[AccessD] Way OT, I know

My deepest and most sincere condolences on your loss Arthur. I've had
to make the awful and difficult decision that it was time to go for
our feline companions three times so far and it doesn't get any
easier. I always think, maybe today was just a bad day? Tomorrow will
be better. Asking yourself, is she enjoying life anymore?? Am I being
selfish for prolonging the suffering just because I can't bear to part
with her or him?  Seems as though you knew that it was the right time
and how wonderful for you to have taken that special care of her
during her final hours.

Remember the good times and her spirit continues to live on.

Gary

On 12/1/05, Arthur Fuller <artful at rogers.com> wrote:
> 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.


--
Gary Kjos
garykjos at gmail.com