Thank you so much Thread xx
It's a privilege to be loved by a four-legged friend. The price for that is that we will almost certainly outlive them, and we have the duty to make their death as struggle-free as possible.
Over the years I've lived with cats (this is the first time since I was in my teens I've been cat-less), it seems to me that the more connected they are to me, the less able they are to die easily. As if they are loath to leave. So we have to get the vet involve.
My One-eyed Cat was the gentlest and most sweet-natured cat I've ever known. So trusting, so forgiving. We had our quarrels for sure, and there were times he refused to talk to me for several days. But he never held a grudge, and always enjoyed loving me. If I'd been away for a few days, as soon as he could stretch out beside me he'd squirm with pleasure, trying to get all of both sides in contact with me. He liked to sleep with his head in my hand, either with his face tucked in so I'd feel his breathe warming my wrist, or resting his head in my palm. He'd often hug my wrist too. If he woke up and I'd moved, he'd try to wriggle back into my hand, and if that didn't work he'd wake me as gently as he could to get me to move back to where he could again rest his head in my hand.
He learned to make a two-tone sound when I'd come home, and one day I realised he was imitating me saying "Hello!" to him. He'd go Ah-ow!
In the last five years he liked to go to bed quite early. He'd come to fetch me, asking and then scolding and chiding me to follow him up to bed. The time moved back from 10:45, to 10:30, then 10:00, and recently more like 9:30.
He was ready to go though. He was so skinny, and his breathe was smelling in a way that told me he wasn't processing toxins properly, so he must have been feeling pretty rough and rotten. A dear friend of his (and mine) came to visit with him yesterday and spent a few hours with him. He was sleepy and somewhat absent. In the evening he seemed really distant and weak. I thought perhaps I'd left it too late, that he was starting to suffer. But this morning he wanted to go through our routine as normal, including breakfast (which he didn't eat but insisted that I serve) followed by a drink of fresh water, me opening the front door for him so he could go round the house and in through the back door, and then upstairs to groom himself, then sleep. Today, I sat on the bed with him and we had a good long cuddle. Then I had to take him to the vet.
They were lovely, so kind and gentle. They gave me plenty of time, and left me alone with him both before and after. He went very quickly, very gently, almost willingly.
I'm going to miss him so much. He's been a really lovely friend to me through a really difficult time of my life.
)
