9:20 a.m. - 2004-09-08

Anniversaries and the like

I am the kind of person who remembers dates, anniversaries, and birthdays. It�s almost a sickness as I remember the obscurest of events with alarming accuracy.

This morning I woke up, did some quick math, and realized that one year ago today we put my cat Jenny down. She was 19, and had been in (manageable) renal failure for over two years. She was a great companion, but I knew it was time.

This morning T�s cat Molson (who is equally as old) was not responding well. Walking only with great difficulty as his hind legs seem to be on their own coordinates, unhinged from the mental mechanisms that controls them . We talked about it and realized he probably hasn�t eaten properly for two days or so. Recently Molson was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism. A common ailment, which occurs in older cats, but can be maintained. For over a month now we�ve been trying to get him back to a healthier stance. Alas I believe our attempts have not brought about the desired results.

T is a mess and feels completely helpless as he watches his pet of many years decline so rapidly. I am a mess watching my husband come to terms with all of this.

We invest a lot of ourselves into our pets. We love them. Feed them. Watch them grow old along side us. Unfortunately � their time on this earth is generally shorter than ours and the realization of this often comes with hard lessons on life.

We have an appointment with the vet this morning. I will go with T and Molson, and will hope for the best.

Cheers - LJ

Post Script: Our trip to the vet ended up being one way for Molson. With the vets advisement we choose to put him to sleep. T is not handling this at all well, which in turn means that I'm not either. We both know we made the right decsision - they just never come easy. If you have a pet, make sure to give them a great big hug from me. > LJ