Saying goodbye to an old friend

little thing
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Before saying a hello to blee it appears that we will be saying goodbye to the sweetest cat in the world. She's older but not super old, but she has been sick with kidney disease for awhile now. We've done treatment for it, even had her hospitalized early last year and that has bought her time. But last night it hit home that she just isn't getting better anymore, she isn't bouncing back but getting worse, much worse and quickly. She still purrs from pets and attention because she loves us so much but it is very obvious that most touching physically hurts her. This cat that was once described as a "beautiful voluptuous girl" has now wasted away to under six pounds. Neither of us have ever had to do this before and it has been a heartbreaking decision to make but we know it is the right one.

Things I will always remember about her;

- How wild she was when Jon first adopted her from the shelter. She was an older cat already and had been abused for much of her life. He used to come over to visit me with his arms covered in scratches and bite marks. But this stopped happening as she got to trusting him and now even when vets poke her and hurt her she will never try to bite or scratch. She went from nearly feral to docile as can be.

- Her obsession with fitting herself on discarded pieces of paper. He had some menu to a restaurant near his apartment that he never even went to in his room that she liked to sit on and tuck every part of her body onto.

- Jon used to have two low to the ground Ikea chairs that she was obsessed with jumping back and forth from unable to decide which was better. They were identical.

- How he used to wake up every morning with her face right up against his waiting for him to open up his eyes. Then she would let out her meow that sounds like a quack.

- She stopped doing this when we moved in together and started sharing a bed. The first morning I was woken up to her staring at me, hitting me rapidly in the face and then running off. Sorry, I stole your man little Burrito. But we were good friends too despite this.

- Making the move from Ohio to Boston by car with two drugged cats. Mine took the meds the vet gave us and slept the whole trip but she refused to go down, but instead wandered around the car the whole time trying to get comfortable. Even climbing on Jon's lap as he drove a couple of time. Her balance wasn't so hot and she had droopy lids but she just wouldn't sleep.

- She likes licking plastic bags.

- Her constant yapping. Always done sweetly but it never stops.

There are so many more memories that we will treasure, but these are some of the big ones for me.

We love our Burrito. Also known as bear. The back of the sofa just isn't going to be the same without you. Nothing will be really. I'm sorry we can't give you a longer life but we have tried our best to give you a good life. This is not how I expected to spend my Saturday.