Friday, August 15, 2008

Sad Birthday...

....For one of our two cats. Zeke turned 14 today-- the day we had scheduled to take him to the vet to see what was wrong. He had been losing much weight recently. He was starting to look quite ill. The vet did not need to spend much time before advising that we put him to sleep. I was more or less prepared for this eventuality-- although the reality seemed quite harsh. This was to just be a vet appointment. It was quite obvious that he was wasting away. He was dehydrated and pale (apparently they can check that sort of thing). It made sense to take care of this today. It did not seem right to schedule another trip to the vet solely to euthanize him. I do not need to worry about him anymore.

Zeke really was a good cat--- never caused any trouble. He had grown much more affectionate recently, and seemed to want to be around others the last few weeks. It was difficult to pet him because he was so bony. We knew something was wrong, but he gave no indication that he was uncomfortable or in pain. I thought this was part of the aging process for cats, but I guess it was more than that. I believe our other cat senses Zeke's absence.

I have never been through the loss of a pet before. Zeke lived a long life-- a rather pampered indoor existence. He was healthy up until recently. He lived an interesting life in two countries. He will be missed.

No comments: