Then, suddenly, my old girl was having trouble walking. She limped to her "safe place", the bath tub, and refused to move. I put towels in the tub, and tried to give her water with a plastic syringe.
As I tried to figure out what to do, Bear, who never goes into the tub, jumped in. I was worried he would disturb Cally, but instead he sat almost like a guard dog over her. Even he knew something was going on.
I decided to take my girl to the emergency vet. In the end, there was nothing we could do. I had to say goodbye to my friend of over 16 years, the first furry love of my life. In her last moments, she gave no indication that she knew I was there. I wanted so badly to connect to her. As motionless as she was, I gave her a familiar scratch under her chin, and saw her arch her neck just slightly, like she was enjoying that. I knew then she was still in there, and that she knew I was with her in the end.
My heart aches. Even though I've been mentally preparing to lose Cally for years, in the end it all seemed to happen so fast. It was so tough to go home without her, even though Bear was there to meet me at the door.
I think Cally waited for me to come home. We had such a good last day together... I lived more years of my life with Cally than without. She was my everpresent buddy, and I was her person. She was a good cat, and I can count on one hand the number of accidents she had. My girl.
Even as the years progressed and the vet bills got higher, her diet more expensive and prescriptive, her breath and grooming falling by the wayside... I loved her. She was a part of my heart. And no matter how many cats come into my life, none of them can ever hold a candle to my girl. Because this beautiful, green-eyed, talkative tortie was my match.
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| In older, chubbier days... |
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| She slept in the cutest positions. |
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| She got in my face a lot to let me know her thoughts. |
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| I loved my girl! |
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| She was so beautiful. |
