Your Pet Tributes

by Retta
(Vancouver, BC, Canada)

You were the last one in your litter to be adopted. I can't imagine why. You were so cute, a little grey furball with a grey nose. As soon as you approached me you started purring and climbed up on me. That was it. That's all it took.

You came home with us and met our other cat, Sterling. Of course you had to fight for dominance because although he'd been there first, you weren't intimidated by him. Eventually Sterling accepted defeat and you became head of the house, and his best friend in the process.

You were in good health up until last Spring when you had that stone in your urethra. You went through hell but you never complained or anything. The vets and their techs all loved you for being so good for them through all the treatments and procedures. Getting medicine and pills into you was a nightmare but you still gave me lots of cuddles anyway, even though I'm sure you were mad at us for making you take that stuff. It made you better though, didn't it?

We brought Anubis home to keep you company for those times when we had to go out of town. I know he drove you crazy but I think you enjoyed it for a while.

Then this summer you started losing weight. I didn't really notice it at first because it was hard to tell with you being so furry.

Even when you were sick you were still cuddly as ever and continued to be so until the end.

You were so thin and you couldn't keep anything down when you did eat. I was being selfish and I was in denial that you would somehow bounce back but then that night it dawned on me that you weren't getting better. And I wanted to spare you the pain of what would come. You didn't deserve that and as much as it broke my heart to know what I had to do, it was the right thing.

So rest well, Smokey Lub. No more pills, no more Anubis trying to jump on your back to get you to play with him. No more of him trying to bat your fluffy tail while you were trying to sleep. Now you can play with Sterling again while you wait for me to come home to you.

Until we meet again...