How does one begin to summarize 16 years of their life in a brief blog entry? Sixteen years is exactly half of my life. That’s how long I loved this cat. People that have never had pets can’t quite understand this kind of love. I know the same is true for those that have children, and hopefully someday I’ll be able to experience that love. But for now, this is all I have. Don’t worry. I’ve never been one to refer to my pets as though they were my children. That’s not going to change. But I can see how easily that transition can take place when you are the primary caregiver for an animal. Or two. Or five.

When you choose to be a pet-owner, it becomes your sole responsibility to make sure they are in good health.  Unfortunately, sometimes this means you have to make difficult decisions. When I was a kid, my parents made these decisions and I never had this kind of responsibility. I guess that's part of being an adult.  Rather than sit here and type about one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make, I’m just going to post part of the email Scott sent to his mom on Saturday night:

“We had Squeaky put to sleep this morning a little after 9am. Dorothy came along to give support; she is also friends with everyone at the Independence Animal Hospital, and we didn't have to pay anything to have it done. The Grundens have been going there for over 30 years, so there is a long relationship with them. We gave him a sedative before we left, that Ruth had given us several months ago to use just in case we had to go through all this. It relaxed him for the ride to the vet, without knocking him out. Once we got there, the vet gave him another stronger sedative (per our request). The vet was nice enough to come out to the car and handle everything, so we didn't have to go in. About 10 min. later, he came back out to the car and gave him the final shot. It was a good way for Squeaky to go; no suffering. After that, we drove straight to Walter/Ruth's house, where Walter had already dug a burial spot for him. Everyone in the family was there to say their last goodbyes. He's been around everyone for 16 years, so everyone loved him. They've always buried their pets there, so it was like Squeaky returned home for the last time.

Squeaky has been getting worse (skinnier and more lethargic), and we knew the time was near to have him put to sleep.  He was on a liquid diet of cat formula, which was the only thing he'd eat.  Even that started getting consumed less and less.  Last night, we had Dorothy come over to give us her opinion, and she agreed it was time.  He could still move around fairly well, but not great.  I think he had a small stroke a while back, perhaps before you were here the last time; don't know for sure about that, but we know his sight and equilibrium weren't what they once were.  This cat was always a beggar in the kitchen, so the fact that he wasn't interested in anything was a good sign he was getting sick from the kidney failure.  I don't think he was in a lot of pain, but he was literally starving to death.  He was very alert and mobile for the condition he was in.  I think he was starting to get depressed, which is one of the classic signs of total kidney failure, along with frequent drinking and urination.  Kidney failure is fairly common in older cats; he's had it most of his life, so 16 years was a darn good run.  Here are some pictures Esther compiled on her Facebook page to show an overview of Squeaky's life. 

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12000&l=654d5&id=547524814

We're both doing ok. Right after we left the vet's office to bury him at E's parents' house, we passed this parking lot with a tent set up with some kind of party. There was music blaring, and we laughed through our tears as we heard it play Kool and the Gang's song: ‘Celebrate good times, come on!’ We've spent a lot of time remembering the good times in Squeaky's life. We're gonna miss that crazy cat!”

On a happier note, after we buried Squeaky, we came straight home and threw ourselves into finishing up our never-ending home-improvement project. We are now completely done except for some of the baseboards and installing the transition pieces! We’ve already moved most of our furniture back, so our house is starting to look normal again. Here is another links to pictures of our home improvement project from start to finish: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11444&l=3ca83&id=547524814

I am very sad right now, but I’ll be okay. I’ve been preparing myself for this day for a long time and I knew it would be awful. You’re never ready for something like this, though. But we acted like grown ups and did the responsible, humane thing. Sometimes it just sucks to be an adult.

I really do.  Perhaps the only thing that is more boring to me is talk radio, but that's another subject.   There is one exception when it comes to documentaries, though.  One thing that grabs my attention unlike any other topic: 

SHARKS! 

For some reason, I am fascinated with them.  I'm not talking about the blood and gore stories of shark attacks -- although I do watch some of those -- but mostly I like learning about them.  What makes them tick; what makes them attack; where they live; what they eat; stories of survivors; Mythbusters; the whole nine yards.  You name it, I'll watch it!  I even watch an occasional bad shark movie on SciFi , but generally prefer to watch the more factual documentaries.  Which makes this week especially cool for me, because it's Shark Week on the Discovery Channel! 

This is actually Discovery Channel's 20th year to do Shark Week, so they've kinda gone overboard on the programming.  So, in honor of Shark Week's 20th anniversary, I challenge you to take the Ultimate Shark Quiz and post your scores on my blog.  I've watched a lot of shark programs and didn't do nearly as well as I thought I would!

I don't know why this Midwest girl who has never even been in the ocean finds these creatures so interesting...  Maybe it's because I'm landlocked and know that I'm safe?  I guarantee I'd be petrified if I were ever in the water with one!  Perhaps I'm like every other person who has ever watched Jaws (which I like!) and am trying to talk myself out of an irrational fear in the back of my mind?  I don't know.  Honestly, your guess is as good as mine!  Regardless of the true reason, it certainly can't hurt to educate myself a little, right?