as ever tho. #babycat #pkstrong #rippurrkoy #toomuchpurrsonalityfordisworld

A post shared by Purrkoy the Kitten (@purrkoy_the_kitten) on

The AMC is performing a necropsy to see if a cause for the stroke can be determined. It isn’t always possible to find a specific reason, but we will give it a try.

Meanwhile, I have thousands of cute babycat photos and videos, as does PK’s beloved aunt, Stacy Lomman, and we will continue to post them on his Instagram account. Oh, and if you’re curious about PK’s name, you can read all about the inspiration for that in my first post about him from 2014.

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Comments

  1. And now I\’m bawling all over again. Still completely stunned by this whole thing and in disbelief (or denial) that PK is gone. I loved him like he was my own and I\’m going to have a permanent crack in my heart. There will never be another quite like Purrkoy.

  2. Oh, Wendy, I am SO sorry for your loss of your dear kitteh, PK. For such small lumps of fur and meow, they sure do leave a huge gaping hole in our lives. Know that he is frolicking with Henry (and my boys Inigo and Othello) over the Rainbow Bridge. Crying over here for a cat I’ve never met, but I know that loss, and I feel for you. Hugs to you, my dear.

  4. He really did brighten my day so many times. Seeing your cats’ IG posts every day, it’s clear that you love them and their silly antics, and you just want to share the fun with the rest of us. I’m allergic to most cats, but I really like them, so thanks for sharing yours. I’m so sorry for your loss.

    • Thank you. I had really resigned myself to being woken up all night by the opurra for years to come and I was fine with it! I was just like, “I need to learn to get by on this schedule, because PK demands it” 🙂

  5. Crying my eyes out. I’m so heartbroken for you! My Tofu is 4 and Dumpling is 5 and I just can’t even imagine. PK was a hit in our household, I was always showing his pics and videos to my husband to show that he isn’t the only kitty who sings at night and no, we shouldn’t sew Fu’s mouth shut! Haha! Fu and Dumpling always came running when I played PK’s opurra on my phone!
    Sending much love to you!

    • “sew Fu’s mouth shut” made me laugh out loud. If I had held PK’s mouth closed, I swear his song would have come out his ears or nose!

  6. Wendy, I’m so very sorry. It’s such a terrible, painful loss when our furry family members leave us. They give so much during the short time they’re with us that the pieces of our hearts they take with them seem so huge. Sending you hugs during this very difficult time. Again, I’m so very sorry.