WE ARE A CLOSE-KNIT family
WE ARE A CLOSE-KNIT family here at the Pine Point cabin, and this weekend we lost one of our dear ones. Sweet Simon, our eldercat, who had been with us through thick and thin, companion to Scooter and Sugar and Koda, who loved nothing more than to cuddle with Kathy in the evening, and would sit and stare at her patiently until she finally grabbed a blanket and said gently, ‘Come on Simon,’ passed away yesterday. He had been fine until last midweek, when I was away on a Road Scholar trip. Kathy called in tears, saying he was not eating or drinking at all. Several trips to the vet revealed a lung tumor, perhaps other complications. Although he had always been ‘Kathy’s Kitty’, when I arrived home it was just as if he had been waiting for me. He rubbed and rubbed, and buried his face in my hands, and purred and purred, and then suddenly he was done. He hid under a table and made clear he was not feeling well.
We saw no good reason to prolong his suffering—or ours—and took him to the ER vet where he was gently put to sleep, with us holding and petting him the whole time. It was very quick and very peaceful.
He is now laid to rest beside his old buddy, Scooter. Koda came and sniffed and touched and spent several minutes gently examining his old friend. Paddy, the new arrival, was not yet close and was not included in this goodbye. But we hope he will come to hold that spot in Koda’s life. And help to fill that hollow space in Kathy’s. I think he will.
We sent our old friend off with many tears. And with gratitude. It is, in truth, not a speck easier to lose a beloved pet than a human family member. We shall love him always. Good bye, little Simon.