Patches - My kids should only read this if they are ready to!!!

My Little Old Lady

Back in 1993, my kids were still younger.  Raja was 7, KayeLynn 9 and Crystal was 12.  That spring, KayeLynn had been diagnosed with a relapse with leukemia and it was centralized in her central nervous system fluid.  She went into a deep depression and she was incredibly sad.  She knew she was in for a long haul of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  All she wanted was a kitty.  I had given up on cats as they made me a bit crazy and we hadn't had much luck.  But, this little bald girl just wanted a kitten.  We ended up with two - a black one named Midnight and a white one named Snowball.   KayeLynn, who was being home schooled during the worst part of her treatment, would dress these two kitties up, put them in her doll stroller and cart them around.  The kids loved their kitties.

Just before Christmas that year, the kitties were outside.  When the kids let them in the front door, I just heard all this giggling and laughing.  Following these two kitties was the cutest little patchwork cat around.  Just teeny tiny and sweet.  No idea where she came from and nobody claimed to know where she belonged.  She became a part of our family.  She had two kittens during that time.  We had five freaking cats - the person that was never going to have cats again now had FIVE cats!!!  But, I have to say, if any of them were my favorite, it was the little calico kitty that just walked in my front door one winter morning - Patches.

Pretty much everyone in the house had become her human at one time or the other.  Usually the kids were her humans.  When KayeLynn moved up to school last year, I became her human.  At times it made me absolutely NUTS!!!  She wanted to be right on top of me at time.  I would be on the computer, spending my time like I like to and she would want to sit right on top of my arms.  Completely trapping me in my spot.  I would get frustrated at times, at times I loved the extra attention.

At nearly 19 years old, she was really quite active and doing good.  She wasn't running and chasing, but she had no problems climbing up and down the stairs.  A couple of years ago, her one eye started fogging over and you could see that she had become blind in it - we would tease that she was blind in one eye and couldn't see out of the other and couldn't hear a damned thing.  She would be right there waiting every morning when  Ted or I would walk out of the bedroom saying "FEED ME!!".    Ted, who is the most non-pet friendly person I know, would go feed her every morning if I wasn't there to do it.  He would worry about her and watch after her.  When I was out of town and he was home alone with her, he was sure she was fed and watered and took care of her - just as long as she didn't jump on him or climb on him - life was good.

The last couple of weeks, she started slowing down immensely.  She started bloating up quite a bit, but, when I touched her belly, she didn't act like it hurt.  I knew the time was coming, but as long as she wasn't in pain and she was able to get around, I wasn't going to rush it.  I tried to prepare the kids as best as possible, KayeLynn is always the very sensitive girl, really wasn't able to face it - the other two were ok and preparing for the day I would have to tell them.

This morning, Ted came in and said she was on the couch.  I looked at her and knew the time was here.  The vet I had used in the past had moved, so I had to google.  I found an animal hospital close by and called and made the appointment.  I knew I couldn't put her in a pet carrier, so I put her blanket in a box and put her on top of it.  When I picked her up, I knew I was making the right choice.  She couldn't get herself up and moving to the litter box, so she was laying in her own urine - in the matter of a day she had declined that much.  I finally got through to KayeLynn and broke the news.  She was standing at the shuttle stop at the University and sobbing her little eyes out.  Her last kitty was going to be gone.

We headed our way to Hunter Animal Hospital and I was bound and determined to keep stoic and strong.   After filling out the paperwork and looking over at this sweet little face, this face that was still very obviously mentally active, and I just started to bawl.  I tried to keep it strong, but, it didn't work.  When they took me back to a room and I picked her up and held her while I waited for them to come send her to a better world.   I cried and cried and I held her while they injected her to relieve her from the worldly pain that she had started to experience.

All of my kids know now.  They have accepted it.  I have accepted it.  But, the memories are still there and the sadness will continue for a long time.  The sweetest kitty in the land has moved on.