A goodbye and a hello
My calico cat, Patch, passed away in April, less than a month shy of her 19th birthday.
When I was eight years old, I lived in the country, between two farms, and there were cats everywhere. I had five of my own, mostly tan and white ones. However, Mom had recently bought me a puzzle with a cute calico kitten on it, and I wanted a kitten just like that. When I told Mom this, she said that if I wanted a kitten like that, I'd have to pray for one, because she wasn't going to find one for me! I gave it a shot, and lo and behold, two of my cats gave birth that summer -- and out of the six kittens, one was a calico, with color and markings remarkably like the one on the puzzle.
Patch stayed with me for her whole life. She went with me when I moved into the then-town of Summerside, when I went to Halifax for school, and when I moved back home. Even though she only weighed seven or eight pounds, she was the boss of every pet she ever lived with, from fellow cats big and small to huskies, pit bulls and papillons.
Patch had a stroke around midnight on April 23. She was confused and sad and her back legs wouldn't work properly, so she could barely stand up, let alone walk. She didn't seem to be in pain, though. I kept her in a cat bed in my room for the night and took her to the vet the next morning. She lay silently on the table, but she managed to weakly kick her leg and make it difficult for the vet to inject the euthanasia solution -- she always was a fighter! She died quickly and peacefully. I was sad, and I miss her, but I know that she had a great, long life.
I took that last picture a few weeks before she died. You can tell that she was old, but I think she looked pretty good up until the end.
After Patch died, I knew that I wanted another cat. I've had cats my whole life and the house felt empty without one! I watched the humane society website, waiting until I saw the perfect kitten. One day in early June, I did.
She was "Billie," and she was in foster care with her three siblings (lighter, skinny-striped sister Fynne and similarly-marbled brothers Humphrey and Wilbur) and her mom Aussie (also an orange tiger).
I immediately sent in an application, then met the kitten at the foster home and of course fell in love with her. I had to wait a week for her to be spayed. When the day came, I excitedly went to pick her up... only to find that the humane society had accientally spayed her sister, Fynne, instead! I had to wait four more days for Billie, who luckily had not been snapped up -- she was actually the only member of that family not yet taken.
While I waited to adopt Billie, I wondered what would happen to Fynne. Would anyone adopt her? Would someone like the horrible loud trashy woman I'd seen manhandling kittens at the humane society during my first visit take her home? Would she miss her sister? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I couldn't leave Fynne... so I decided to take her, too.
"Billie" is now Lily. She and Fynne have been here for five days, and have settled in great. I bought them this awesome cat tree, and they love it. They purr whenever someone pats them. They meow to be picked up. They play and cuddle with the dog. They chase each other around and destroy the house -- but cutely. They're wonderful kittens.
When I was eight years old, I lived in the country, between two farms, and there were cats everywhere. I had five of my own, mostly tan and white ones. However, Mom had recently bought me a puzzle with a cute calico kitten on it, and I wanted a kitten just like that. When I told Mom this, she said that if I wanted a kitten like that, I'd have to pray for one, because she wasn't going to find one for me! I gave it a shot, and lo and behold, two of my cats gave birth that summer -- and out of the six kittens, one was a calico, with color and markings remarkably like the one on the puzzle.
Patch stayed with me for her whole life. She went with me when I moved into the then-town of Summerside, when I went to Halifax for school, and when I moved back home. Even though she only weighed seven or eight pounds, she was the boss of every pet she ever lived with, from fellow cats big and small to huskies, pit bulls and papillons.
Patch had a stroke around midnight on April 23. She was confused and sad and her back legs wouldn't work properly, so she could barely stand up, let alone walk. She didn't seem to be in pain, though. I kept her in a cat bed in my room for the night and took her to the vet the next morning. She lay silently on the table, but she managed to weakly kick her leg and make it difficult for the vet to inject the euthanasia solution -- she always was a fighter! She died quickly and peacefully. I was sad, and I miss her, but I know that she had a great, long life.
I took that last picture a few weeks before she died. You can tell that she was old, but I think she looked pretty good up until the end.
After Patch died, I knew that I wanted another cat. I've had cats my whole life and the house felt empty without one! I watched the humane society website, waiting until I saw the perfect kitten. One day in early June, I did.
She was "Billie," and she was in foster care with her three siblings (lighter, skinny-striped sister Fynne and similarly-marbled brothers Humphrey and Wilbur) and her mom Aussie (also an orange tiger).
I immediately sent in an application, then met the kitten at the foster home and of course fell in love with her. I had to wait a week for her to be spayed. When the day came, I excitedly went to pick her up... only to find that the humane society had accientally spayed her sister, Fynne, instead! I had to wait four more days for Billie, who luckily had not been snapped up -- she was actually the only member of that family not yet taken.
While I waited to adopt Billie, I wondered what would happen to Fynne. Would anyone adopt her? Would someone like the horrible loud trashy woman I'd seen manhandling kittens at the humane society during my first visit take her home? Would she miss her sister? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I couldn't leave Fynne... so I decided to take her, too.
"Billie" is now Lily. She and Fynne have been here for five days, and have settled in great. I bought them this awesome cat tree, and they love it. They purr whenever someone pats them. They meow to be picked up. They play and cuddle with the dog. They chase each other around and destroy the house -- but cutely. They're wonderful kittens.