My cat Tabitha has died

Ten days after the death of my 16 years old cat Olivia, it was time for my 17 years old firstborn Tabitha to follow her.

 

 

Three weeks ago, Tabitha stopped eating and had to undergo intensive care at the animal hospital. The cat that returned home from hospitalization was just a shadow of the old Tabitha. We knew that Tabitha was on overtime, and we went one day at a time. We thought that the most important thing is that Tabitha eats, but it turned out that she had other problems. The X-ray showed a mass near the lungs. And now, looking back, it's pretty clear that Tabitha didn't stop eating because of a stuffy nose. But because she started to feel so bad because of what was happening inside her.

 

 

During my spouse's work trip, I had only one goal: to somehow keep Tabitha alive and eating. It worked, but at what cost? Towards the end of the week, Tabitha started to exhibit pain behavior: hiding and pain positions. She was clearly not a happy and relaxed cat, but a sick and suffering cat.

 

 

As soon as Tabitha came home from the hospital, we noticed and wondered about her fast breathing, but at first we thought that it was due to mental reasons, from all the terrible things she had to experience at the hospital. But that rapid breathing never went away.

 

 

When the cat is desperately trying to find a place and position where she would feel good, and it just can't be found. My spouse began to suspect that Tabitha can't breath properly. On Tabitha's last night, spouse got scared that Tabitha was suffocating.

 

I will never get over how I lured Tabitha to her death. She was hiding under the bed, and I decided to try the old trick even though I thought it wouldn't work because Tabitha hadn't even agreed to sniff her breakfast. I waved the treat jar and Tabitha heard the invitation. I caught her and we put her in the carrier for her last journey.

 

 

Tabitha screamed every time she was put in the carrier. We always joked that she screams like she's being taken to slaughter. And we always knew that sometime she would actually be taken in to be slaughtered. Even this last time, Tabitha still screamed, but weakly and tiredly. She probably hadn't been able to sleep lately because of her bad condition.

 

 

When after 17 years you lose two out of three cats within 10 days, it's beyond horrible. But I know I have been lucky because all my cats have lived this long. 

RIP Tabitha April 17, 2007-August 13, 2024

 

 

There's a famous meme:

"Was I a good cat?"

"You were the best cat."