Madison Tieche: 1997-2006

Today was our last day with our beloved family cat, Madison. It ended a long and difficult illness that left Madison weighing less than 5 pounds, a walking skeleton that bore little resemblance to the big, strong frame that earned him the nickname "Linebacker Kitty."

Madison's liver began failing over the Christmas Break, and he began expunging thick, yellow bile from his urinary tract. He was doing it uncontrollably, and soaked the comforter and carpet in the guest bedroom. It upset us not because it was a big mess (which it was - more than a gallon of the stuff, I estimate) but because it meant that something was really wrong with Madison.

On Monday afteroon, Nicole and I took him to the vet. Blood tests confirmed that his liver was failing. The whites of his eyes were yellow, as were his gums, his nails and his skin, which the vet indicated as signs of acute liver failure. He hadn't eaten in 3.5 weeks and hadn't had any intestinal activity in a month, and had lost 8 pounds, so the doctor said he was just going to starve himself to death. In a tough decision, Nicole and I decided to put Madison down, rather than watch him starve himself to death slowly.

We pet him a few last times, and Justus began crying, probably because Nicole and I were crying and he sensed that it was a sad time for Mommy and Daddy. He died peacefully at 5:11. He was 9 and a half years old.

I have been allergic to cats all my life, and I always joked about hating cats, but Madison went with Nicole, and because I loved her, I loved him. I took allergy medicine so I could be around him, and I never regretted it one day.

I hope I'll see him when Jesus brings the New Heaven and the New Earth down, and perfection reigns and sin, disease and death are erased. I figure God must love animals to have spent so much time creating them with such uniqueness. If I do see Madison, hr'll have his linebacker body back. I'm sure I'll be a little teary when I see him, only this time, it won't be because of allergies.