Thursday, November 15, 2007
This week has not been pretty.
It started this weekend with our decision to put our dear cat, Oakley, to sleep. Oakley was 17. A couple months ago, we noticed Oakley was looking rather svelte. This was unusual for Oakley, whose trucker-like girth caused him to waddle around most of his life. The vet told us he was in the early stages of kidney failure. So we've been pampering Oakley, giving him lots of love and extra treats.
But on Sunday, Oakley just wasn't getting up. He wasn't interested in eating. He was looking a lot worse. So we did the hardest thing.
The kids were quite upset about it. Becca is more in the zone of "where is heaven? what is heaven? is Oakley in heaven? can I see him?" Sarah cried and cried, because the cat slept with her and was her little buddy.
So when it came time for the vet to ask me what I'd like to do with Oakley's remains, I decided to have Oakley's remains returned to us so we could have a burial. Check out:
It started this weekend with our decision to put our dear cat, Oakley, to sleep. Oakley was 17. A couple months ago, we noticed Oakley was looking rather svelte. This was unusual for Oakley, whose trucker-like girth caused him to waddle around most of his life. The vet told us he was in the early stages of kidney failure. So we've been pampering Oakley, giving him lots of love and extra treats.
But on Sunday, Oakley just wasn't getting up. He wasn't interested in eating. He was looking a lot worse. So we did the hardest thing.
The kids were quite upset about it. Becca is more in the zone of "where is heaven? what is heaven? is Oakley in heaven? can I see him?" Sarah cried and cried, because the cat slept with her and was her little buddy.
So when it came time for the vet to ask me what I'd like to do with Oakley's remains, I decided to have Oakley's remains returned to us so we could have a burial. Check out:
Well, they returned the ashes to me in a beautiful cedar box with a tiny lock, and Oakley's name on a little metal heart. And they gave me a list of pet grieving Websites, which is a little much. But here is the weird part. They also made me one of these:
It kind of ooked me out a little bit. Because that means they had to take the dead cat's paw and make this little keepsake! The doe-eyed receptionist, who was trying to extend her sympathies, was a little startled when I expressed my surprise over this concept. "It usually soothes people," she said. Apparently we are supposed to use it as a headstone. Oy. I hadn't planned on a stone dedication AND a burial.Right around the time we put Oakley down, Becca started to feel woozy and sneezy. Now both kids have colds. Sarah came home early from school yesterday, and stayed home today. And now... I am feeling spacey and chilly. NO - I AM NOT GETTING SICK. Power of positive thinking....
These things usually come in 3s. So today on the playground, when some older kids were teasing Becca, she let 'em have it. Escaping teatime with the principal by a hair. Sigh. Well. Maybe next week will be better.
2 comments:
So sorry to hear about Oakley. He was around almost as long as David's and my marriage! It's tough to "put down" pets. I had to put down "Beshert" for kidney failure as well. I'm hugging you and the family through the blog!
Mel
Gosh, I'm sorry you guys are going through this. For what it's worth, my experience is that making the decision and getting through the first few days are pretty hard, but then it eases up considerably. It'll be harder for Sarah, who's missing her sleeping buddy though.
Hope you guys have a wonderful Thanksgiving despite all the hard stuff you've been facing lately. Someone owes you a really good new year.
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