Farewell to my feline

[draconis]

This has been a sad morning for me, and this post is depressing -- you probably want to skip it.

Trust me on this.



For months now, my cat has been refusing to urinate in the litterbox. She had no problems defecating in it, but that was all she'd do.

We spoke to two vets. We checked her for any medical reasons -- negative.

We tried kitty-tranquilizers. No change.

We tried different types of litter, in three different types of litterboxes, in different areas of the house, on different surfaces, and rotated them. She completely ignored all of them except one.

We tried putting stuff in the litterbox that was supposed to make her like the litterbox more. I put it in every litterbox except one -- one that she had completely ignored. Of course, she promptly starts using that one, but still only for defecation.

One person suggested "crating" her or locking her in a small room during the day while I'm gone, but considering that I don't get home until 9:30 - 10:00 on the nights that I have my karate classes, that leaves her confined for way too much of the time. As for locking her in a room, I've actually been keeping her locked out of the library and the guest room, so that company can have a urine-free environment. If she started spraying in our bedroom... I wouldn't have reacted well. That leaves only the bathrooms, and she *hates* the cold tiles in there -- locking her in there would have been abusive, even with a blanket for her to curl up on.

We tried every suggestion from two vets, as well as from several other sources. None of them worked.

12 years ago, we adopted a feisty little street-kitty, whose first act on being introduced into her new home was to back the already-resident cat all through the house while she looked things over. On my way to work this morning, wearing the same leather coat I had on when we first picked her up (worn specifically for that reason -- it seemed appropriate, somehow), I took her to an animal shelter. She rode in my lap in the car, and was clearly puzzled when Daddy's face kept dripping water onto her back.

The two ladies at the shelter were very warm and welcoming to her, telling her what a beautiful, sweet little girl she was. I'm sure they probably do that for every newcomer, but it felt nice anyway, and I thanked them for it. I gave them what was left of her bag of food, and the two unopened packets of her favorite treats. I also went ahead and donated the pet-carrier -- let someone who still has a pet get some good use out of it.

Dammit, Sable... why'd you have to put me in this position?

I'm sorry, little girl.

I miss you.

Goodbye...

Comments

[raine-wynd.livejournal.com]

{{{HUGS}}} I know how hard it is to let go of a cat, no matter how long you've had them. (Hence the icon.) My sympathies, and I hope Sable finds a new home soon.