Lotta the cat
Jun. 7th, 2009 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sawylMy sister called. My sister never normally calls. I was so startled that, for second after dragging second, I was at a complete loss for words. Because I had a fair idea why she'd called. And I knew that I didn't want to hear what she was going to say.
She didn't surprise me. Putting on her best professional manners, the sort I imagine she reserves for breaking bad news to patients' relatives, she told me what I'd been dreading: that my much loved and extremely ancient cat, Lotta, was dying and that she wanted me to decide what to do. I told her that there was only one thing I thought we could do: see if the vet could do anything and, if nothing was possible, see about euthanasia. In the end, it wasn't necessary to send for the vet. By the time my sister had talked it over with our housekeeper, they found that the cat had died.
Although it's sad to lose someone who had been part of our lives for twenty years, its comforting to know that Lotta lived a good life, didn't suffer, that her friends were there with her at end, and that she'll be remembered by all of us for a long time to come. I'm not sure that any of us could ask for more.
She didn't surprise me. Putting on her best professional manners, the sort I imagine she reserves for breaking bad news to patients' relatives, she told me what I'd been dreading: that my much loved and extremely ancient cat, Lotta, was dying and that she wanted me to decide what to do. I told her that there was only one thing I thought we could do: see if the vet could do anything and, if nothing was possible, see about euthanasia. In the end, it wasn't necessary to send for the vet. By the time my sister had talked it over with our housekeeper, they found that the cat had died.
Although it's sad to lose someone who had been part of our lives for twenty years, its comforting to know that Lotta lived a good life, didn't suffer, that her friends were there with her at end, and that she'll be remembered by all of us for a long time to come. I'm not sure that any of us could ask for more.
