July 30, 2007
Editor:
Dave Uphoff
Almost everyone has experienced the death of a pet. While the loss of a beloved pet is not as tragic as the loss of a human life, it nonetheless evokes tears and sadness in the hearts of the pet's owners. Yesterday, White Sox, my faithful feline companion of 18 years was put to sleep after succumbing to the ravishes of diabetes. He was diagnosed only last week with the disease but yesterday he became extremely ill.Judy and I anguished over what to do with the poor guy. We finally decided along with the advice of the veterinarian to euthanize him. It is the first time I had to make a life or death decision. I can't imagine the anguish that accompanies someone who has to make a decision on whether to pull the plug on a terminally ill loved one. One of the reasons I am writing about White Sox's death is to inform other cat owners of measures that can be taken to prevent diabetes in their pets. From my research on the internet, it is generally agreed that feeding dry food to cats increases their chances of getting diabetes because of the high carbohydrate content in dry food compared to moist or wet food. For those who are interested there is a website that explains this at the following link: http://www.felinediabetes.com/index.html. After reading the articles on cat diets I am going to switch over to moist food for my remaining cats. I know there are people who can't stand cats but I can't imagine living without a cat around the house. When I was a little boy, every farm had cats. In those days, cats were more utilitarian. They were used to keep mice and rats away from the corn and oats stored in corn cribs. When milking the cows we would sometimes play around and try to squirt some milk from the cows udder into a cat's mouth. We also used to feed milk to the cats which today is considered bad for cats.
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I think the one statement that marked the role of farm cats years ago was when my father would ask me if I gave the cat some feed. Feed is meant for animals. Today we give our cats food, not feed, because now they have been elevated to the level of pets which is a higher stratum that just being a mouse killer. A beloved pet is more than just a pet, it is a member of the family. One of the reasons I feel that death of a pet evokes grief is that it reminds us of the loss of other loved ones in our lives. We know that sooner or later we will be losing other friends and relatives. It also reminds us of our own mortality and that the clock is ticking for all of us. So for the first time in 18 years I will not see White Sox's cute face staring through the door window waiting to be fed when I come down the stairs in the morning. It is a sad thought that has evoked tears as I remember rescuing him as a little kitten from the dangerous streets of Minonk in 1989 and bringing him out to the country where he could romp and roam to his heart's content. But White Sox will be remembered here on this website because he was the poster boy for the first edition of MinonkTalk. Each year on the anniversary date of this website, I republish a picture of White Sox on the front page. I will continue to do that as long as this website is running. It is the least I can do to repay my little guy for all the happiness he brought to my life. 
White Sox 1989 - 2007
White Sox the cat died yesterday at the age of 18. He did not graduate from Harvard or win a lot of awards or make a lot of money. All he did was give unconditional love to those around him and make life more joyful for those who knew him. May he rest in peace.
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Viewer comments on this editorial
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WhiteSox's wrote on 8/1/2007 at 05:38:47Dave,
I also lost my faithful pet 3 years ago,We had to have our dog Scottie put down after along battle,,we weighted our options,and decided to have our loved one cremated,So i got on the internet and found Katies Forever,I am including the webpage,They are wonderful people,who took such great car of our beloved Scottie,We have a beutiful Urn,And now when my husband pass,es on Scottie will be with him,As we plan to have Scottie buryed with him..It was a very affordable price to have this done,And they will work with anyone on afixed income...http://www.dogurn.com/catalog/index.php?distributor_id=61554
Jack Devine wrote on 7/30/2007 at 17:34:19Dave sorry about your loss. 18 years! You were doing everything right!
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