A Tale Of Two (Lost) Kitties

This is not a happy post. If you are sensitive to animal loss, please do not read.

At 3am, We lost my Goober. I knew it. I woke up to my father moving around in the living room, but couldn't bring myself to check. He had gotten worse the past few days, and even as we planned to take him to the vet, I knew he probably wouldn't make it through the night. Yesterday was spent sitting next to him, making sure he knew how much I loved him.

He had diabetes, and had been in the vet twice the past month because he wouldn't eat. This time around, it got bad way too fast. I had been handfeeding him. I figured out he couldn't see much anymore. Yesterday he could barely move, where he day before he was walking, even though he had been shaky.

It's hard when you feel helpless. Our car doesn't work, so we had to find someone who could take us to the vet.  He just couldn't hold on anymore. He was an older cat, and his entire life had been full of medical problems. His body had had enough.

This hurts even more because a month ago, my dad lost his best friend, Buster. Buster was one of a kind. He was wild when we got him, and it took a lot of work to tame him. He was a jerk, and insisted on having his own way, and we loved him. He had diabetes, but the day before he died, he went into shock. He had gone into remission. On top of that, he had an infection that caused problems.  He was having frequent seizures, and my dad decided to end his suffering. He held Buster, and even though the tech said he wouldn't know dad was there, in between the seizures, he put his paw on dad's chest like he always did.

Buster was Goober's father. I raised Goober from birth, and he and his brother were my partners in crime. His favorite food was peanut butter, and he could smell it a mile away. He was my shadow and his absence will be felt just as we feel Buster's.

 

 

This photo is Buster, Goober, and Peabody, taken a few years ago in my room. They sat on my bed for about an hour looking out the window, and I still don't know why. Peabody passed a little over a year ago.

 

I am no stranger to pet loss. Over the years, I have had 16 cats, 3 dogs, and 7 lizards. Each one hurt when they were gone, whether they died, ran away, or was taken by someone else. I still remember each one by name, and remember what they looked like. I will always love them. I will also always know that they felt love from me. And that gives me peace.