A sad day today. The mobile vet comes and we must say goodbye to our last kitty. Sir Henry du Grey has been our companion for so long we've lost count--perhaps 18 or 19 years. An alley cat that Lydia, a secretary at Sandia found, we didn't know when he was born.
A playful kitten, he played and leaped and had boundless energy. He was never as good a climber as Stella and he largely stayed off the tables. But he loved to climb up at night and lean on my left arm at my keyboard as I typed. He would nap on my chest after lunch. And he loved to sleep, cuddled up on Caro's arm.
We almost lost him several years back when he climbed the back juniper and jumped down into a neighbor's yard. That yard didn't have a tree to climb and the wall was too high. Only after 4 days of searching and a blizzard of lost-cat flyers did the neighbor's kids find Henry and called us.
Paddy was younger by several years and we always thought Henry Cat would go after Bella. But Paddy's seizure disorder robbed him of a comfortable old age. Now Henry is the last cat.
Outside, we'll still have the neighbor's cat, Le Sommelier Stella, and the fluffy orange and grey feral cat. Henry is the last of our indoor cats and the eleventh that Aztec Animal Clinic took care of. I'll have to write an e-mail to Dr. Bouchet, who helped us care for Henry during final his illness.
More than half blind, Henry suffered from a luxated lens in his right eye that diminished his vision. That was five years ago. Then later, the pressure in his left eye became uncontrollable and he lost that eye after many treatments at VCA. Since then he's adapted by moving slowly and carefully, since he sees only vague outlines.
Henry's intestinal lymphoma has been gaining on him slowly. He's gone almost 2-1/2 years with chemotherapy, steroids, and nausea meds. Lately we've doubled the steroids and his appetite and his weight bumped up, but gradual weakening condition betrayed him. Walking is difficult and he often loses his way. He can now longer get up on his favorite chair in the sunroom. For some reason, he no longer wants to sleep on the bed with us. His poor bowel control and incontinence have taken a toll on our rugs and his fur. He can't really groom himself, although he does clean up as best he can after eating. We've been feeding him any flavor of canned food he wants. Lately he's favored meats with lots of gravy and soft rice stirred in.
I will miss him so. After caring for him so diligently for so long, my mornings and evenings will be empty. No more trips to the pharmacy for his prescriptions. No more stocking up on every flavor cat food. No more feeding him on his favorite chair in the sunroom. No more brushing out the mats of hair that he can't reach. No more carrying him to a comfortable place to nap in the afternoon.
