[AccessD] Way OT, I know

My eldest cat Scotia, age 16, died last night. I knew last night was going
to be the night. I could tell, and I knew that if she made it to this
morning that it was time to end it. Perhaps the most horrid idiom in English
is "to put her down". I hope that she had a good life. I did what I could to
enhance it. She always had access to the outdoor world (I chose my places to
live over these 16 years based almost entirely on access to outdoors). 
She gave me some of the greatest moments of my life. The most special for me
was when she had her first litter. Cats almost invariably find a secluded
spot such as under a staircase and have their babies in private, but not
Scotia. She insisted that I be her midwife. Every time I left her even for a
moment she let me know quite clearly that I was required to be with her. She
did all the work, obviously, but as each of her five babies appeared I took
them and cleaned them and lay them beside her. I am not anthropomorphizing
this. It was quite clear that she wanted me to be her midwife. Not many
people get to experience this with a cat. 
I have lots of stories about special moments with her, but that is the most
special of all.
I knew she would probably not make it through the night. I stayed with her
all night, stroking her and telling her about all the special moments she
gave me. At about 4am I fell asleep, and woke at 6am and she was gone. In a
few hours I'm going to bathe her then bury her, wrapped in her favourite
shirt (she loved that shirt and would lie on it whenever it was available;
once I realized that, I made it available at all times; she loved me to wrap
her in it as if it were a sleeping bag).
She had two litters, and I gave the kittens to various friends. Her family
now stretches from Toronto to Montreal to Vancouver to Atlanta. I still have
two cats left, both her sons, one from each litter.
She will be missed.