Saying Good - Bye

On Tuesday, we buried Ch0m Ch0m out at my friend $teve's ranch. Under a big tree and right next to where Che$ter was buried just 6 months ago. The last of the old guard of my eNYC cats. Even though Ch0m Ch0m had a much quieter personality, she still was a large presense in my life, and both Chuyit0 (my little tiger cat) and I feel a bit lonely without her around. He used to excitedly let out a little meow and rush over to her every time she entered the room or even moved from one spot to another. I keep looking out of the corner of my eye, expecting to see her in her favorite spots.

She had turned 18 on May 24th. Her health was pretty good relatively. Her creatine levels were on the rise over the past several years; a sign of slow deterioration of her kidneys which is typical with aging cats. Recently she'd lost some weight which I think is never a good sign but the vet assured me that could be normal with her age. But about a week after I returned from my trip to SF, I noticed she was a little weaker and dehydrated. I took her to the vet and he gave her fluids and vitamins and I hoped she'd bounce back like she had in the past. But 2 days later (last Wednesday) she stopped eating and drinking. I took her into the vet again and he set her up on an IV drip through a catheter in her forearm.

I brought her home that evening with instructions to give her the drip twice a day for 2 hours. Not an easy thing. She'd struggle and after about an hour and a half, she's need to pee and wet my bed. I continued trying for several days, but by Sunday she seemed even less energetic and like she might have been in pain. By Monday, I knew she wasn't going to get better and knew we needed to help her pass on. The vet came to my apartment (like he'd done for Che$ter) and she was put to sleep while laying on my bed. Very sad, but I had no doubt it was for the best.

I talked with my friend $teve's daughter who told me his ex and her husband would be going out to the ranch the next day and I could ride out with them to bury Ch0mmie. I also spoke with $teve who confirmed it was no problem. But I had a bad feeling and sure enough, they never called the next day and had their phone turned off. I started to panic a bit because the place is way out in the country and not reachable by public transport. Luckily my friend J0rge and neighbor Gilbert0 came through and drove me out there and did the heavy work of digging a hole and lifting a big rock to put on top. That night we had a really heavy rain with thunder and lightning and I was happy she was safe in the ground, under a tree.


I've been in a pensive mood, thinking back over the last 18 years and all that has happened. More and more I feel like I'm wrapping up this stage of life and will be starting something new. I don't know what that is yet. But hopefully part of it will be several months in eNYC this summer.