It’s Lloyd, my backup cat. Twelve years ago at the vet school, I selected his vivacious little brother, and then Lloyd, mostly because they didn’t look alike.
Pretty soon, he had a reputation for being just a little slow on the uptake. I remember letting them out to play in the yard, and having to let Lloyd back in the house because he was frantically tapping at the window. Turns out he needed the litterbox, and there wasn’t one out there.
He used to get stuck climbing trees a lot.
Never really mastered “meow”, though he tried. He always gave us something like, “Glar!” or “Clown?”
I don’t know how many times I said, “Kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty…Lloyd! You’re the kitty!”
When it rained outside, he always wanted to be indoors and under the furniture, for that extra layer of dryness.
I noticed he’d been drinking a lot of water lately and was eating less and less. When I took him to the vet, they found it was kidney disease. I decided not to put Lloyd through the treatments and just spoil him rotten for a while, but I can’t believe how fast we’ve come to the end. I don’t think he’s suffering but he’s so frail. Anyway, the vet is going to come out to the house this afternoon. I’m going to leave work early, go home and dig a hole in the woods behind the house.
I don’t know how his brother will deal with this. Or how we will. My heart is broken.
Oh, Dung Beetle, I am so sorry. They do burrow into our hearts, don’t they? I had a kitty who was much like your Lloyd in the slow-on-the-uptake area. He got a tumor in his mouth and faded away equally fast. Somehow those kitties who are a little different just make us love them even more. I’m glad you chose to let him be spoiled. I’m sure he is too. And I’m glad the vet is coming to your house. We were able to do that and it made things a lot easier on the kitty as well as us. I’ll be thinking of you this afternoon and will give my two extra treats in Lloyd’s honor.
Thank you. He was a really good-natured cat, too. I meant to mention that. He was shy with people, but lived for the pettings, so once he got used to you he’d want to roll all over your lap. All the walls in our house have little marks on them at the height of his chin.
A kind of funny thing today at work: a lady in another department died (I didn’t know her), so a lot of folks in the building are walking around teary-eyed besides me. I’ve been crying all morning and don’t have to explain myself to anyone.
I am sorry for the loss of your good buddy. A vet told me, and it seemed to help the remaining dogs, when I left the recently euthanized dog in the yard for a short while. The other dogs just knew The Queen was dead. And there was no wandering around and looking for her after she was buried.
Been there and done that recently. Our Kitty was a stray that my son brought home. All of 9 lbs, she immediately beat up our full grown collie. She didn’t like people much except for my son and youngest daughter. We had a doggie door and she figured that out pretty fast. We thought that she’d just leave, but she must have liked the free meals.
Once saw her a half mile away at a Taco Bell. Another time she was on the roof of a neighbor’s 2-story house probably after birds.
It took her about 7 years to be friendly to most people. Over 10 years to learn how to beg for food. A couple of years more and she started demanding food. But she never went over 10 lbs.
Last month I noticed that she wasn’t eating much. Then she started falling over while walking. Took Kitty to the vets and she’d lost 4 lbs in just over a month. Blood tests all came back normal so it was probably something bad like a brain tumor.
Kitty was at least 18 years old and had lived a good life. Had my son not brought her home, she’d have been dead years ago and after a rough life. Still I cried when I had the vet put here to sleep.
Thanks, you guys. It went as well as it could have. Afterward, I left him on the porch with his brother for a few minutes. His brother sniffed at him and seemed to have no reaction, but he’s a smart little fart and I think he knew. Then I wrapped Lloyd in my Roger Waters T-shirt (because it was my best one) and buried him in the back yard with a big rock to mark the spot. I still have a lot of crying to do, but I know this was for the best.
Really sorry. It’s bad enough when they pass away on their own; when you have to help them, it’s almost impossible. But when you love them, you do it. (voice of experience)
What a beautiful, goofy boy.