We had to have our beloved cat put down today.
She was twenty one years old, which for a cat is ancient. She was a six-month-old kitten when I adopted her way back in 1998. The little cat that jumped up on my shoulders at the shelter.
She used to sulk when I went to work. She knew what the uniform and suitcase meant. When I got home from a trip she’d follow me around like a puppy dog for a couple days.
We knew it was time. Her kidney’s had been failing and her arthritis was making it tough to get around. I was worried she might not make it before I had a chance to get home from my last trip. We had to give her fluids the last week because her kidneys were shutting own.
A couple days ago she stopped eating and I knew it was only a matter of time.
This morning I woke and she had spit up blood on the carpet.
The vet said that keeping her around any longer would be cruel. Damn that was a tough call to make.
I took her out to play on the patio one last time.
I put her two favorite toys next to her. The little yellow fluff-ball and the toy mouse. She probably had ten of those little fluff-balls but she’d only play with that one. She chewed the skin off that toy mouse probably 5 times over the years and I kept gluing it back on because that was her favorite toy.
I found a picture of her from probably 20 years ago. When I got home this last week I tried to recreate it as best I could.
We took her to the vet this afternoon. I didn’t have the heart to put her in the cat carrier. Mrs. Kong drove while I held her on my lap. She was alert and looked out the window all the way there.
We put her up on the table and the vet gave her the injection. I stroked her head and she looked at me until the end.
Damn I miss my little buddy.