Catwoman's Weblog What part of MEOW don't you understand :)

We lost another precious kitty....

In memory of Peyton
15-May-1992 to 29-Jul-08

Way back in 1992, we decided to make a trip down to the Gilroy Outlets, our very first time since moving to the Bay Area, for some shopping. Needless to say, that day, we never got to do any shoppping as we came across a family with a box of 8 week old kittens outside of one of the stores. They were looking for good homes for them and of course, I fell in love with them and persuaded Patrick to let us take one home with us. Good thing because the family planned to take the kittens to the local animal shelter if they didn't find homes for them. I settled on the runt of the litter, a tiny little black female kitten with bright golden eyes. She cuddled with me all the way home. We ended up naming her after the evil nanny character in the movie "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle"...anyone notice a movie theme there in naming our pets :)

Last Tuesday was a day that I was so very glad to be a WFH employee, otherwise I probably would have come home to a very terrible situation with our little one. I know in my heart that it would have been so much more devastating to come home to find her gone than to be able to make sure that she didn't suffer any needless pain and discomfort at the end.

Peyton had made it to her 16th birthday and we had prepared ourselves for the fact that we probably wouldn't have her through the end of the year. So we just kept monitoring her, making sure she was eating and drinking and at the first sign of any trouble, we had already decided that we would give her that final gift and let her go to join Lycos and Scarlett, her fur siblings.

In the morning, I noticed that she was lying on the living room floor very still like. When I picked her up, she went limp in my arms. When I put her back down on the floor, she tried to walk but only made it a few steps before she laid her little body down again. It was time, she was telling me so...

I called Patrick and told him it was time, she wasn't doing well at all. I called our vet and they immediately double booked us for an afternoon appointment. By the time the appointment rolled around, her breathing was very labored and she was extremely lethargic. Our vet allowed us to stay with her at the end and that was tough for us and for our vet because her blood pressure had dropped so low that her veins wouldn't stay open so it wasn't an easy euthanasia but DrB did what he could to keep her comfortable. We stayed with her for a little while after it was over and I whispered to her, go find Lycos and Scarlett, I am sure that they were waiting to greet her with open paws.

Just like with Lycos and Scarlett, we chose a private cremation. I've also had a memorial river rock made for her that we will put in our backyard with the ones we had made for Lycos and Scarlett. Her ashes came home today and I've put them in our home office behind her picture, next to her sister Scarlett.

Now with our two pups, the Tan home is down to only two kitties, Ashes and Arwen.

I miss our dear precious little Peyton but I know in my heart that she is in a better place and will be watching over our home as one of our guardian furangels. Some may not understand those kind of beliefs and may even think that I'm a bit crazy and that's okay. I take comfort from those beliefs...

( Aug 06 2008, 03:59:29 PM PDT ) Permalink