Monday, January 19, 2009

Spencer



Today, John is taking Spencer, our 15 year old kitty in to be put to sleep. He has cancer, and we have kept him at home as long as possible to keep him comfortable, but he is showing signs of suffering. We will let him go in peace.

The boys have not known a day without him, and when his sister, Tess died in April of kidney failure it was a really hard thing. They have been able to see the sore on his side though, and I think that has allowed them time to understand his illness.

The boys and Tess...

When Tess died, the boys wanted kittens. I said, "No, that's not fair to Spencer, he's an old man, and kittens running around would not be great for him." Huh... What I know, and what God knows are different things all together.



About three weeks after I broke my shoulder, I was doing the laundry (with one hand) and my amazing dog, Oscar, laid some little furry thing at my feet. I thought it was one of the boys stuffed animals, but it did not look familiar. I reached down and found that I had a completely unharmed, perfect 2 week old baby kitten in my hands. Well, long story just a little shorter, across the street was a family with 2 nursing queens. They took on another kitten.. the next day Oscar showed me where the other two kittens were, (I had looked the day before) in my compost pile, under brambles. I took the other two to the vet right away, they force fed the littlest one and told me to not expect him to live. The mother cats took over though, and I had them at my house at 6 weeks old.. They are alive and thriving.
I was asked several times if we were going to keep all three kittens, and of course we did. Well, how many times in your life does God (using a dog of all things) drop a kitten at your feet while you're doing laundry?


I tell you this because Spencer was fantastic with these new babies. He laid with them, protecting them and bathing them. I really think that he had missed having another cat around, having always had Tess. I think that they have made his last days happier. I know that having the new babies will make the loss of Spencer a little easier to bare. My heart aches to have him go. I think that I could not have born to have a house empty of cat-ness.

2 comments:

Joan's Good Life said...

Oh my, I am sooo terribly sad with you. We have had two dogs in our family over the years that we have either had to put down due to illness or as our last one did, just pass away on his own. It just weights down the heart. We have still a long haired Chihuahua and an orange tabby. They are my boys now, my husband says I spoil them but let me tell you, I'm not the only one doing the spoiling! With time it will be easier and those kitties will help with the healing. God bless you.

pam said...

Oh, I'm so sorry. We lost two cats last year, and it is so hard. My old lady cat, Scraps, is 17, so I am mentally trying to prepare myself.