I’m writing this on the plane on my way back home from a business trip.
My sister’s cat passed away suddenly last night due to feline heart failure. I was walking back to my room when my sister texted me. I broke down. I raised that cat from when he was a kitten. I was the one who picked him out with his sister over 11 years ago. It hurt. It always does when a pet passes away – unexpectedly or otherwise. You never get used to it. You never get desensitized to it.
Pardon the resolution. It was around 2017 and I was using an iPhone 8.
A month ago one of my 3 cats passed away in her sleep. It was also sudden. We found her curled up in my drawer, looking so peaceful. That gutted me the way my other pets’ deaths gutted me. A week later one of the last 2 of my cats also died. I strongly believe he died from a broken heart. He was close with her. He always let her eat first even though he had his own bowl.
I became worried for my remaining cat because he became the only cat. He’s close to one of my dogs but he liked to wrestle with the 2md cat. We decided to foster 2 black kittens. A week later, we made the decision to adopt them. My orange menace became their mentor. They even snuggle together. He enjoys wrestling together with the kittens. I don’t think I would be okay if I lost my orange-flavored son.
I love my pets like they’re my children. One of my dog’s annual bloodwork showed she has Lyme disease. If I hadn’t taken her then, I wouldn’t have known. She would’ve gotten really sick and died. I didn’t hesitate to pay $150 for her medication. Losing another pet this year would put me in a mental state that I would probably never come back from.
I’m worried about my sister’s mental state right now. I believe this is her first pet loss as an adult. That cat chose her as his person. She earned his trust, which isn’t easy to do when it comes to cats. Especially a cat like him who was so anti-social. He only trusted my sister but tolerated everyone else. I ordered flowers for her and I hope it arrived already. I’m typing this on the plane flying back home to the DC area. I’ll find out as soon as I land and get signal back. I’m also worried for her other cat who was bonded to the one who passed. He doesn’t know yet as his scent is still everywhere. And when he was alive, he had different hiding spots so the other cat wouldn’t see him sometimes.
I’m also commissioning an artist to create a pet portrait of him in watercolor. When my first dog passed away, my sister commissioned an artist to paint a portrait of her. It’s beautiful and I framed it. The late cat’s portrait will arrive to her in a frame and wrapped in gift wrap.
I’m hugging my cats and dogs as soon as I get home.
