About a year and a half ago, I wrote about being the keeper of my children's cat...Little did I expect that before long I would be dealing with his failing health. I thought that cats lived for up to 20 years...I just never expected that Rudy, the overweight, cranky, loving and bigger-than-life tabby would not be around for another decade.
Several months ago he was diagnosed with an intestinal growth. The once plump cat became skinnier by the day, before long looking like a bag of bones. Every morning I would check up on him, expecting the worst. Every evening, when I came home, I would check up on him, expecting the worse. Never having had the experience of having to euthanize a pet, I just didn't know when one knows that the right time has come...While it is probably easier to figure out with a dog, how about with a cat? They just aren't as communicative as dogs...and I struggled to try to figure out whether I was being merciful by letting him live or whether I would be merciful letting him go. I finally decided: Saturday is the day.
But then, Rudy decided for me. This morning he crawled in to his litter box - probably the smallest space where he could hide, curled up in a ball, and went to sleep. He never woke up. It is as if he knew that taking him to the vet tomorrow would have been one of the most difficult things I'd ever have to do. He left with dignity, quietly, and discreetly.
I feel so blessed to have had Rudy be a part of my life - and of my children's life. He comforted Laura through her adolescence. He taught Patrick to love cats. He provided companionship to Gina during her "only child" days. He even drove me crazy when all three kids left home, but at the end of the day he was there, keeping me company.
We'll miss harassing Rudy so that we could get him to pur and hiss at the same time. We'll miss him chasing his tail, crawling in to bags and finding the most uncomfortable spots to sleep on. We'll miss not finding him inside luggage or a backpack or jumping on any of us while sitting on the sofa. We'll miss him yowling to the moon, escaping through the open door to fight with the neighbor's cat, and then yowling to come back in so he could use the cat box.
Rudy, you are one of a kind. You will be in my heart forever!
--C.L.C.
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