Emo Level 9000!
Max died last Wednesday. For those not memorizing every single thing I say, Max is a cat. Technically he was my mother's, but really we all belonged to him, cause he was a regal little grey tiger and clearly too dignified to be owned by anyone. He was fond of chasing off strange cats, watching out for Tipper (my sister's cat), bringing us small nearly dead animals as presents, and giving his people the occasional kitty-tongue-bath. He loved us and watched over us for 15 years, and then a week or two ago he got sick and stopped letting the neighbors feed him (nobody is living at my mother's house at the moment). So Mom came up and took him down to stay with her at Grandma's house. He did better for a little while, ate a little food (because it was ok if it was from one of his people, I guess), even went to the trouble of killing a mouse for her (he was such a sweet kitty ;_;)... but they found him dead on Thursday morning. I found out Thursday night, when I called Mom with my new phone to tell her I had a new phone. Crying-snot-face abounded on both ends of the phone, followed by my concluding this phone must be cursed for that to be my first call. And then several hours of worrying my roommates crying my eyes out on the couch in the room we keep the kittens in (that's a whole other story involving my roommates and a stray cat). So I thought that deserved LJ mention for hug-digging.
ETA: A few further thoughts, ending in an extra special chunk of suck. My mother and I both made each other cry: she broke me and my initial "he was an old cat and he had a good run" reaction when she switched from a general "Max died" to specifics about him not eating cause he wasn't seeing enough of his people (at least he got to see more of her before the end, which gives me a drop of bittersweet happiness); I broke her when she said that she couldn't get him back up here to bury him at the same pet cemetary as BJ and Shadow (previous family über-pets) and I said I didn't think that was right (the only other pets I can remember neither ending up there nor leaving us while they were still alive are a lizard and a hamster). So now Max is buried in some empty lot behind my grandma's house because my 11 year old stepbrother got confused about where the yard ended--why was he digging the grave in the first place? And the last time I saw him I promised him I'd come over and feed him and I never did and I think I'll always feel guilty for that. Sorry this addendum is much more rambly than the original post. XP
ETA: A few further thoughts, ending in an extra special chunk of suck. My mother and I both made each other cry: she broke me and my initial "he was an old cat and he had a good run" reaction when she switched from a general "Max died" to specifics about him not eating cause he wasn't seeing enough of his people (at least he got to see more of her before the end, which gives me a drop of bittersweet happiness); I broke her when she said that she couldn't get him back up here to bury him at the same pet cemetary as BJ and Shadow (previous family über-pets) and I said I didn't think that was right (the only other pets I can remember neither ending up there nor leaving us while they were still alive are a lizard and a hamster). So now Max is buried in some empty lot behind my grandma's house because my 11 year old stepbrother got confused about where the yard ended--why was he digging the grave in the first place? And the last time I saw him I promised him I'd come over and feed him and I never did and I think I'll always feel guilty for that. Sorry this addendum is much more rambly than the original post. XP