Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Sweetie



Sweetie Walton, the calico, would be twelve years old this July. We didn't know her
exact birthday so we said it was with mine on July 20th.

I remember when I first saw Sweetie. "Santa" had dropped her and Shasta off on Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family all celebrating with Christmas dinner. Haley so was so stinkin' excited. My mom said "Do you hear that? I think that's Santa, let's go look!". So we all ran outside and my aunt brought out the kittens...just eight weeks old at the time.

We had been wanting pets since I was old enough to ask for one. Finally my parents (really my dad) caved in.

Haley named Sweetie and I named Shasta and it stuck. They were so much fun. I remember one day when my mom called me in and both of them had hopped into the nice warm dryer as she was unloading it. Or the time that Shasta was no where to be found, except when I opened up the linen closet to pull out a towel.

After Shasta had knocked Sweetie out of the second story window, we decided to give her to my aunt Eloda. We kept Sweetie. Since we got the cats a year after we moved in, I'm not sure how it's going to feel without her here. Yes, I'll have Buddy. And, yes he won't be as jealous ;-) But, even animals grieve.

I'll miss my friend. You know, I had heard that animals can cry. I had never seen it before. But, she knew there was something up when we kissed her and told her goodbye tonight. She was crying. And it was hard, very hard...But, I know we made the right decision. She's no longer in any pain. She's resting. She was much older than me and wise beyond her years. I hope she felt that she lived a good life.

I just know my grandpa met her in heaven (he loved cats) so she's in good hands...and we'll see her again someday soon. I love you my Sweetie.





2 comments:

Kristi Ostler said...

Losing Sam was so hard. It was so sudden. they are part of our lives. But the truth is, animals are instinctually protective of themselves, and don't show pain. animals that show pain in the wild are vulnerable to attack. So for any animal--even a tame pet--to show weakness is a sign that they are truly not comfortable. I'm glad you see the positive in letting go of Sweetie. I do believe I will see my pets in heaven.

Kelsy said...

Thanks Kristi. I didn't know I could get so emotional and attached to an animal...but we all were.

It was really hard getting in the car without her...and then driving away was even harder. I almost couldn't drive, but my mom and Haley were worse off than me.

It's funny you talk about weakness and pain because the vet told us that dogs and cats, especially cats, are very skilled at hiding their pain. And the fact that she was not herself and was acting differently was obvious to him that it was time to let her go.

I think my mom was in denial. I knew we were going to leave without her tonight...but my mom was hoping that the vet would say that she had another 3 or so months. Even when we were crying she said, you know we don't have to do this. But, we all knew that we did.