Posted on 08/22/2010 11:56:35 PM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007
Ratue was already very thin due to her terminal illness; a disease in the blood, most likely from a parasite. She no longer had the energy to eat food, much less properly digest it, so the body had to survive the only way it could: by devouring her own fat and muscle tissue.
Organ failure began to set in around 5:50 in the afternoon on Sunday, August the 23rd, 2010. When I heard my stepmother wailing over Ratue's deteriorating condition, I bore witness to what would be the cat's final hour.
She was disoriented and confused. Whenever she tried to walk, she would stumble and wobble. Coordination decreased as she began to lose control over her motor functions. As we tended to her, Dad showed a calm and practiced hand; the hand of experience, of one who had owned pets before, of one who had seen a pet die (I can only assume; Dad had had pets as a child, but I do not know if he ever witnessed one pass away). As the time passed and her movements slowed, Ratue wailed and meowed increasingly loudly.
'Why?'
'Help.'
Pain.
According to my father, the failure of her body systems had reached a point to where she could no longer see. Ratue was a cat; an animal, who had no idea as to why everything was hurting, why her vision had gone dark, why breathing was so painful. It was...gut-wrenching to witness, in all honesty. My stepmother can certainly attest.
As the minutes ticked by, she stopped trying to move. Her movements slowed. Even as we gently tended to her, her meows decreased in frequency. Her breathing slowed, and her body began to still. After several spasms, we saw nothing more.
By 6:32, Ratue was dead.
Dad wrapped her body in a towel and carefully enclosed it into a trash bag. We dug a hole over two feet deep in the woods right at the border of the front yard. The soil near our home is rough, laden with rock and clay. After burying here, we compacted the soil with water, and marked her grave with a cross of bricks. I said a prayer, thanking the Lord for the gift that Ratue was, praying that my memories of her would be cherished and remembered for the good times they were, praying that she rest in peace.
Whilst digging her grave, I made a passing comment about how we could definitely use a pickax for dealing with this dirt (for it had made various projects about the house a definite chore in the past).
Dad, with the wisdom of experience, said, "Death shouldn't be easy."
It isn't. Ratue lived a good life; she had love and food and shelter. She loved us back (in her own way). Our remaining animals - a Golden Retriever and a Ragdoll cat - seemed to instinctively know that something was wrong. Ratue has been a part of our lives for nearly a decade; caring for a small animal, so much weaker than us, helped shape us into who we are. For that, I am grateful.
Ultimately, witnessing her death was painful. It was excruciating and soul-rending. As it should be; if I didn't react to her death, then I did not react to the loss of her life. Ergo, the life could not have meant much to me. That I react with such emotion to her passing means that her life did have meaning.
It is something we should remember.
Death isn't easy.
Deep sympathies for your loss. I am sure that God will cherish Ratue-san’s kitty soul.
Sorry for your loss. I know how it feels. We had our 19+ year old feline friend put down a couple of month ago. She just got too old with too many ailments and was effectively starving herself to death. We couldn’t bear to watch her suffer anymore. It was awful and upsetting.
I offer my condolences.
We lost our 19 year old Kat Kitty last year, it is a pain only a pet lover can know.
Our gray female died in a winter not too long ago, in my arms, with one final cry; and I buried her in our grape arbor, with the sky always peeking through.
She was 22.
Our gray female companion to her died as winter came a couple of seasons ago, a final protest in my arms, and we buried her under a very big pine, in a little copse of trees.
After fifteen years of being our friend.
Rocketing through space, with our friends. Like meteors we all burn out.
Leaving memories with the living.
I’m so sorry about your kitty. :^(
I have had pets, cats and dogs mostly, that have passed, and it is never easy and always heart wrenching. I can empathize with your loss. I hope you find comfort in memories of her and knowing that she is no longer hurting.
My Baby Cat jumped up on the chair, next to me, as I read this. Baby Cat is a Tortoise-Shell Kitty.
She was like a little bird that fell out of the nest, when she showed up on my doorstep.
I tried to give her away, to a friend, early on. But she didn’t take to my friend.
She would cower under the bed until I showed up.
It will now be : “Death Until We Part”.
God bless Ratue and you and comfort you both as I know He will.
God bless you and your family UltraSonic. Deeply.
My wife and I lost our cats in 2008 and 2009. It’s NEVER easy. But there is joy in the new little couple of littermates we just got.
My condolences on the loss of your beloved kitty. It is very sad when your pet dies.
“Caring for a small animal, so much weaker than us, helped shape us into who we are.” That’s very sweet. I know the sorrow stings, but, as you write, it’s a sign of the love and the value.
Sorry for your loss.
We morn with those who morn, remembering similar losses.
Peace.
My daughter had a cat who had the same illness. Nothing they tried to do helped. When my daughter returned home one day to find the cat stumbling and apparently blind, we took her to the vet to be euthanized. All very traumatic. Cats are wonderful creatures and companions. My condolences to your family.
Eventually you won’t think about Ratue’s last minutes as much as you will remember the joy he brought to your life.
My cat, Santana, died while I was on vacation. My son had to deal with the rush to the ER and we had to make the heart wrenching decision to euthanize him, because of heart problems that were grave.
I still cry, mostly because I wasn’t there for him when he needed me. I was everything to him. You were there to comfort your pet in the end so be thankful for that.
I am sorry to hear about your kitty....pets bring such comfort in our lives......
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