Ninth life over

A final goodbye to our Sweet Pea...

Yesterday the traveling vet came to our house to send our Sweet Pea to her final rest.  As you know, she rallied recently and then began to fail again.  We think she had another stroke this past week and by Friday she seemed to be searching for a place to hide and die.  When we got home from our walk Friday morning it took us 15 minutes to find her in the basement, and the basement is not that big.  We were both searching with flashlights when I found her behind shelves in the workshop, up against a steel reinforcement post, stuck or perhaps happy with her spot.  I couldn't tell.

R pulled her out and we tried to corral her into a more comfortable area of the basement and she immediately squeezed through our barricades.  He pulled her out of another tight spot and we revamped the gates.  She finally settled under some shelves where we could see her.  She never went under shelves in her life, so it wasn't typical behavior.  R said he was going to call the vet that morning so I made sure to tell her goodbye before I went to work.

I went down to see her and she was still under the shelf.  She saw me (well, we don't think she could see but she turned when I approached) and I knelt down beside her.  I didn't want her to stress out and move again, so I gently touched her leg.  I don't know if it hurt but it agitated her and she scooted.  I tenderly pet her again and told her goodbye.  When I left she was looking uncertain and unsettled and I knew we had made the right decision.

R said he put her in her fleece bed just before the vet arrived so she was cozy and comfortable, and this time she settled into it.  When it was over, the vet took her away in her bed for cremation and R sent along the leftover food, litter, food bowls, and litter boxes (emptied).  The vet thought he had someone who could use all of the remaining cat supplies, and it felt good to have them go where needed.

And that was that.  And now, just one pug remains of the four happy pets in Gigi's backyard, and the house is quiet at night.