You'll probably get two stories/posts in one mailing.
The first one is what I typed about an hour ago.
This one is an official goodbye to our obnoxiously friendly, 12 year old black housecat, Sly.
He wasn't himself last night, after falling asleep on top of a lap-top computer, then being moved to the floor, then not wanting to eat....
He was as limp as a rag doll as we set him up in a bed of towels and t-shirts to spend the night upstairs.
We said goodbyes last night, thinking he would not make it until this morning....and he made it through to this morning anyway, seeming to perk up just a bit.
But at the vet's office, they found a large mass in his abdomen. The choices were....x-rays, exploratory surgery, or.... choice #3: an injection.
He used to weigh a whopping 16 pounds, and we would laugh when his belly dragged in the snow and left a line between his paw prints.
When he jogged through the grass, his belly would sway from side to side....
He used to lie down and his belly would melt into a puddle of cat....taking up your whole lap and then some.
He used to put his weight tentatively on your shoulder (if you didn't let him get onto your lap) and melt himself down your chest to settle on your lap anyway.
He used to sneak into your bed and curl up against your stomach or on your back and make it impossible to move if you got uncomfortable.
He used to come running for food, and it was the only way to lure him back into the house at night.
This morning, he weighed 12 pounds. He hadn't been eating a lot, but....was still spry enough to quickly catch and devour a mouse that ran down the stairs last week.
Just this week, he came running for a can of tuna, and competed admirably with 3 dogs who also know the sound of a can opener...
He was in his terrible shedding stage, which happens every year. Clumps of fur making him look ragged and scraggly, which he couldn't groom out.
Our usual spunky cat didn't try to escape in the vet's office as I held him rather than keeping him in the cat carrier. He perked his ears when the vet came in, but didn't try to be friendly with her.
He wasn't his old self, and it didn't take too much thinking about agreeing to option #3.
We'll bury him tonight, under the red-bud tree where barn cats and Midnight and a few favorite bunnies have been buried in the past 4 years.
Sigh... I can't imagine NOT having animals in our life, but this part sure makes you stop to think....
Laura
No comments:
Post a Comment