Goodbye Old Friend
 

My cat, my parents cat, our cat, Gracie Marie Elizabeth, died today. I saw her only 8 hours ago. She was lying there barely breathing with her eyes glazed by cataracts. The vet had told my parents that when they reach a certain point their digestion stops and appetite disappears. The only thing to be done is to put them to sleep or allow them to go in their sleep because they will never eat again.

We had that cat for 20 years. Got her as a kitten. I wanted to name her carrot because she was tricolored with a very orange triangular streak on her nose that reminded me of a carrot. My vote was vetoed as I was only a kid. She had a very good life as an indoor cat. She was allowed out after we found that she never wandered beyond the edge of the yard. She was very territorial when it came to anyone who was seriously threatening but she LOVED her family. When someone was sick she would stay on their bed curled against them until they got up. She would even forgo food at times when one of us were ill. She was a large tortise shell Persian and when I say large - she was large, especially for a female. She reached 20lbs at one point. At that time she was put on a diet. In her old age the vet told my parents to begin to feed her more high fat foods as her body wasn't getting all she needed from the food and fat was very important at that point. She ate gormet icecream, fresh salmon, and finely chopped steak. She was a pampered pet. My parents kept a dish of food beside their bed as well as one in the kitchen. My Dad built shelves and added windows in the basement for her to sit in because the bird feeder brought the birds up to the house at basement level. Gracie would growl at dogs who happened to enter her territory. At one time, clawless no less, she attacked a golden retriever and rode him to the edge of our yard. At which point she jumped off and growled at him until he crawled under the neighbors porch to hide from that menacing ball of fur.

Dad came over to tell me. Mom wrapped Gracie in Red Velvet and Dad is building a cedar chest for her. I have seen him so grief stricken since - well I don't think I've seen him cry like that since his Dad died. That cat was his baby. The moment he sat down in his recliner she would be there to curl up on his lap. He would let her sit there and hold his newpaper out away from him to read it.

I'm not terribly choked up at this point but I feel hollow. At my parents, growing up we ALWAYS had a cat, a dog, and a bird. Now their house is empty of pets and children. My parents themselves seem so much more different without someone or something to nurture. They're tired, and by my mother's own admission, without purpose. She told me recently that she is thinking of going back to school or finding some other job. She no longer is needed to care for Uncle David since he is now in the nursing home. She is able to visit but the constant need for help is gone. Mom seems depressed, even before today she was. Now I can only imagine. It's a sad day for my family.

I'm very sorry for your loss. I remember the day we euthanized and buried our collie, who was almost 15 years old. It was the first death in my family since I was born. I don't visit many burial sites, but his is one I do visit without fail.

I hope you parents get another pet. Pets are clearly a part of your family. I am very glad that my parents, especially my father, have a dog. They are near 70, and I think the dog is one of my father's main defenses against depression, which has dogged him (no pun intended) all of his life. The dog is a constant companion and source of company.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss.

Pets make life so much nicer for the whole faily. I am very sorry for your loss and hope that your family will adopt a new needy kitten to enjoy all the love your family has to share. It's the circle of life once again and I totally understand how empty a house can feel without your beloved pet.

Peace to you all.

Sounds like she had a great life in a loving home.

We had to get our cats new homes last year when both my partner and I developed severe cat allergies.

Oddly enough, last week one of them was in our garden again. I think he was re-homed a couple of miles away, ad he seems to have come back to visit (which was nice).

Hope you have happy cat memories to console you in your grim moments.

Thats so sad....we too ALWAYS had an animal or two in the house. I had two cats that had to be put to sleep when I was preggie with my daughter, they developed feline lukemia, I think I cried for 6 months or more. The cat we have now we've had for almsot 10 years and I know our house would not be the same without her. I feel so sad for your family :(

My condolences, raeanna. Losing a beloved pet is always painful.
You have your memories of her and hopefully photos, as well, to get you through your grief.

