The Loss of a Friendship

On Sunday night, my grandma put her 17 year old cat to sleep.

Amber Sue was adopted from a local animal shelter 17 years ago - about a year after my grandma lost her 18 year old cat Fred. Amber Sue was one of those crazy cats that only liked the people that she liked and would prefer that the rest of the people would jump off a cliff. Ok, she never saw a cliff, so she had no idea what it would mean for a person to jump off of one, but you catch my drift. She would get grumpy if you tried to move her. She would give you the angry face if you were sitting in her spot. She used to scream at me if I didn't let her into "my bedroom" at night when I was visiting. Amber Sue was mostly an inside cat with the occasional squeeze past you onto the deck then what the hell do I do with myself now moments of outside freedom. Amber Sue would be considered a good cat by most standards.

The only health issue that Amber Sue had was a mild thyroid issue that had been kept under control for the past 5 years with daily medication. About two weeks ago she was diagnosed with kidney disease. It all went downhill from there. Something that should have been easily treated was completely mismanaged until it resulted in her death. I know that 17 years is OLD in cats, but this was something that could have been treated - at least for a little while. She should have lived at least another 6 months - even with this diagnosis.

On top of the tragedy of loosing a friend in an "untimely" manner, my grandma had to loose a friend that she has had for 17 years. The sad thing about living with - and loving pets is that we out live them.

Irving Townsend wrote:

We who choose to surround ourselves with lives more temporary then our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached, Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary pain.

I couldn't imagine loosing a pet after loving it for 17 years. And even if I could imagine it - or have lived through it - there is nothing that you can say to comfort someone in this situation. The loss is so great, the pain too deep. It is like loosing a part of yourself.

But in the end, it is worth it. The sorrow that we feel at their loss is only a fraction compared to the joy that their life brought.