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My cat died

lavender's green

By lavender's green,
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lavender's green

lavender's green

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Yesterday I was googling how to tell when a cat is close to death. Based on what I learned, I thought we had more time. She'd been looking terrible, but was still relatively active, giving our boy cats a piece of her mind, and even exploring the yard (indoor cat but she's been enjoying the sun on the deck). She was also ravenous because of her medical issues, always stealing food off the counter when she could get away with it, and helping herself to our drinks. I think her hunger drive made her appear more lively than she actually was. She broke into a bag of pita bread last weekend and shredded them up. LOL.

I've had her for so long. Longer than any human friends, and most family. My great-grandma had died and my best friend had moved away. I was lonely and my grandma (daughter of the one who'd died) absolutely insisted that I needed a pet, someone to be my friend and to take care of, and if my parents wouldn't let me have one of the kittens under her porch, then gosh-darnit, I was going to keep a cat at her house. My parents relented.

We've been through so many milestones. So many boyfriends that she hated (she actually liked DH, though). So many late nights where she'd take me to task for being out instead of cuddling with her. When I studied in Europe, she stopped eating. I took her with me when I got married, so she's been through several moves and a few babies. She's had cancer, thyroid and kidney problems, and plenty of other mishaps that I've nursed her through. But mostly she's been my little friend. A highly possessive one who gets irritated if other people try to cuddle me. She was particularly skilled at getting between DH and me in bed. She'd lay on top of us while we were spooning and slowly fall down in the crack between us, then she'd slowly rotate until she was perpendicular to us, so where we were formerly spooning we'd now be a whole cat's length apart.

This morning the kids were out. I think she waited just long enough for them to get out of the house, then stretched out for a nap under the console table by the front door. I went about my morning-off business, then decided to take a walk. Got my shoes from the front closet, put them on, realized I was stepping on the edge of her tail fur. Why isn't she protesting? Oh...

I just feel so heavy now. I've already been having this "wow, time flies" feeling because my oldest just turned 7. In another 7 years he'll be 14 and huge, and 7 more he'll be 21 and launching (and my other kids won't be far behind!). And then I look back in time at my Molly cat and all we've been through. She's been the common thread running through more than half my life. It feels like I've buried my childhood, my teens, my 20s.

The hard thing is that because she was scavenging so much, we got into the habit of never having food or drinks out without thinking of her whereabouts. So every single time I get a glass of water, butter some bread, cook meat, shred some cheese, anything, I'm thinking about where she is, and that I'd better put this away soon before she steals it. Then I realize she'll never steal it.

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milovany

milovany

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Oh, I'm sorry!! What a loss, but what lovely memories you shared.  How old was she?  Do you want to share her name?  Cats are so great. 

Our cat is 13 now and is indoor/outdoor.  I just said to the kids today that maybe she's getting nearer to that point.  She was at the vet recently, who said she looked great as far as she could tell (didn't do any tests or anything because she's not all about the vet).  But the last couple of weeks I've noticed she's just laying on the top hay bale out in the open barn most the day.  She used to be more active during the day.  We'll see. 

I'm glad you got so many good years with your dear cat and good on your grandmother for telling you to get one!  How did you find/get her? 

 

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lavender's green

lavender's green

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52 minutes ago, milovany said:

Oh, I'm sorry!! What a loss, but what lovely memories you shared.  How old was she?  Do you want to share her name?  Cats are so great. 

Our cat is 13 now and is indoor/outdoor.  I just said to the kids today that maybe she's getting nearer to that point.  She was at the vet recently, who said she looked great as far as she could tell (didn't do any tests or anything because she's not all about the vet).  But the last couple of weeks I've noticed she's just laying on the top hay bale out in the open barn most the day.  She used to be more active during the day.  We'll see. 

I'm glad you got so many good years with your dear cat and good on your grandmother for telling you to get one!  How did you find/get her? 

