THe Meadow by The Bridge has a new citizen. We lost My Liddle Buddy this morning. [View all]
She died in her sleep. I found her as I went down to the office to start work. She was laying on the floor, on her side. It was not her usual sleeping spot and not her usual sleep position. I knew it the instant I saw her.
She was almost 17, Tigger was.
She was, by choice, the prototypical solitary cat. At one point we had two other cats in the house and she assiduously avoided them. Her world, by choice, was our home offices, a bathroom, and the laundry room. For years her litter box was in the shower in a spare bathroom. It was a perfect arrangement. Easily hidden from human view, and with a way in that only a cat could love. But that only worked with the electric Litter Maid. When we got sick of that device's failings we moved her to the laundry room and a roll-over litter box that was actually easier to clean than the Litter Maid.
In usual Tigger fashion, she adapted without a bit of fuss or bother.
She was a Cat Of The Clouds, preferring to spend her time up high. She lived for most of her life in a wicker basket atop a book case. It was about 6 feet in the air. She would jump up to a desk and then up to the top of the bookcase. When she was younger, she'd jump off from the top to the ground in one leap. Later, not so much. But to the end she lived aloft.
Tigger had some health issues starting maybe two or three years ago. Twice we took her to the vet when she had blood spots on her eyeball. The vet said it could be indicative of several things and we checked them all, to one degree or another. The final thought was thyroid. We did nothing for that apart from watching her and checking her numbers - always high, but never to the level that she needed meds or treatment. Then, maybe 6 months ago, she went blind. The vet said it could be a number of things (again) but most likely a complication of her now failing kidneys and her thyroid issues.
Just last week she was in again for a checkup. The vet suspected high blood pressure was now another issue for her. Tomorrow we were supposed to bring her in for a few hours to allow her to be there, relax (to lower her blood pressure to normal), and get her BP checked. We had also just gotten her some prescription food and were to start a potassium(???) supplement. I guess that was more than Tigger cared to deal with.
So she checked out.
All in all, not a bad way to go. She went right up to the line of being an invalid cat, but never actually went there.
Yesterday morning, just like every other, I said good morning to her as I passed her perch and went into my office. Within a few minutes she was at my feet, yowling at me for her morning scratch. It was just another normal day. Just like every normal day for the last 16 plus years.
Dammit.
Why do we have to outlive them?
It really fucking hurts, okay.
= new reply since forum marked as read
