~Dedicated to the memory of Jasper who we sadly lost on 15th October 2005  ~

Born 15th August 1996

Willow's brother

(Jasper - August 2005)

Other names included Hairy Grey Thing, Nance, Whingey Boy and Grey Boy

His characteristics were indulging in a mad half hour as often as he can.  He loved to play fight "hand bag style" with the other cats.  He would sit for ages with his tongue sticking out. 

Jasper was a beautiful looking cat.  A lovely blue/grey colour.  His fur quite chunky.  A perfect resemblance of a Russian Blue.  The mother cat we saw and we know is just a typical moggy.  Willow is the image of her mother.  There is a strong possibility that the father was a pedigree Russian Blue.

After several visits to the national cat show at the NEC in Birmingham and talking to members who own Russian Blues we are now more convinced that Jasper had that breed in him.  He had all the traits of that breed too.

  A very affectionate cat and loved to lick your arms. A bit of a pretty boy and had a "cat walk" model walk hence the nickname "Nance".  He had a perfect temperament and could be very vocal when he wanted to be. 

In July of 2005 Jasper became very ill, very suddenly.  It was an upsetting time as we had no idea what was wrong with him and he had to undergo lots of tests.  Our vets were fantastic.  He was referred to a university hospital for further tests and an ultra sound along with other blood tests and a camera put down into his tummy.  Jasper had started to be sick for no known reason and it was really upsetting for us as we had no idea what had caused it and as the days went on it was becoming more obvious it wasn't a bug he had developed.

The test results swayed more to our vets possible line of thought which was Pancreatitis and/or Inflammatory Bowel disease.  We were able to look after Jasper by monitoring his diet and ensuring it was low fat, a single source protein and little and often for his needs.  He did have days where he went off his food and then picked himself up.  We tried to do as much reading as possible about these conditions and did keep a close eye on Jasper.  Considering all he went through in July he managed to pull through even though at one stage it was touch and go.  He remained his loving self and greeted us daily with his purrs and meows.

October 2005 saw Jasper go downhill and off his food.  He began to be sick so we took him to our vets for a steroid injection as they really helped him last time.  This time there was no improvement and the next day he was kept in our vets for a couple of nights on a drip but very quickly worsened and the sickness didn't improve.  We would stop and visit him on our way home from work and he was happy to see us and we decided with the vets help to bring him home on his drip to see if being at home would help him and he may see the routine of the other cats and want to eat again and if he did he may stop being sick.  It was no use, everything we tried to do would not work and we could see Jasper looking more and more ill. 

Our vets did all they could for him and they let us bring him home after some intensive treatment to have his last night at home with us and his feline family.  He was always happy to be brought home, he hated being away from us and still purring he looked at us lovingly for fusses and cuddles. 

He rested in his favourite place in the house and the other cats kept an eye on him until the early hours of 15th October when it was clear that Jasper had indeed had enough of this condition, he was being sick almost every 2 hours and he looked exhausted.  He gave us that look that says "enough is enough".  We knew the decision making time had come to let him go and there was no way we would let him suffer so at 11.00am on 15th October we sadly had to have him put to sleep.  Our vets were as upset as we were as they knew we were dealing with a really horrible condition and they knew there was nothing more that could be done.  So long as they could give us one night at home with him that was what they wanted to do and we are so very grateful they made it happen for us and the other cats.

Saying goodbye to Jasper was both sad and very painful.  He was one of the cats we got on our honeymoon and was very special.  To see him fall asleep so peacefully was nice in a way as we knew he was no longer going to suffer but our hearts still broke.  

When we lost Amber, in a way we had been prepared for it, as she had been born with a heart condition but Jasper had never been ill and to  develop something so quickly in July and pull through and then to go suddenly downhill was a shock.

"Jasper our first honeymoon boy, our hairy grey thing and affectionate cat, thank you for 9 wonderful years.  May you be at Rainbow Bridge with Amber, restored to health and vitality and resting peacefully.  We will never forget you..............."