Simple Day Turned Stressful :(

Hello everyone,

As many of you may have seen, we have two adorable Devon Rex kittens. They are actually full brothers but from 2 seperate litters so about 5 months apart in age. Dexter was my christmas present from Simon last Christmas following the loss of my fur baby Felix who was 16 and had to be put to sleep due to fluid on the lungs. Dexter was such a joy and so much different to any other cat that we could not help ourselves but adopt another.

Squeak was Simon's 31st birthday present in May this year. He was the tiniest little bundle when we got him. Barely a handful and even now, still only midsize compared to his 4.7kg big brother. Squeak is definitely in the gangly growing stage still with big feet, long legs but lots of wrinkly skin that he hasn't quite grown into.

The two of them have such different personalities. Dexter can be cuddly, but it has to be when he is in the mood. Same with playing... or at least he doesn't share well with Squeak joining in LOL He also has an annoying habit of trying to wake me up at the crack of dawn for breakfast with slaps to the face with his paws and a bite to the cheek if I'm really unlucky. Big personality indeed.
 
Squeak on the other hand is extremely playful but also very cuddly. His most annoying habit is if we leave a bathroom door open, the toilet paper will end up in a pile on the floor. He is a garbage guts too and quite dominent when it comes to food time. Or maybe big bro Dex just lets him get away with it.

But the two of them together... there is a lot of love there. They always snuggle together for naps and often clean each other. They fret if they can't find each other and do have a lot of fun playing together so overall, the perfect companions.

So we finally decided it was time to get the pair of them desexed as Dexter is 13 months and Squeak about 8 months now. We hadn't really been too fussed on doing it but decided with the baby on the way, maybe it would be a good idea in case the new baby smell does make them want to be more territorial. They were both booked in today and we felt like terrible parents but expected a routine procedure.

About half an hour after we left, I got a phone call to inform us Squeak has a heart murmur and there are risks associated with anesthetic and therefore they needed our consent if they were to desex him. Being that it was a grade 3 out of 6, it is considered significant and we decided against the desexing. Instead we have a referral to go see a vet cardiologist to assess the extent of Squeak's condition.

Of course we are both devastated. Our beautiful little boy who is so lively and energetic may not have the same life expectancy as what we would have anticipated. Sure you never know with pets what could happen, but having this fear in the back of our minds is so much worse. I spent so much of today crying. Could blame the pregnancy hormones, but I don't think that makes a difference because when it comes to our fur babies, it breaks me completely.

We may have only had our boys for less than a year but the love we have for them is the love of family members. We cannot imagine life without them already and will of course do what we need to do to prolong Squeak's life if that is something that needs to happen. Whether it be medication or whatever else, we'll do it because that's what you do for someone you love. I will cross my fingers and toes that it turns out that it isn't as serious as that though. Google tells the good and the bad side to heart murmurs in cats and many do live long, normal lives. It is the unfortunate trait of a Devon Rex or a purebred cat in general.

Our poor baby... not that he knows there is anything wrong. He is his usual crazy self tonight, playing and snuggling as always. He knows he's a lucky boy to have such loving parents!