Don’t read if you get teary easily. I’m talking to you, Brad.
Ok, I’ll tell you the Shadowlands troubles. Aside from the crazy long days at work, on Wednesday we had 4 inches of rain come down in a couple of hours. It flooded one of the window wells at school and the basement carpet got wet. That was dealt with (it involved bailing with a bucket), but I was beat before the school day actually began.
Later, I had a meeting at church that night but forgot my folder of notes. After the long meeting, I came home to look for the notebook and found it on one of the guest beds, and noticed a horrible stench. Someone had peed on the bed. So, after this very long day in a series of long days – now I had to rip all the bedding off and go to Wal-Mart to get stench remover. Unfortunately, we hastily moved all the stuff off the bed and didn’t do a thorough check of everything.
I went to work the next day with the folder so I could make some phone calls, and found out that there was old dried pee on the folder and papers. So, ruined notebook and ruined bag. As it turns out, she had been peeing all over that bed and the other one. (I thought it smelled weird in here, but again – I’ve been beat when I get home, and didn’t bother to investigate. I chalked it up to ‘old house smell’.)
Which brings us to the looming doom of the rest of the week. We had the cats put to sleep on Saturday. Dr. Wallman was very kind and understanding, and I am so grateful. Pfennig went quick and quietly, like a balloon letting out its air all at once, but Cricket was awful to the bitter end. She scratched Dr. Wallman and bit Lloyd through the muzzle. She needed a sedative to get the final injection, and that made her barfy and woozy.
It was sad, and I’m still sad, but honestly, since I’ve been mourning their imminent deaths since Cricket had that terrible diarrhea, it’s a bit of a relief to finally be at an end. We’ve ripped up a lot of carpet and thrown out a lot of ruined things.
I loved them very much, though, and will miss them terribly.
Which brings me to how I deal with grief. You guys are awesome, but if you’re local, please don’t call or come to commiserate. I absolutely hate to cry, so I need a heap of alone time, please. Please don’t be offended, it’s just the way it is.
By the way, I just want to say that Lloyd is an awesome husband. In all this awfulness, he has been nothing short of stellar. Perfect score, Lloyd. Perfect score.
I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll be thinking about you.
I will miss Meanie and Stupid, otherwise known as Softie and Sweetie.
I love you, sis. We’ll miss them both. And Lloyd, thank you. A better brother-in-law to my sister one could not have.
Dear Mean-Mean-Kitty and Pf***t (Tara used to call Pfennig something that was funny, but also a homosexual slur, so I won’t put it in print.), we’ll miss you.
Tara will miss dragging you around all over the house, Pfennig. And feeding you from the tiny stainless bowls.
And Cricket, we’ll all miss avoiding you. (And I’ll miss feeding you french fries, it was the only time you were almost nice to me.)
So sorry about the mess upon mess, and the sadness of losing the cats.
I’m so sorry for you and your horrible week. Even though I didn’t really know the kitties, they sound like quite the pair. I’m glad they were in your life for so long.
Oh, Lloyd and Lauren, how sad for you. We are so, so sorry to hear about it.
So sorry Lauren for your losses…my thoughts & prayers are with you. And not just saying that.
Goodbye cool cats who loved Lauren!
Here’s my “heap” to you.
Very sorry for your loss. You are in my thoughts.
Commiserating from afar. Lloyd, way to go! I knew I liked you for more reasons than just the fact that you are Sam’s cousin.
Oh Lauren, I’m so sorry. I really am. I know you know we’re on the same path with our cats. Dealing with them, along with my own demons since Zeke arrived has been almost too much to bear. I hurt for you.
Hey Lloyd & Lauren,
I found your site last year via the pies-in-jars post and have been hooked ever since. Today’s post forces me out of lurker-mode and I just want to say that I’m very sorry for your loss. We’re a household of 2 humans, 2 dogs and 2 older cats and I’m just dreading the day when we have to make the decision you did. You’ll be in my thoughts.
Oh, I’m so sorry – that IS the Worst Day Ever.
Thank you, everybody. I am very grateful for your kind words. It’s been a strange mix of laughing and crying around here. I spent fifteen minutes tonight scouring a cookie sheet and sniffling. It’s sparking – “Now with the scrubbing power of grief!”
Lauren, I have had a lot of experience with cats. I had one that lived 15 years. He got real skinny towards the end like yours did. He was ever preset when I would come home mewoing at me and I sure missed his presence for a long time. I did have him put down but I wished I had done so sooner.., I couldnt tell if hr was suffering until the very end he was very close to death when I took him in.
On a lighter note…you are the only other person I know of that has (or had) a cat that peed ON the bed. I have one too. It’s crazy! I have to protect all the matrases in the house more so thant when our kids were little!!!!
Its a hard thing you went through and my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Oh Bears.
too much tears.
both kitties?
Yeah, they were old – 15 and 14. Cricket was the pee perpetrator and Pfennig was wasting away to nothing. I should add, after receiving a concerned comment from someone, that they had arthritis, heart murmurs, digestive issues, and possibly diabetes. (When the vet talked – a few visits ago – about the testing we could do for that, I declined. I love them, but I wasn’t going to give them shots for the rest of their lives.) He said that Cricket was possibly getting senile. It seemed fitting that they both go together.