We've had 6 cats for 6 years now. We got Peanut in 1990, then Cosmo in 1996. Harley and Samantha joined us in 2000 and Greg and Mikey rounded out the bunch in 2001. The number dropped to 5 when Ems moved out just before Christmas and took Cosmo, AKA Mokey the fashion show kitty, with her. Now we have 4. As much as I hated to, I had to take Peanut AKA Deke to be put down on Friday night. Thursday night he could barely move his legs, he was weak and would appear to cry for food, but wouldn't eat. I know it was the merciful thing to do, but I still feel guilty. I guess the guilt comes from taking him to the vet's which is an unfamiliar place to him. I've read that there are vets who make housecalls for this, but ours isn't one. He was purring the whole time and the vet was extremely kind, making sure that he was looking at DH and me and that he was comfortable. He was down to 5 and a half pounds. He typically weighed about 11 pounds when he was healthy. I took these photos afterwork on Friday.
I dug out some photos from a past Christmas about 12 years ago.
He used to sleep in the town square of the train board, knowing that the kids couldn't step on it to get him. This inspired us to create the following insert for our annual Christmas card:
I miss him sitting next to me on the couch and crying for cheese when I go in the kitchen. He is buried under the grape arbor with our little angel kitty lawn ornament over him for now. He will get a nice garden stone with his name on it.
People who don't have pets often don't understand how us pet owners can grieve so much over an animal. They are family members to us. They depend on us to take care of them and in return, they bring us joy and unconditional love. Deke did that for 17 years. I only hope our other kitties live such long lives. Meanwhile, I am flanked by Harley and Mikey as I write this, so I won't be short on kitty love. I still feel Deke's absence and will for some time. Time will heal that.
So sorry to hear about your beloved peanut. I know words can't really express how much our kitties mean to us. Thanks for sharing his story and beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear that you had to do that to Peanut :( I know exactly how you feel. About 3 years ago my ex and I had to do the same for Ziggy. She had acute kidney failure. We tried to prolong her life by taking home saline solution bags to try and hydrate her, but it did not work.
ReplyDeleteThe older pictures that you added of Peanut are adorable and a cute tribute to a family member. Only animal lovers think of their pets as family.
In my family, when our pets die, we like to say that they have all gone to Aruba. I am sure that my loved ones, Skittles and Callie, are welcoming Peanut with open paws and showing in all the ropes. I will keep you in my thoughts during this hard time....
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about Peanut. I'm sitting here crying and smiling after seeing the pictures of Peanut in Plasticville. What a ham! You know I love Max like he's my child, so I know how much you love Peanut. Sometimes you just have to let them go and stop hurting. It'll get better, but until it does know that there are people who understand your great love for your kitties ...
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