Last Sunday, after a grueling five and a half hours at the Emergency Vet Clinic, I was forced to put Pink to sleep. He was suffering from kidney failure and everything that can go wrong with kidney failure had. In order to keep him alive, his weekly routine would have consisted of two shots, 35 pills, dialysis, and a special diet and would only give him a year to live. It was so hard to let go.Pink came into my life one hot summer 13 years ago, when I rescued him from a family that lived in the country and refused to get their 12 cats spayed or neutered. This resulted in kittens and kittens, which the dad of the family would take to the animal shelter each Summer. Although my disappointment that the family wouldn't get their animals spayed or neutered, greater was my desire to save at least one of them from that fate if I was able. That one was Pink.When he moved into the house, he quickly adopted the dog, Cocca, whom he nursed on, slept with and tormented until her dying day. He hated traveling, evidenced by the loud yowling in the car, each trip to the vet and by ruckus he made being put into a his cat carrier. He loved can foods, catnip and sleeping anywhere that I might move my body to while sleeping. He slept either on my bed or the dogs bed every night of his life, except when he was out hunting. Back in his younger days when he did hunt, he was a formidable predator, bringing us gifts that we were sometimes amazed he was able to catch. And some that we weren’t. Moths beware. And then there was the ones that he brought to Connor. One word describes his hunting prowess and that word is, ew. Pink loved sitting on the edge of the bathtub, draping his tail into the water and getting rubbed down with wet hands. If I was taking a hot bath he was sure to come in for his bath and once complete would curl up on the bed to sleep. He had a good life and I’m glad he was part of our family. He was 12 years old. He will be dearly missed.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Eulogy for a Cat
Last Sunday, after a grueling five and a half hours at the Emergency Vet Clinic, I was forced to put Pink to sleep. He was suffering from kidney failure and everything that can go wrong with kidney failure had. In order to keep him alive, his weekly routine would have consisted of two shots, 35 pills, dialysis, and a special diet and would only give him a year to live. It was so hard to let go.Pink came into my life one hot summer 13 years ago, when I rescued him from a family that lived in the country and refused to get their 12 cats spayed or neutered. This resulted in kittens and kittens, which the dad of the family would take to the animal shelter each Summer. Although my disappointment that the family wouldn't get their animals spayed or neutered, greater was my desire to save at least one of them from that fate if I was able. That one was Pink.When he moved into the house, he quickly adopted the dog, Cocca, whom he nursed on, slept with and tormented until her dying day. He hated traveling, evidenced by the loud yowling in the car, each trip to the vet and by ruckus he made being put into a his cat carrier. He loved can foods, catnip and sleeping anywhere that I might move my body to while sleeping. He slept either on my bed or the dogs bed every night of his life, except when he was out hunting. Back in his younger days when he did hunt, he was a formidable predator, bringing us gifts that we were sometimes amazed he was able to catch. And some that we weren’t. Moths beware. And then there was the ones that he brought to Connor. One word describes his hunting prowess and that word is, ew. Pink loved sitting on the edge of the bathtub, draping his tail into the water and getting rubbed down with wet hands. If I was taking a hot bath he was sure to come in for his bath and once complete would curl up on the bed to sleep. He had a good life and I’m glad he was part of our family. He was 12 years old. He will be dearly missed.
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