Patches by Ric Edwards / Ric

I got Patches when she was a little bit over one year old. A beautiful female long-haired calico cat, she came pre-named and since she had the most beautiful multi-colored coat I didn’t even consider changing her name. At the time I got her I already had one cat, a male, and I figured another cat in the house – especially a female — would liven things up a bit.

At first my male cat hated the idea of a second cat in “his” place, and for about a month all he did was hiss and growl at poor Patches. But he soon warmed up to her, and it wasn’t long before they were sleeping next to each other, grooming each other, and carrying on like the best of friends. They continued to be close throughout
the rest of their time together.

I had a terrible scare with her about 5 years after I got her. I was in the middle of moving to another city and somehow she got outside my apartment during the move. She disappeared into the neighborhood, and even though I spent the entire afternoon and the next day looking around the neighborhood and knocking on doors, I could not find her. She had always been an indoor cat and I just didn’t think she could survive very long outside on her own. After being gone for 2 days I thought I had lost her forever. But it must not have been her time to leave me, because I got a call late on the second night she was missing – my landlady had come home and discovered her crying on my front porch! I was reunited with her the next morning and she was in my life for the next twelve years.

She survived the addition of my wife’s cat when I got married, the death of my male cat, countless moves around the country, and long hours in the car during cross-country road trips. She was the most easy-going cat I’ve ever had – she never complained about anything, she just took everything in stride. When the two male cats would get into it with each other,
she would act as the peacemaker.

She continued to be in good health and spirits well into her elderly years. During the last year or so I noticed she had lost a lot of weight, and I soon realized she was barely eating the dry food she had always loved. I was able to switch her to canned food which she eagerly ate, at first. But it was not long before she stopped eating that, also. During the last couple of weeks of her life she stopped eating entirely, and during her last few days she wouldn’t even drink any water. It is an incredibly sad and helpless feeling to know the cat you love and has been such a big part of your life is suffering and there is nothing you can do about it. I learned that you cannot force a cat to eat – they just
won’t do it if they don’t want to.

Two days before she died I took her to the vet and asked him to do what he could to make her comfortable. He gave her a B12 shot and said that that might perk her up a bit and she might show some interest in eating, but it had no effect. I think she was already resigned to her fate at that point. I read somewhere that animals face their impending death with quiet dignity, and that was certainly the case with Patches. She never cried out or let on in any way that she was suffering and in pain, although I suspect she was.

Two nights before she died she summoned up the strength to walk into my bedroom from her favorite resting spot. She got into bed with me and snuggled up next to me like she always used to. That was the last night I felt her purring. The next day her condition worsened, and I had to face the fact that she was near her end of days. The next night I made sure I kept her close to me throughout the evening and I let her sleep where she looked like she was the most comfortable, which was over by her food and water bowls. The next day she really started becoming distressed and I knew it was time to do the most humane thing I could for her, and that was to take her back to the vet for the shot which would end her suffering. It is the hardest thing a pet owner has to do, but I know it is also the most
caring thing you can do, also.

I spent the last few minutes of her life telling her what a great cat she had been and how much I was going to miss her. She really started to distress at that point and
I knew that it was time.

After she passed away the vet let me take as long as I wanted with her, and then they did a very nice job of wrapping her body since I was going to bury her myself. I took her to my Mom’s house and took care of that, and then I spent the weekend landscaping the area around her grave to make it as nice as I could for her. She deserves the best that I can do because she gave me 17 wonderful years of companionship and love. She was a great cat and a great friend. My apartment is now a very lonely place without her. I will remember Patches always and cherish the memories of the time we had together. I’ll miss her the rest of my life.

 

With Much Love,