I cannot come up with the right title for this. The emotions of yesterday are still too extreme — between what should have been the highs and ultimately what we faced.
First off — Sorry, Kellie, but a dedicated birthday posting for you is going to have to wait to another day. (You knew it was her birthday, right?) I would have tried to do it yesterday, but now it doesn’t seem right. It also should have been a happy day, as the Christmas tree (and lights) went up.
Kellie’s birthday dinner got an unexpected interruption, as Will started displaying the signs of a stomach bug. That nixed the birthday cake for the evening, though at least she got her presents.
No, as you might have guessed, we got some pretty bad news last night about Sweetie. Her blood tests came back indicating advanced kidney failure, with elevated liver levels also indicating trouble there. An ultrasound and biopsy would have been the next steps, but in a 7-year old cat, those are just not good signs. So, Kellie and I made the decision to ease Sweetie’s pain. We had said our “potential” goodbyes before taking her to the hospital, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
I’m still tearing up as I write this. She was a part of the family, even if she was a slightly off-kilter one. (Have you ever heard of an indoor cat that never wanted to go outside? Me neither.) She had the softest coat you could ever imagine, and she would purr in anticipation of being petted. You didn’t even have to touch her. She’d drive the vets bonkers, because her purring would drown out her heartbeat when they tried to listen to her heart. She was so lovable.
I’m glad we were able to rescue her almost 5-1/2 years ago. You never imagine a cat being gone this soon. I know I’m not ready for it. As I was cleaning up tonight, I know I’m going to miss her on those mornings I get up to workout. She’d race me down the stairs (once she was sure I was going downstairs and not checking on one of the kids instead), then make sure I fed her as soon as possible. A cat has to have her priorities. Those early morning wakeups (before even Kellie gets up — that’s pretty early) aren’t going to be the same without her.
I won’t miss changing the litter box, but the laundry room already seems a little more empty without it there. And I really wish it didn’t have to happen on this day. But she’s given us a full life of memories, and we know she’s in a much better place. She had to instinctively know what was up, as she refused even the food she enjoyed the most (like tuna). Animals can be amazing and wondrous creatures at times. It’s sad that it takes an event like this to make us realize it sometimes.
By now, I’m pretty sure she has gone to Cat Heaven. We’ll see how the boys take it. Will didn’t like the idea of Sweetie not coming back (before she went to the hospital), but when we broke it to him before bedtime, he didn’t seem quite as freaked out. I know he’s going to miss her. Sean and Daniel will probably ask where she is, but it shouldn’t be quite as bad. But there’s no getting around it, and there is never a good time for this.
Thank you, Sweetie, for the memories you gave us (and hopefully we gave you — if cats have memories).
Truly sorry for your loss.
We almost had to go through something similar ourselves recently with one of our cats and had to prepare the kids for the possibility. And truthfully I still think it's going to happen soon (we've got three cats, one is seventeen and a half, one is sixteen and the young one is twelve and requires medication three times a day).