Precious moments
Recently a very good friend of mine told me he had to put his nearly 18 year old cat to sleep. As if my own heart had been pierced, I winced as I read his e-mail message. He didn't verbalize his pain, but I could "hear" it between the lines of the message.
It has been a few years since I was in the same place. I will never forget when we needed to put poor Tigger to sleep. She was most definitely my best friend. She traveled in the car with me to visit my parents. She resented my husband when he began "sleep overs" at my home. She was my staunch defender. At a mere six pounds, she could growl like a dog 20 times her size. She would growl when she heard or saw anyone outside where we lived that did not belong there. In the middle of the night if she growled, your blood would run cold as your heart stopped.
She would sit on the back of the seat as we drove the hour and a half to my parents. Her tail would wrap around my shoulders. Sometimes she would sit forward, her front paws on my right shoulder. It seemed like she would help me drive. If we passed a car, she had to get up and run over to the window to talk to the people in the other vehicle. It usually made people laugh. Once we were past the car, she would head straight back to her position on the back of my seat.
For my friend, he had his own memories. Some were good and some were tough. His cat had been ill for sometime and he struggled to do what he could to help him. In the end it was just his time to go. Just as it had been Tigger's time.
Tigger did one final favor to me before she left me. I didn't know how I could be in the room when it was time to put her to sleep, but I didn't know how I could not be there. In her protective little way, she took that decision away from me, dying peacefully in my arms on the way to the Animal Hospital.
As much as we know it is coming, we never want to let go. They have filled our hearts with so much love and joy. Both Tigger and Kain have gone on to a better place. It is my hope that they are pain free and running and playing. Maybe Tigger is waiting for me when my time comes. It would be good to see her again, to get those sweet kitty nose kisses.
I sit here smiling at the memories. It is bitter sweet, but I am glad that I could pull those memories out and dust them off.
It has been a few years since I was in the same place. I will never forget when we needed to put poor Tigger to sleep. She was most definitely my best friend. She traveled in the car with me to visit my parents. She resented my husband when he began "sleep overs" at my home. She was my staunch defender. At a mere six pounds, she could growl like a dog 20 times her size. She would growl when she heard or saw anyone outside where we lived that did not belong there. In the middle of the night if she growled, your blood would run cold as your heart stopped.
She would sit on the back of the seat as we drove the hour and a half to my parents. Her tail would wrap around my shoulders. Sometimes she would sit forward, her front paws on my right shoulder. It seemed like she would help me drive. If we passed a car, she had to get up and run over to the window to talk to the people in the other vehicle. It usually made people laugh. Once we were past the car, she would head straight back to her position on the back of my seat.
For my friend, he had his own memories. Some were good and some were tough. His cat had been ill for sometime and he struggled to do what he could to help him. In the end it was just his time to go. Just as it had been Tigger's time.
Tigger did one final favor to me before she left me. I didn't know how I could be in the room when it was time to put her to sleep, but I didn't know how I could not be there. In her protective little way, she took that decision away from me, dying peacefully in my arms on the way to the Animal Hospital.
As much as we know it is coming, we never want to let go. They have filled our hearts with so much love and joy. Both Tigger and Kain have gone on to a better place. It is my hope that they are pain free and running and playing. Maybe Tigger is waiting for me when my time comes. It would be good to see her again, to get those sweet kitty nose kisses.
I sit here smiling at the memories. It is bitter sweet, but I am glad that I could pull those memories out and dust them off.