Saying good by to our kitty

We said good bye to Tina today.  Yesterday she was in the flower bed, batting at the cat nip plants then sleeping on top of them in a sun beam.  This morning she didn't want to eat or drink, and could not stand on her own.  She's been failing for a while, but was enjoying life.  It was time to make a difficult decision.  There is a feeling of sadness along with relief.  I'm sure it will hit me when I unexpectedly come across something that she or Ba'el played with when I'm cleaning the house.  Or when I listen to the Harry Potter books read by Jim Dale.  Both cats loved his voice and would move to what ever room the stories were being played.  But for the moment DH and I are handling it okay.

Tina had some health issues.  A stone in her bladder.  When it moved she had to pee...right now!  And arthritis.  An xray done when she was only four or five showed arthritis that older large breed dogs usually get.  It was that bad.  But she didn't let that get her down.

It wasn't until these last few weeks that she gave up going downstairs to the litter box.

We told her vet that we used puppy pee pads for her and that we had put dishes of dry food where ever we didn't want her to have an accident.  He was surprised that we knew to put the food down.  Cats won't soil where there is food.  Even if it's food they don't want to eat.

He was even more surprised that such an old gal would adjust to using the pads.  He's going to suggest that to other owners of senior cats.

It's going feel strange now.  Not making sure a cat got outside when they weren't supposed to.  Not having a cat "supervising" me when quilting (or doing anything they found "interesting".  Checking to see if the person in the kitchen might be eating something a kitty would enjoy.  No night time visits for a purr session.