Hamilton

2003 - 2017

HAMILTON’S STORY

Hamilton came to us through the Hamilton Humane Society at the beginning of July 2003. And although we didn’t know it at the time, a wonderful bright shining star had entered our lives. He was this little ball of grey stripped fur that was only about six weeks old. The first night, we took him to bed with us and he promptly curled up on my pillow at the top of my head. Sleeping on my pillow wrapped around the top of my head quickly became a habit and for the next fourteen years, for the most part (he missed very few nights), Hamilton spent at least part of the night on my pillow.


From the beginning, he seemed to know his name was Hamilton. Every time he heard his name, his tail would give a little quick wag. Hamilton also had the loudest purr of any cat I have ever known and was always very quick to purr. He never talked very much, but boy could he purr. The smallest acknowledgement or bit of attention would get him started. He was a quiet gentle soul who had so very much love inside of him; a big cuddly teddy bear, and so he was also affectionately called Pooh Bear. He loved to cuddle. He would climb into your lap, stand on his hind paws and place his front paws on either side of your neck and give kisses wherever his little tongue could reach. After a minute or two, he would crawl down onto your lap, curl up and purr till he fell asleep. Hamilton’s love for us was endless and somehow in his own quiet way he always gave us the sense that he knew we loved him.


Hamilton was a big cat, big boned. His paws were about half as big again as the average and he sat approximately two or three inches taller than most cats. For most of his adult life he weighed about 17 lbs. Hamilton loved to eat. Although he had a small bowl of kibble available all the time, he really looked forward to his morning and evening meal of canned food. He always seemed to know when it was time and as soon as you turned to put his bowl down on his food mat, there he was quietly, patiently waiting.


When Hamilton was eleven, he developed what looked like a purple pimple on his upper lip. When it didn’t go away, our vet surgically removed it. A biopsy revealed that it was an aggressive form of cancer. The prognosis was scary, an 80% chance it would reoccur in four to six months. I don’t think I breathed for six months. And gradually, as time when by, we considered each and every day, a gift. About a year and a half later, Hamilton developed asthma. This was a new learning experience for us, it took about six months to get his medicine properly adjusted and he never did learn to accept an inhaler, but through it all our little man never complained.


Shortly before he turned fourteen, we moved from Edmonton to Hamilton to be closer to family. From the time moving boxes came into the house, Hamilton was not happy. Cats generally do not take well to change and he was no exception. Although we constantly reassured him, the process of moving, travelling and settling in a new home was hard for him and he didn’t seem to be adjusting well to the new environment. He was very skittish and tended to hide whenever we were going out as though he was afraid we would take him away again. Over a period of time we noticed that he did not appear to be eating well and was slowly losing weight. This happened gradually and we thought that he was just having trouble adjusting to his new home. Although we did not yet have a new vet, we had been getting food from one close by that seemed nice. By the time we decided to take him in, we realized we had been coaxing him to eat more for about a week and he had lost quite a bit of weight. It turned out that Hamilton had a large mass and fluid in his lower abdomen. The cancer had come back. Based on his age and condition it was too late to help him and needless to say, we blame ourselves. Over the next three days, Hamilton went downhill very fast and although our vet had given him a mild pain medication, on the third day it was obvious that he was suffering. The next morning we took Hamilton to our vet and Dr. Donna and her staff could not have been kinder or more compassionate to Hamilton and us. Hamilton passed away at 11:26 on August 5, 2017. A beautiful bright shining star with a wonderful boundless heart has now gone from our lives and our world is much smaller. I sent a piece of my heart with him. We will never forget the beautiful gift of love he gave us and he will live in our hearts forever.


Hamilton Wong
May 2003 – August 5, 2017