Thursday 25 August 2011

the third act

When I moved to Nova Scotia from Michigan, I brought three cats with me. (Hey, noone ever accused me of packing light!) Panda, Katie, and Chumba. Panda died some years back, Chumba last year, and Kate....

well, we put my sweet old girl down today.

Last night she had (we think) a series of small strokes, leaving her blind, unable to walk more than a few feet, and with a permanent head-tilt.

It was time.

Bear took her in to the vets, and now she's buried up on the hill at the edge of the blueberry bushes where the sun warms the grass every morning, next to her best pal Chumba.

We'll miss you, Katie-baby.
Katie was the first one to greet both kids home from the hospital, the first to accept Bear, the first to bound on the bed in the morning and let us know it was time to get up! and see what the new day had brought! She moved across Michigan several times with me, enduring several different roommates and boyfriends, and then staked out Bear as her very own once she was settled in here at the house.



Tonight was spent in quiet cries with the kids. They both seem to be doing okay right now, since they knew she was frail and elderly. Lucy is lost, though.

I'm sure soon there will be the tiny feet of kittens running around the house, because remembering your summer as 'The summer vacation my cat died' is just awful. And seriously? Our house with just one cat?

Perish the thought.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry for your loss but it does sound like you have been blessed with great cats and many happy memories.

Janet said...

Coming out of Lurkdom to relay my sympathies. It sounds like Kate had a wonderfully long and happy life :)

Gabriella said...

Oh I'm so sorry...she's resting now in peace and sounds like she had a wonderful life with loving people around her.

Lynda said...

Oh, sad. Loss of a cat is a hard thing, even (especially?) if they have had a good long life. We lasted 6 weeks after our old cat died last year before 2 newbies arrived and we only waited that long to get Christmas and Hogmanay out of the way first. Houses need kitties.

Major Bedhead said...

Ah, Jess, I'm sorry. Losing a pet, even when you know it's time for them to go, is so tough.

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