Sunday, February 21, 2016

Farewell to a prince

Thursday night, Joey ate heartily and played catch-the-shoelace with the other cats. Friday night, he greeted me at the door with his tail held high, snarfed down his food, and engaged in a little laser tag. But somehow, between Friday night and Saturday morning, something happened. He took a turn for the worse.

He didn't come into the bedroom to rouse me for breakfast. He didn't even want breakfast. Or dinner. I tried to get him excited by the laser, but he just looked at me with tired eyes. He stayed curled up beside me and enjoyed being petted. But I felt he was slipping away.

Today was worse. I couldn't get him to eat anything. He came to the kitchen when I called him for dinner, because he always tried to please me. But after turning up his nose on three different kinds of food, he turned to leave the kitchen and fell down.

I couldn't believe that the happy old boy who attacked and brought down a shoelace with such gusto was now having a hard time even standing! But he was dealing with a lot -- arthritis, glaucoma, kidney disease and an incurable virus. His body just quit on him.

I bundled him up and took him to the 24-hour emergency vet. If his health was deteriorating this quickly, I was afraid that the night would cause him discomfort and I wanted to spare him that.

The vet and vet tech were kind and sensitive. Joey was given a mild sedative and brought to me in this cat bed. Then they left us alone so I could say goodbye. I don't know if you can tell by this photo, but when I cooed his name he made curly paws. It was his way of letting me know he heard me, he knew I was there, he loved and trusted me. It was an enormously generous gesture for him to make. But he was always an enormously generous soul.

It was an honor to know you, Joey.


9 comments:

  1. Oh, Gal, I'm so sorry. He lived such a rich life with you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. They always let you know when they're ready. I'm so sorry that Joe has left the building but he did live a wonderful life with you as his person. BIG HUGS to you.

    (I've done this now five times and it never gets easier but I'm always glad to be with them and they never, ever leave your heart.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. so sorry for your loss. it never gets easy to say good bye. he had a wonderful life living with you!
    sending lots of xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so sorry... what a sad time for you and your other kitties. Joey went home knowing he was loved.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sending all the love and kitty hugs I can your direction. It's hard to lose a long-time friend, and Joe was a good 'un.

    ReplyDelete
  6. With tears I write this--thank you for sharing Joey's life with us, and I'm so very glad you were his beloved.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very sorry for your loss. I'm glad you were able to be there with him at the end... it's so hard to say goodbye to a beloved part of your family.

    Lots of hugs (if you want them) from a lurker and fellow kitty lover who's been reading your blog for years.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very sorry for your loss. I'm glad you were able to be with Joey at the end -- so tough to say goodbye to a beloved member of your family.

    Lots of hugs (if you want them) from a longtime lurker.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am so sad for you. Losing a treasured pet is very difficult. Joey had a good life and a great Mom.

    ReplyDelete

Please note: If you have a WordPress blog, I can't return the favor and comment on your post unless you change your settings. WordPress hates me these days.