Yesterday afternoon Jody and I said goodbye to one of our cats, Alice. I don't even know where to begin to write her eulogy, but after eleven years of loyalty, I feel I owe her at least this much.
Last week Alice began peeing on the walls and carpet, and considering that was very out of character for her I took her to the vet last Friday. After lots of head scratching and the collecting of several bodily fluids, the vet pretty much determined that she was in kidney failure brought on by diabetes. When I asked what treatment options were, the vet told me that sometimes cats responded well to insulin, but they were much harder to regulate than dogs. She couldn't really guarantee that insulin therapy would restore her quality of life, and she didn't really seem very hopeful that it would even work at all. So, Jody and I took the weekend to mull over what we wanted to do, and after lots of consideration we decided it was time to stop being selfish and do what was right for Alice.
It's very strange not to have her come jumping over the baby gate every time I start tinkering in the kitchen. And I kept waiting last night for her to crawl in bed with me and start breathing her death breath (she had some serious halitosis) in my face like she always did. I notice Cleo has been pacing the house looking for her, and keeps coming back to me as if to say, "Ok mom, where is she?" She was the best cat a family could ever hope for, she was kind, loving, and full of personality. And even though she pretty much decided she was Jody's cat (rather than mine) these past six years, I will always think of her as my ultimate partner in crime. We have had more adventures and mishaps than Thelma and Louise. She was always there with me through every up and down, and even though I was the first one to cuss her when she made me mad (and lord knows, that happened a lot with that stubborn-ass cat), I always have and always will love her.
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