RIP - the most patient cat in the world

[swarfrat]

Last saturday, the day of my kid's birthday party, we lost our beloved cat of 5 years. She was about 16 as best as we could figure. The previous cat died suddenly when the kid was a year old. She was great with me, and I miss her spunk, but she was a bit high strung around strangers and kids and with toddlerhood right around the corner - it was something we worried about.  Right before that cat died, I took her in for a vet visit, and while my cat is cowering in her cage wailing, this cat who lived at the vet's office jumps into my lap, right in front of her, and demands that I pet her. A month later, my cat dies suddently, and then two months after that, my wife (who hates cats) surprises me with the cat I'd talked about from the vet's office. (Though I'm not sure bringing a cat home from a cushy job at the vet's office to a house with a toddler could be called a "rescue")

She was everything you could ask a cat to be in a toddler/preschooler home. Patient to a fault. Super sweet. Although a bit stinky (poop that would peel paint off the walls and she had a chronic sinus infection and would blow snot EVERYWHERE in the house. When he got his big boy bed, she claimed it. We never ever had monsters under the bed, because well, we already HAD a monster that lived under his bed. One with razor sharp claws and wicked teeth and night vision eyes, fur, which cruelly devoured small helpless creatures for sport, and which could shoot vile streams of chemicals out either end of its body.... Sounds like a monster to me, and well - with monsters, habitat is the main thing. So, having a monster ALREADY under his bed meant there could be no others ones in the house.

The morning of the party she just wasn't eating. By later afternoon, we realized she was slipping away and we took her to the emergency vet, but there wasn't but one choice. The kid took it hard. His dad did too. 

 

[DarkPenguin]

Sorry to hear it. Cute kitty.

 

[rgand]

Sounds like she had a great home with you. My sympathies.

 

[bagman67]

My heart's with you, buddy.  Our little four-legged family members do so much for us just by being objects of our adoration.  Thank you for sharing her story.  She was a lovely beast.

 

[BigSteve22]

My sympathy to you Bro, sounds like you lost a good friend. My cat's 13, and I'm not looking forward to loosing him. RIP kitty....  :sad1:

 

[swarfrat]

Thanks guys. She certainly was sweet and incredibly patient and well loved.

The boy is already campaigning for a hamster. (We started watching hamster videos on youtube a month or two ago)  The wife is absolutely dead set no more pets ever. Has been saying for years whenever the cat is gone I'm getting new furniture!

I've tried to tell her - the dog was YOUR DOG, the cats were MY cats. Now it's the boy's turn. I've told him we won't get another pet while we're still sad about April. I'm hoping we can persuade mommy to let us get two kittens in a few months. A non sneezy healthy cat is pretty low maintenance.

 

[DangerousR6]

My condolences, she really was a pretty cat...It's never easy losing a pet, we lost our precious Kuddles, a ragdoll cat, 4 years ago, we'd had her for 18yrs. It was really tough to see her go. :sad:

 

[ByteFrenzy]

Really sorry to hear. Your kid must also be hurting, if my math works out he's six now, and at that age they grasp the concept of 'away forever', so this is his introduction to loss. Make sure you're alert for when he wants to talk about it.

 

[swarfrat]

Yes, he just turned 6, and Oh yeah - it did.  Last night he started to ask me when I was going to die and then stopped before he got the words out. My dad died young (58 - I'm 48 now). We talked about it a little bit. (Beyond the scope of the boards). And I got a really sweet big hug - he's a very sweet and tender kid, but has a perverse streak about making a game of not showing affection. I think it was productive conversation. (Why do these things always happen an hour or sometimes two after bedtime?)

 

[Cagey]

My condolences. So painful, and such a hard lesson for the young.

 

[swarfrat]

i'm convinced that one of the big jobs that pets serve is to teach our kids many things. Things like "do unto others", responsibility, and yeah, they also teach us about losing loved ones.

 

[Cagey]

I agree. Fair play, tolerance, love... the list is long.

 

[swarfrat]

Fair play

Yeah - this is one reason why a pet should be able to (and not too dangerous if it does) hit back. We're in between preschool and 'the age of reason' right now.  Our  previous cat was actually very good about pulling her punches but letting you know she was ticked off. She'd either pop you with a velveted paw or swat you with her tail - she loved to do that if she was mildly annoyed.  Sometimes I wish others in the house better understood the concept of being angry with people you love.

 

[bagman67]

In a world that would just as soon keep us all in our boxes, with little regard for our emotional wellbeing, our animals allow us the luxury of expressing unmediated love for another creature.  And when one of these four-legged critters who endure our affection reciprocate, we know it is not filtered through an agenda, or conditioned on us making enough money, or taking out the trash, or anything else. It's pure and it's real.  So when one of these little objects of our love goes on ahead, it is crushing to lose that connection.  I feel for your loss.  It is a genuine loss, and the emotions arising from it need to be acknowledged.  May you and your family grieve as completely as you need to.  And one day, may you be ready to open your hearts to another creature again. 

 

[NonsenseTele]

:sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:

 

[rauchman]

Very very sorry to hear about your loss.  We had to put down one of ours a day or 2 before New Year's.  She had "gut" issues for a few years.  Horrible.  She was my third one that was put down.  Horrible.  Cried like a baby.  I'm getting teary eyed right now just writing this.

My cousin's wife works at a vet, and ultimately, we now have another one.  But I miss seeing the now deceased one, walking around in the kitchen and she was a great hunter.

Again, very sorry about your loss.  It sucks