Busy Week, Sad Day

I went on a last minute road trip last week, I took both the kids on a 6 hour drive to Rocky Mountain House to visit a friend of mine, and we stayed for a full week. She has four kids and Chase was well entertained the entire time, and Rayna was an angel as usual. We had a great visit. I came home on Saturday to find our cat, Buddy emaciated at the bottom of the stairs. He had stopped eating his regular food a little bit before I went away, and my husband was home although he was working and didn't pay attention to how much (or how little) our cat was eating. He was throwing up often, and my husband hadn't seen him for a couple days before I came home. I walked in the door, took Rayna out of her car seat and placed her in the exer-saucer and got Chase's winter clothing off, and heard Bud meowing from the basement. I was shocked at how much he had declined in the week I was gone, and called my sister in law to watch the kids so I could rush him to the vet. He was so lethargic. I bawled all the way there. The vet checked him, and he was very jaundiced and his temperature was so low it didn't even register. She said he looked pretty poorly, and that they could put him on IV fluids, force feed him and see if he improved. The jaundice meant his liver was already not functioning properly. So I said yes, try, and we'll see how he does. I wasn't hopeful. Sunday the vet called and his temperature was up a little bit, but he was still pretty flat, as she described him, said she had given him an antibiotic in case it was a bladder infection that may have started him on not eating, and she said she wanted to give him til the end of the day. They phoned me this morning and told me there was no improvement, they had tried feeding him and he threw it up, and he was disoriented. I agreed to put him down, and at 2:00pm today I said goodbye to my Buddy, my cat for the last 10 years. I am surprised at how emotional I am over this loss, but I think you never realize how attached you are to your pets until they are sick or no longer with you. I stayed with him until he was gone, and I took his collar and put his tags on my key chain. I am having him cremated so I can bury him at my parents acreage. We have a little pet cemetery there where my last dog, my sister's bunny and my parents last two dogs and their last cat are all buried. I think Buddy deserves that, as he was a good cat. It is so hard to say goodbye to an animal that loves you so unconditionally. So, I'm sorry to bring you down with today's post, but it was a very sad day for me. I am exhausted, and sad, and still trying to get used to him not roaming the house. One of his favorite spots was on the back of our sofa, and it was always covered in hair because he slept there alot.

I have been recently taking a lot of pictures of him too, not knowing he was going to be gone in a month. All these photos I took during February. This yawn was one I was lucky enough to catch while he was sunning himself at the top of the stairs near our bedrooms.Here is his serious-don't-take-my-picture-just-pet-me pose. Funny how their expressions can tell you so many things. I'm going to miss this face.I loved him alot, and am going to miss him. My husband doesn't totally understand how I feel as he was raised on a farm and has a different view on house pets than I do. Bud was part of our family and I will miss him terribly during the next few weeks, especially when I am on the computer or reading, as that was his favorite time to hop up on the couch and snuggle up next to me (like in the picture above).

Goodbye Buddy, we'll miss you.