I Miss My Puck Options

[PucksMom]

Hi... It will be a week ago tomorrow morning that I lost my furry little soulmate. It was completely unexpected and I just can't seem to get a grip.
Puck was my first kitty that I chose. He was born to a feral momma that we took in to spay. I was supposed to rehome him like I did with his brothers and sisters, but when he was the last little kitty left of his litter and I was completely alone- my mom had gone with my big sister on her move across the country, and I took a look at my teeny little monkey cat and knew that he was my baby.
He was very timid. Pretty much scared of everything- even my mom, whose house he lived in for the first 3 years of his life- but he was never scared of me for me.
We would play fetch until he was bright pink and panting and he would still beg for more. Most nights he laid on my chest, his head under my chin, his front legs around my neck, kneading and purring until he fell asleep, and if he wasn't there, he was laying on his back tucked between my arm and my side.
When he was only a few months old, we took in two orphaned kittens. Puck loved them. He would clean them after their bottles, sleep curled up with him, even though he was just a baby himself. They found new homes, but after about a year, one of the babies had to come back from his adoptive home. It was like Puck and Batman had never been apart. They napped curled up together and would groom each other.
I moved to my first apartment a month and a half ago, and he moved with me.
Late last thursday night, he started acting very different... He was very very crabby, very vocal, and was sitting strangely, and running in and out of the littterbox. Right away I knew that he was having urinary tract issues. I wanted to take him to the vet on friday, but couldn't get off work. Saturday morning, I bundled him up and drove the 45 minutes to our vet.
My sister has a kitty who is on medication and prescription diet, and I was expecting to drop a bundle of money on various medications and more on prescription diet. But the vet felt his little belly and told me he was totally blocked...
they ran a quote for me, and I just broke down. It was more than I could afford. If everything went perfectly, it was more than I had in my account to pay because I recently had car repairs, student loan repayments, and if it went like they expected, it was going to be over a thousand dollars, with more bills coming down the . So I had to sit there and put a dollar sign against my best little friend's life.
I stayed with him until the end, petted him and told him how much I loved him. I thought I would have years with him. He wasn't even four years old.
I feel so guilty. I failed him because I didn't have enough money for that vet bill. I look at the things in my apartment and think that if I hadn't gotten all these things, I could have saved him.
I also failed him by missing some of the signs that he was getting sick..... there was fewer pee spots in the litter box, and I had attributed a little bit of lethargy to him being mad about some stray cats sitting outside my apartment window, or maybe he was mad that I had gone back to work after being home on vacation for a week.... Or he did have a paw condition called Plasma Cell Pododermatitis, which made his feet ouchy sometimes...
I was so busy with work coming back from my vacation that I didn't even put them all together.
I miss him so much, and so does Batman. He didn't eat for a couple of days. today he finally started playing again.
My mother wants me to take one of her cats, but Batman and Steve didn't really get along when they were at my mom's. I tried him for a day, but ended up taking him back. Batman was miserable, and it just reminded me that he was with me because I had failed my baby.
I have his collar and his favorite toy in a little box. It is my constant companion.
My sister thinks I should get a new cat to distract me, but I don't think I'm ready. Puck was more than a cat to me. I don't know if I can take in another cat- what if something happens to Batman? I'd have to sit there and say goodbye to another one. But I think that Puck would want me to give somebody else a home. There are so many that need it... I can't afford heroics, and I generally don't believe in them, but I could give somebody else a chance...
As I was driving to work on tuesday, I came around a curve and there was the prettiest, brightest half rainbow I had ever seen. I think maybe that was my little boy letting me know that he's ok. He was just a little guy... no way could he reach to make a whole rainbow...

[PucksMom]

Brutus- just noticed where you were from. I grew up in Swartz Creek, not too far from where you are. I now live in Lake Orion, but my Saddlebred gelding is boarded in Grand Blanc......
Colic is the worst... Went through it many many times with my aunt's mare (thankfully my two haven't done it yet...) who only recently passed away. Thankfully she always resolved with tubing and walking. She would stress out, forget to drink, and there ya go, impaction!
We were just talking about MSU yesterday at the barn. They lost their funding, so the cost of sending a critter there now will probably double. I hope nothing big goes wrong with my horse. I know my large animal vet would work out a payment plan but.....
New kitty- might be named Clark... possibly.. I'm not sticking the name on him yet though- has holed up in Puck's favorite hiding spot. Have gotten a better look at him. He's marked with a little crooked white mustache, an adorable bib, and little white boots. Batman has gotten a little hissy with him , but just when the stranger acts too forward (he seems to think that when Batman needs the litterbox, he has to be IN there with him.... . But the Bat is being a good sport and is back to his goofy, playful self and is right now curled up napping in my lap.
Really feeling like Puck is watching over me and guiding me in this. I miss him so much still, but at least I feel a little more at peace.