Goodbye, Henry
On Friday, we said goodbye to the last pet that we still had from the house on Stanton Ave. Henry was 16, and showing it. He lost his brother last March. He was on liver and arthritis meds. The liver pills he hated, but the arthritis meds were in liquid form and he would grab my hand to put the dropper in his mouth. We figured it either tasted exquisite (to kittehs) or he really knew that it helped him not be in pain. He never acted like himself after Tiger died and showed his age much more, not grooming himself, and being less social. He wouldn't even come up on the bed at night.
However, about a month ago, he had a resurgence. He regained a lot of his old pep, came into the rooms where we were and demanded attention as he used to, and resembled much more closely the cat we'd had for the previous 9 years. However his breath absolutely STANK. Oi! It was the only drawback from him being in your lap.
We knew that Henry was old, so we appreciated this upswing in his condition. We kept up his meds and fed him canned food for the sheer fat content because he wasn't getting the nutrients from just dry food. We also had to constantly shoo him off of the kitchen counter because he'd jump his scrawny ass up there looking for something, anything, to eat. We even needed to bungee cord the garbage shut so he wouldn't jump in. But it was so reassuring seeing him on the bed, and Laura, on of our new cats, would share space with him. I even caught the two of them nestled together, something I hadn't seen since Tiger was with us. And he'd sleep at Jenn's side like he had since 2001.
Henry hadn't been acting right all day Friday. Fortunately, Jenn was home to be with him, give him pets, and watch after him. He laid around in places he'd never lay. He didn't look like he was in pain, he just wasn't comfortable. It was sad and we weren't expecting him to survive the weekend. Sure enough, that evening, Henry lay down in front of one of the heating vents that wasn't one of his regular spots. Pookie gave him pets just before she went to bed. About 15 minutes after I tucked her in, I looked over to him. Without going into lots of detail, I saw him die.
While we all both very sad that Henry is gone, we are ok with it. Henry had a good life. This was not a surprise like
Tiger's death was. We enjoyed his last hurrah, his final effort to be part of the family on our bed, on our laps, and in our hearts.
We still have the girls, Laura and Violet. Getting them is proving to have been a smarter and smarter decision. They will never replace who Tiger and Henry were to us, but they are part of our family and add to our lives.
Goodbye Henry, and thank you. I hope Tiger is chasing your wussy ass all around kitty heaven right about now. :-)