Whenever I get to thinking about my childhood dog Tippy (15), I like to look at some of the pics of my siblings and I with her in them. It brings my memories back more vividly.

Rest in peace, Gracie Marie Elizabeth.

I'm so sorry to hear it. I'm glad that she had such a long full life, and was clearly loved so well.
If your parents feel anything like I do about my pets... and it sounds like they do... it will be a long time for them to be less sad. :(

That's the best thing they can remember, tho... how well they loved her and how well she loved them back.

I'm sorry for your loss. Being a cat person myself, I completely understand how awful it feels when this happens. My own dear Penny has been gone a long time, and I still miss her a great deal.
*hugs*

I just did the same thing with a cat we'd had for ten years. Definitely a hard thing to go through. Your dad, in particular. It's very hard to accept that the cat won't be on his lap where she belongs anymore.

We still have four more, and that helps some.

Aw, sweetie, I'm so sorry. I just lost my 18-year-old cat in July (18 years to the day after I got her) so I know how hard it can be.

My mom thinks it's especially odd not to have a cat around anymore. She was so used to the cat skulking around while she was gardening that it's hard for her to realize that Fuzzy isn't going to come wandering by.

Losing a pet is hard, no doubt about it, but take some comfort in the fact that she lived a long and happy life, and was well-loved by you throughout.

We own both dogs and cats and when one of our cats died last year, I was so sad. It sounds like your cat had a great life...gourmet ice cream.. nice warm lap.. kitty heaven.. try to remember the good times and think of her often hopefully the hollow feeling you have now will fill up with warm gooey memories of Gracie Marie Elizabeth aka carrot..RIP

Thanks guys.

I've enjoyed hearing about some of your pets too. No matter how much it might hurt when they pass it is worth knowing them. They enrich your lives in ways that you don't even realize until they are gone.

Gracie was the ruler over our tiny toy poodle in our house. Once when the dog was sitting on the back of the couch, watching out the window, she saw someone walking by and began barking. Dad was snoozing in his recliner and hubby was trying too in a nearby chair. Dad yelled at the dog to shut-up. Of course the rat didn't. Gracie got up, walked the length of the cough, and smacked the dog on the head, then calmly walked back and flopped down, miffed cause she had to shut the dog up (and succeeded). Hubby still likes to talk about that. Says "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it."

Been remembering a few other things about her. Her nicknames were many and strange. Lumpectomy (dunno how it started), Monsienorita (started when I was learning spanish from mom and Grandma tried to teach me some French too), and roadkill (anyone who's seen a cat snoozing in complete relaxation can relate to this one).

that is hysterical... don't mess with kitty cats -- they are bad ass... :)

We put our old Sheltie, Bearry, to sleep last summer. He was 18. That was one of the roughest days of my life. I didn't ever remember not having Bearry around. And some of the stuff you say Gracie did, he did, too. He'd sit with us when we were sick, and nuzzle us when we were sad. He'd herd us to bed at night, once he got too tired to stay up, and each night, as he crawled up to sleep, he'd wander to each of our rooms to make sure we were all in bed.

He kept our younger dog, Lucky, in line, and basically trained him as his replacement in keeping us safe and nurturing us.

My mom still misses him.

I'm sorry for your loss, I'm not a cat person, but every so often I meet one who makes me think I could be, and Gracie sounds like my kind of cat.

My condolances to you.

I've had to put cats down. It's not fun, especially when you got them as kittens.

My current cat is eating less than she used to, as well. :( She's around 15. Got her when she was around 8 or 9. I'm not looking forward to her passing.

I'm sorry. :( I remember when my first dog had cancer, and there was a terrible accident and he was suffering too much. My dad had to take him in the back and shoot him because there wasn't enough time to take him to the vet. I was very, very sad.

I have lost a number of pets over the years, and it's never easy. My house isn't really a house without a dog, or even a cat... I can't wait to have my own again in the future.

my deepest sympathy
 

Very sorry to hear of the lost of one of your family members...cause thats what our pets become a part of our families.