RIP Beloved Pet
Over the weekend, Eldest Cat has eaten less and less. This morning, he took only three bites of food, hid from me by crawling to the back of the kennel behind his bed, and basically insisted on being a little curled up ball of kitty all day. I figured his renal failure was catching up to him, which the SO confirmed on our way home. Eldest Cat had that kind of smell to him that my other cat had right before she died. He did do me the favor of cuddling with me last night for about an hour in bed before he moved, inch by inch, then paused, then inched a little further, until finally he left the bed.
He got a last meal, a little bit of the Whiskas tuna broth. He loves tuna but has been stuck on the Hills YD food for his thyroid condition. I figured it couldn't hurt to give him a little treat about an hour before his procedure. He practically tripped over his own feet trying to stagger out of his kennel to get to the broths. At least he hadn't lost his sense of smell.
I carried him to the vet in my lap instead of the kennel. The SO drove. We had the window cracked open so he could smell the world for his last trip. Then I carried him in. He died very quickly, very peacefully, in my lap.
We came home, threw out all his special diet food (the girls don't need it), put the girls' food out in the hallway because we no longer need the cat door to keep Eldest Cat from getting to food he can't have. And now we are finishing up the grieving process. I really thought I'd be cried out by this point, but there's apparently still a little left. I wrote a really horrendous poem for him yesterday, well for me really, but about him. I could barely see the computer screen.
Anyway, the deed is done. The cat has passed. I feel somewhat relieved because I no longer have the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head (i.e., coming home from a vacation or business trip to find he's died when I wasn't around).
I might visit pet stores this weekend to seek out kitten therapy. Seeing the pets the foster / humane groups bring out on the weekends does wonders for my mood on a normal day. But after this past weekend? I don't know. We'll see.
Share happy pet tales with me, please. What is your favorite pet story?
He got a last meal, a little bit of the Whiskas tuna broth. He loves tuna but has been stuck on the Hills YD food for his thyroid condition. I figured it couldn't hurt to give him a little treat about an hour before his procedure. He practically tripped over his own feet trying to stagger out of his kennel to get to the broths. At least he hadn't lost his sense of smell.
I carried him to the vet in my lap instead of the kennel. The SO drove. We had the window cracked open so he could smell the world for his last trip. Then I carried him in. He died very quickly, very peacefully, in my lap.
We came home, threw out all his special diet food (the girls don't need it), put the girls' food out in the hallway because we no longer need the cat door to keep Eldest Cat from getting to food he can't have. And now we are finishing up the grieving process. I really thought I'd be cried out by this point, but there's apparently still a little left. I wrote a really horrendous poem for him yesterday, well for me really, but about him. I could barely see the computer screen.
Anyway, the deed is done. The cat has passed. I feel somewhat relieved because I no longer have the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head (i.e., coming home from a vacation or business trip to find he's died when I wasn't around).
I might visit pet stores this weekend to seek out kitten therapy. Seeing the pets the foster / humane groups bring out on the weekends does wonders for my mood on a normal day. But after this past weekend? I don't know. We'll see.
Share happy pet tales with me, please. What is your favorite pet story?