 

Molly, named after a puppy I couldn't keep when I was small. I had to choose between the puppy and an older dog who'd been with us longer. I didn't think it was fair to Zeus to get rid of him because a litter of puppies came along (not his. Their mother was another dog of ours).

I think Molly cat was 17. She was born at my grandma's house. Grandma had a set of really steep stone stairs, and it was getting too hard on her to go up them. My dad and uncles built a wooden porch over the stone stairs; there was a gap. I think they took the top landing rocks off, so there was a sandy pit up there, and a stray cat had a litter of kittens there. I remember peeking at them, and three or four peeked back at me. Too sweet! Grandma prevailed on Dad to reach in there and grab one for me once they were old enough, and he happened to grab Molly. She bit him and sliced his finger to the bone. They became good friends later, though.

Grandma's been working on dying too, as a matter of fact. Around Thanksgiving Hospice said she had only a few days. She started eating again, so she's still with us, but barely.

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RootAnn

RootAnn

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What a personality! So sorry for your loss.

Making tuna salad always brought up sad thoughts after our beloved cat died. We now have a (completely different personality) cat who twines between our legs when we make it. He's making new memories for us, but none of us will forget our sweet previous cat. There is definitely a hole that can't ever be filled.

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Reefgazer

Reefgazer

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17 hours ago, lavender's green said:

Yesterday I was googling how to tell when a cat is close to death. Based on what I learned, I thought we had more time. She'd been looking terrible, but was still relatively active, giving our boy cats a piece of her mind, and even exploring the yard (indoor cat but she's been enjoying the sun on the deck). She was also ravenous because of her medical issues, always stealing food off the counter when she could get away with it, and helping herself to our drinks. I think her hunger drive made her appear more lively than she actually was. She broke into a bag of pita bread last weekend and shredded them up. LOL.

I've had her for so long. Longer than any human friends, and most family. My great-grandma had died and my best friend had moved away. I was lonely and my grandma (daughter of the one who'd died) absolutely insisted that I needed a pet, someone to be my friend and to take care of, and if my parents wouldn't let me have one of the kittens under her porch, then gosh-darnit, I was going to keep a cat at her house. My parents relented.

We've been through so many milestones. So many boyfriends that she hated (she actually liked DH, though). So many late nights where she'd take me to task for being out instead of cuddling with her. When I studied in Europe, she stopped eating. I took her with me when I got married, so she's been through several moves and a few babies. She's had cancer, thyroid and kidney problems, and plenty of other mishaps that I've nursed her through. But mostly she's been my little friend. A highly possessive one who gets irritated if other people try to cuddle me. She was particularly skilled at getting between DH and me in bed. She'd lay on top of us while we were spooning and slowly fall down in the crack between us, then she'd slowly rotate until she was perpendicular to us, so where we were formerly spooning we'd now be a whole cat's length apart.

This morning the kids were out. I think she waited just long enough for them to get out of the house, then stretched out for a nap under the console table by the front door. I went about my morning-off business, then decided to take a walk. Got my shoes from the front closet, put them on, realized I was stepping on the edge of her tail fur. Why isn't she protesting? Oh...

I just feel so heavy now. I've already been having this "wow, time flies" feeling because my oldest just turned 7. In another 7 years he'll be 14 and huge, and 7 more he'll be 21 and launching (and my other kids won't be far behind!). And then I look back in time at my Molly cat and all we've been through. She's been the common thread running through more than half my life. It feels like I've buried my childhood, my teens, my 20s.

The hard thing is that because she was scavenging so much, we got into the habit of never having food or drinks out without thinking of her whereabouts. So every single time I get a glass of water, butter some bread, cook meat, shred some cheese, anything, I'm thinking about where she is, and that I'd better put this away soon before she steals it. Then I realize she'll never steal it.

I have a cat that does this; it's so sweet. I am so sorry for the loss of your dear cat - they really are amazing companions.

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