In remembrance of Kitten Cotter

Tweet

Around 18-20 years ago my Godfather bought a cat from a pet store. The cat looked like he was wearing a cow suit. He was all white with big black spots. He also had an unusually large nose for a cat, but he was a very good cat. My Godfather named him Kitten Cotter, otherwise known as KC. So Casey..as he became, was a very happy, strictly indoor cat. A few years later my Godfather died from a genetic disease he was born with, and Casey and his furry sister Baby came to live with my mom to add to our already overpopulated house of about 6 cats at the time. Casey happened to come from the same litter as our cat Alex, and Baby came from the same litter of another of our cats, Norman. Well years passed, and some of the cats passed away, including Alex, Norman, and Baby, but Casey remained strong. February of 2007 my mom passed away, leaving behind me, my brother, a roommate, and 6 cats. Each of us took 2 cats.. the 2 I recieved were Casey and Copper. Although Casey was a very old cat, he still acted very much like a kitten. He was quite playful most of the time, and had amazing energy for his age. Here at my house Casey and Copper were allowed outdoors, for the first time in their lives. They both loved to lie in the sun and chase leaves, and play with my other 3 cats. Casey hadn't been doing well lately. He'd been slowly losing his energy and spending most of his time sleeping. Yesterday was the worst of it, I was so scared for him. he had a really hard time moving. He was very weak and shakey when he walked. He used to spend most of his time sleeping in the bathroom, but yesterday he really wanted to go outside. He sat on my side porch trying to go down the steps, but the way he was shaking I was afraid he was going to fall flat on his face. I was almost in tears looking at this sight. I let him down off the porch, and went about my business, making sure to look for him every few hours. He spent the entire day lying on the front porch in the sun, still not looking so good. When my husband came home from work I told him I'd be taking the cat to the vet this morning, most likely to put him down. I knew it had to be done, but part of me didn't want to.. not because I was sad to put him down.. that's only part of it. Mostly because I didn't want the cat's last few hours on earth to be spent being frightened out of his mind. The car ride and visit to the vet is not the way a cat wants to go I'm sure, but I felt like he was suffering and it had to end. We finished watching our programs, and I went out to the front porch to check on Casey one last time before I went to bed. He was already gone. He passed away sleeping on the front porch. I'm sure he couldn't have chosen a better way to go. Now he is reunited with his siblings in kitty heaven. Feel free to share any thoughts, or stories of your own loved kitties.