Losing Lucy
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:38 am
Lucy suddenly became unwell on March 14th; she stopped eating and began drinking a lot of water. The evening before, when I called my cats in just before sunset, she was missing for several hours, not coming home until around midnight.
I took her to the vet, he ran blood tests which came back clear, but suspected FIP because of her swollen abdomen. She was approximately 16 years old.
She completely refused to eat, becoming so weak that she found walking difficult. I began syringe feeding her, but eventually she needed to be supported at the vet hospital.
She died at the hospital on April 4th.
I collected her body. On April 5th a couple of friends helped me to dig her grave in my garden. We laid her to rest with a simple pagan ceremony.
During the time of her illness and while grieving I've been keeping a journal in which I've written about my feelings concerning her death, all the things I wish we'd done together (she was an ex-feral and wouldn't allow me to cuddle her to show her how much she was loved). I've written anything to help cope with the loss.
I have two cats: Cydric (Lucy's son) and Victoria (unrelated). Cydric has become very subdued and obviously misses his mother. They used to cuddle together and groom each other. Lucy and Victoria were also close, cuddling together and grooming. But Cydric and Victoria have never been particularly close. They are now spending the evenings and rainy days in separate rooms: Cyd sleeps in the lounge whereas Victoria goes into one of the bedrooms. The life seems to have gone out of them.
I feel that one of the best things I can do for Lucy now is to take good care of her son and her friend. Later, I'll post in the rehoming part of the forum about perhaps taking in another cat.
There's a tremendous sadness hanging over the house; it lifted temporarily during the good weather. Journalling has helped tremendously to process the grief, but it's been only three weeks since she passed. I've tried to comfort myself with the fact that I gave her ten good years: she was a feral before I rescued her family who all had cat 'flu. My household is quiet and she was never troubled with unwanted attention, but always regularly fed and had a warm home to sleep in, and medical care when needed. She also had a varied life. While she was a feral in the previous area I lived, she spent her time kittening and fighting for survival; a big change to the life she later had with me.
I'm slowly accepting the situation. She was a lovely cat, always with a blissful maternal smile as though she wanted to mother the world.
You were a great cat, Lucy.
I took her to the vet, he ran blood tests which came back clear, but suspected FIP because of her swollen abdomen. She was approximately 16 years old.
She completely refused to eat, becoming so weak that she found walking difficult. I began syringe feeding her, but eventually she needed to be supported at the vet hospital.
She died at the hospital on April 4th.
I collected her body. On April 5th a couple of friends helped me to dig her grave in my garden. We laid her to rest with a simple pagan ceremony.
During the time of her illness and while grieving I've been keeping a journal in which I've written about my feelings concerning her death, all the things I wish we'd done together (she was an ex-feral and wouldn't allow me to cuddle her to show her how much she was loved). I've written anything to help cope with the loss.
I have two cats: Cydric (Lucy's son) and Victoria (unrelated). Cydric has become very subdued and obviously misses his mother. They used to cuddle together and groom each other. Lucy and Victoria were also close, cuddling together and grooming. But Cydric and Victoria have never been particularly close. They are now spending the evenings and rainy days in separate rooms: Cyd sleeps in the lounge whereas Victoria goes into one of the bedrooms. The life seems to have gone out of them.
I feel that one of the best things I can do for Lucy now is to take good care of her son and her friend. Later, I'll post in the rehoming part of the forum about perhaps taking in another cat.
There's a tremendous sadness hanging over the house; it lifted temporarily during the good weather. Journalling has helped tremendously to process the grief, but it's been only three weeks since she passed. I've tried to comfort myself with the fact that I gave her ten good years: she was a feral before I rescued her family who all had cat 'flu. My household is quiet and she was never troubled with unwanted attention, but always regularly fed and had a warm home to sleep in, and medical care when needed. She also had a varied life. While she was a feral in the previous area I lived, she spent her time kittening and fighting for survival; a big change to the life she later had with me.
I'm slowly accepting the situation. She was a lovely cat, always with a blissful maternal smile as though she wanted to mother the world.
You were a great cat, Lucy.