That darn cat

I've put off this post for several days for several reasons....Mainly being that I didn't want to offend anyone or have anyone think that I am in anyway insensitive. Is that strange? I put off a post about a cat because I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings and I wanted everyone to still like me.....but then, I realized, again, that this is MY blog, this is about MY family and I am documenting OUR life and our feelings and things that revolve around OUR lives. See how I make everything about me?

So like it or not here is an attempt at being sensitive about life and death in regards to a cat:

If you know me at all or have known me for any length of time you know several things: I am addicted to chocolate. I live on Diet Coke. I like to run and bike. I am obsessed with furniture and I read the Twilight books in 8 days. All 5 of them (that's right, I read the on-line Edward version that the author posted.)

You will also know that I am deathly allergic to cats. And, I think they are a little sneaky and well, creepy. There I said it. I'm sorry to all you cat-lovers. I'm a dog person. Don't go away mad. Just go away...NO, only kidding! (I think my Dad used to jokingly say that to us, pretty sure he was quoting a song, what song is that?) Don't go away...keep reading....you'll want to...

So, don't like cats. BUT, Tom's parents were going on a trip for a month. They have a cat that needed to be watched. I figured we could do it. I mean really, they've done so much for us...what can a little kitty-cat do?

About three days into Ripley's stay, we started liking her. I started liking her. She would come and visit. She would want to be pet...she actually enjoyed the boys...and the dogs left her alone. See, I told you all you'd want to keep reading....Now. For those of you that don't do well with cat heaven, stop reading.

Ripley is 18. Ripley has glaucoma. Ripley is deaf in one ear (What?). Ripley has dementia. Seriously. Dementia. I mean really - how many people/animals in my life will have dementia? I'm dementia-ed out. So, Ripley started urinating all over our house. A LOT. Then on Thursday morning I went downstairs and found Ripley on the counter and in our front room/office/craft room a big puddle of cat pee.

So I called the Vet and took her in. They found a heart murmur. She's lost another 1/2 pound. Her glaucoma is worse. . . It could be a thyroid problem, diabetes, urinary tract infection....probably not behavioral because she knows our house and our family...So I called Tom's parents and asked them what they wanted me to do...and they asked me to put her down.

So, here's where a little bit of sense of humor helps. Because seriously if you can't laugh at life, then all I would do is cry....ALL.THE.TIME. There's a fine line between humor and being sensitive to death....I'm sure at some point I will cross that fine line....but, like many, I use humor to deal with tough situations.

NOW. Some of you might not agree with putting an animal down, and I totally understand that. I'm sure most of you would agree that at 18 years old a cat has seen a lot, as much as she could with one working eye, and that it was time....(too soon for humor?)

We went back to the Vet, we being the three boys and I (Tom's out of town!), and they took us to this private room, brought Ripley in and we said our goodbyes. (Some of you may not agree with the boys being there too and that's okay.) Then we put her on this little table and while Gus and Jack played together, Porter and I pet Ripley and they gave her medicine. Porter was so absolutely fantastic. Talking to her, and petting her, and she was so relaxed and so calm. Then I leaned on the table and it made a really loud noise and I totally ruined the moment....so me.

After the Vet said there wasn't a heartbeat anymore, the boys immediately asked if we could go and get water shooty things now. Go figure.

And then we went on with our day. I hate that. I hate that when something happens to someone the world doesn't stop and time doesn't stand still to mourn that person's loss. Everyone else just keeps going. And time keeps going. And people live their lives.

It was actually a very surreal experience. The boys had lots of questions, and I did my best to explain what happened. Because my Mom died, it was a lot easier to explain to them where Ripley was going and what Heaven is to us.

We've decided that we can't shield our boys from the natural things that happen in life. (The natural things. I still don't let them watch the News!) So we do our best to encourage questions and try and explain what happens. We talk a lot about my Mom and we spent the entire day talking on and off about Ripley.

So, I like Ripley. I cried saying goodbye to Ripley. That darn cat.

And life just keeps going on...