Chances are if you are reading this blog that you are also a
cat lover, and maybe even a closet crazy cat person as well. Most if not all of us have experienced the
decline and ultimate death of a much loved cat and even though we know when we
open our homes and hearts to these wonderful creatures that they have a shorter
life expectancy than we do, the reality of their deaths is hard to accept.
Michael and I have watched our nearly 20 year old cat BooBoo rapidly decline
the past several weeks. Last night I felt the need to have the dreaded and avoided
conversation with Michael who when it comes to these sad times, doesn’t
want to talk about it let alone actually do it.
Fortunately, our sweet old gal is a bit better today so despite the rock
in the pit of my stomach, I accept that we probably have at least a few more
days to cherish her physical presence in our home. I say physical presence because she will,
like her brothers Snuggles and Sprout, and sister Skates, always hold a place
in our hearts and certainly be remembered for all of the joy she brought into
our lives through good times and bad.
I have to confess that perhaps it would be easier if she
would just slip away in her sleep saving us the heart breaking drive to our Vets
office, but like Snuggles, I suspect she will hang on as long as she can
because she knows just how hard it is going to be for us. Yes, THEY KNOW! I once asked our Vet in
Virginia how to tell if it was time to help them pass on to which he replied
that we would in fact just know. He was
so right in that statement because in both cases, I could tell that they wanted
the peace that death would provide and so we, as a last act of love and
devotion, gave them that peace. Boo Boo’s current condition has brought back to
me the heart breaking feeling of losing Sprout in 2005, Snuggles in 2001, and
Skates in 1999. But it has also brought
back all the wonderful memories of how much we enjoyed their silly cat antics,
how much we loved them, and how much they loved us in return. We can’t stop
time, we can’t prevent their passing, but we can cherish them every day, and I
think that is all they ever wanted.
