Tag Archives: cat

Farewell Stella

Leave a reply

My dear Fur Person friend, Stella Bella the cat, died today. She was 17 years old. She had tumors in her bladder and on her lung. Sometime I will write about the adventures we had with her, and her many catly qualities. But today, just this.

Farewell Stella

I stroke your fur
no purr
frail limbs give
no resistance
laid out tenderly
no movement
eyes half open
no vision.
It was a good life
a long life
and we let you go
before we wanted
to spare you suffering.
It is the least we could do
for all the joy and love
you gave us.

–Kathryn Harper

DSC05960
DSC05966
DSC05948

And We All Had Fun

Well, Claire wound up sleeping until 12:15 p.m. today, woke to eat, then fell back asleep until 1:30, when we so rudely awoke her to depart for our dinner. We arrived, the food was assembled, we ate (the food was delicious). Claire remained awake and chipper in her bouncer until 3 p.m.; while I ate, I’d jiggle her rattles and play with her. We just finished eating when she became hungry. After she ate she was very tired; she began to fuss. Husband took her to a quiet room where she cried until she fell asleep on him around 4:15. We had dessert (apple pie, chocolate pecan bourbon pie, and fudge) and departed around 5:15. We were all relaxed; even the toddlers were well-behaved. And Stella had a good day:

bliss

Now it’s almost 8 p.m. and I’m tired. Husband put Claire to bed about an hour ago; I heard brief crying, then silence. (He’s sleeping on the floor of her room. It’s just easier to do that than climb up and down stairs constantly.) I should get some Zzzzzzs too. I’m so glad we went.

New photos of Claire are up at Flickr for friends and family! She’s getting all growed up — she’ll be 11 weeks old as of Saturday.

In Memory

A venerable friend died this morning. My brother and sister-in-law (Aunt LP)’s cat, Theo, died at home of renal failure and old age. He was 14. I was the first person they called in 1993 when they adopted him in kittenhood. He was a damn smart cat, their genius kitty; as my brother said, Theo “knew how the outside was connected to the inside (though he’d never been), how to open doors and cabinets, and how to make us smile.” I’m so sad he’s gone. He was a wonderful furry family member. If you have animal companions at home, give them a little extra love today.

theo

This is a photo of an old photo of Theo I snapped when I first moved to Austin in 1994.

Are we really sure the purring is coming from the kitty and not from our very own hearts?

–Emme Woodhull-Bäche, translated

[thanks to Leah for sharing the quotation]

Vexed

I’m concerned about Stella. For years she has left the laptop cords alone. They are in several parts of the house to enable us to sit plugged in with them. In the past month she has chewed on three cords, destroying two. And she could end up electrocuted. (Not to mention that exposed cords create sparks that could start a fire or electrocute us.)

This might mean I’ll just use the computer less and operate on battery power until it runs low, then plug it into the desk power cord and do something else while it recharges. Stella still gets attention, a clean litterbox, fresh water and food, brushing, petting, toys, and treats. She shows no interest nor animosity toward the baby. I’m not sure what precipitated this behavior but it’s not desirable.

Speaking of the baby, yesterday I tallied the insurance reports showing what it cost to have Claire from admission to discharge. We have a type of insurance that does not cover 100%, so I’m combing the data and hospital bills to ensure we pay only our share. The total cost (not exact to the last dollar, but close): $62,000. Yes, that is correct. It cost as much to have my child as it did to earn my graduate degree.

Time to make her earn her keep! 😉

Dust Mop Baby