Last night while on the train home from work my husband called sobbing to tell me that when he arrived he found our cat Moriarty dead.
I rushed home in a panic, trying not to break down on the train. When I got in the house my husband was sitting on the kitchen floor, work bag tossed to the side, with our big orange fluffball lying on the floor beside him. He had covered him with a trashbag (the only suitable covering within reach, I’m sure) but I could see his little feet. We both completely lost it. He was my husband’s buddy, and only three years old.
Since my husband couldn’t bear to do it I wrapped Mory in a red flannel sheet, the one he used to play under when he was a kitten, and placed him in his carrier.
The other two cats, Mory’s littermate Eliot and our adopted calico Mina were hovering around the cage and Eliot kept head butting it.
Our friend got us in to see the vet where she works and I drove us all there. I went in alone, though, as my husband just couldn’t handle being around the body. The vet’s determination was kidney disease. I opted to have him cremated and I took off his collar and tags to take home before they took his body.
This is the worst. He was such a huge force of personality in our house, and I miss everything about his big fat grumpy orange butt. I wish we had some sign that he was ill. Just that morning he was totally normal, we even snuggled for a bit whle I snoozed.
I know a lot of us have lost our pets recently. I’m beyond pissed at the whole idea of loss this painful.
I wish ghosts existed, I’d love to be haunted by a big fat Mory-cat begging for tuna and forcing his way under the covers for bedtime naps. We have put his food dish with Disney cats (the only one he would eat out of), his collar, and a few favorite toys on the mantel. I wanted to have him for longer than this.
That’s horrible, and you have my thoughts with you. I’d never lost a cat like that - just without warning, until this past February when Marty just stretched, laid down and died in front of us.
I’m headed home for lunch - the kids will get a nice extra rub from me for Moriarty.
For every one of these threads, I remember and mourn the loss of a particular cat. I know just how awful it feels, and I’m truly sorry you and your husband are going through this. I hope it is comforting to you that Moriarty didn’t suffer, but enjoyed every day of his short life.
The luggage picture has LOLcat written all over it. Not sure of the caption, but I can tell it has serious LOLcat potential.
Same with the ‘beds’ link.
I’ve been through the sudden loss of a pet before as well - it sucks. In my mind, there’s no good way for a pet to go. There’s benefit and downside to both ways (sudden and when you can see it coming).
