Easy Like Sunday

TBT:   I don't normally do Angelversaries.  Actually, the idea never occurred to me, but I have seen some lately.  So I intended to do Ayla's first one at least.  

But I missed it.  It was September 2nd (Taz's Birthday, by coincidence - date, not year).  Somehow, I thought it was later this month.  So at least I want to correct that oversight...

Every kitty is "special".  But some leave larger holes in your heart than others.  Skeeter was one of those as was Iza too.  Time slowly heals the holes some, but Ayla was the most recent and her departure still hurts more.

Ayla was "special" to me in many ways.  She was my first purebred cat.  I only got her because she was too small for the breeder's needs and she was offerred to me as a "family cat".  In fact, the breeder had her own vet spay her before she would let me adopt her.

Many of you may know that led to problems.  For others, I will describe it briefly.  The first spay didn't take.  Neither did a second by the same vet 6 months later.  Months of Ayla going into heat every few weeks almost drove me crazy.  My own vet didn't want to make a third incision.

Ayla finally developed an abdominal infection, so my vet had to operate.  He found one entire ovary and part of the other still in her.  He told me he couldn't understand how the previous vet missed those after 2 operations.  I still have the remnants in a small jar of alcohol.

I emailed the breeder's vet pictures and details about the results.  He immediately sent me a reimbursement check for my expenses and said he was retiring.

After that, life with Ayla was wonderful.  I called her "Princess", and she deserved it.  Even for a cat, she was unusually graceful, dignified, and agile.  She just naturally posed "royally".

She talked to me often, but not in a demanding way.  She was a true mouse-hunter and loved the back yard.  But she was also always a good lapcat, tolerating my occasional shifts of position easily.

But all good things must come to an end.  In late August last year (at 16+) she stopped eating.  Meds didn't help.  The vet couldn't see a problem on x-rays.  Her weight was dropping rapidly.  The vet and I agreed that she was just "shutting down".

I will always miss her greatly.  

Flashback Friday

 This week in 2010...

It was generally peaceful.

But something happened in the night...

They never admitted who did it...  Looking as innocent as possible.

Sat next to each other peacefully just fine!

Anything to not "tell" on each other.  So it was probably both of them going all "chasey".   The Sisters kept some secrets from me when they could.

Everycat has always had their favorite positions on me and elsewhere.  This "chin on knee" was typical for Ayla.

And Ayla normally held on to The Lap...

She was an explorer.  She got onto bookshelves other cats couldn't manage.

Monday Memories - Ayla

Today is a tribute to Ayla.   And our thanks and purrs to all for the supportive comments.   It has been a couple of hard days here.

I am missing some earliest pictures after all these years.  Even computer files don't last forever, it seems.

But she had a "pose".

And liked to be out on the old deck with Skeeter when he was very old and she was young.  And she was a comfort to him in his last months...  When he struggled, she sat next to him.  

Her best pic is probably the one in the tree.  Such a gorgeous girl...

She always did think she deserved to be a calender girl...

She loved special beds for years...  This is my best pic of her in one.  A Princess should always have a special bed.

And loved the top of the TV chair with the special mat.  She used to touch all the mat kitties sometimes...  I'm not sure what she thought, but she did that.

And didn't mind seeing herself sometimes.

And she always slept nicely...

She loved tight spaces...

Some cats are mean, some are good, some are wonderful.  Ayla was a "wonderful" cat.  She never did anything wrong.  And she loved my attention to her.

Drowned as I am in pictures of her, I don't have enough.  She slept next to me in bed most of her years, but I didn't capture those pics.  A bit of my reaching for the camera and she moved away.

She was on my lap in her early days, but I can't find them now.

I am going to miss her so very much.  

I miss Skeeter, LC and Iza all.  But Skeeter and LC were of my working days, where I was really only awake for a few hours around them.  It was almost like it was their home and I just "visited" a while.   Iza was a joy of my retirement time, but she died too young.  

Ayla was the transition from the Skeeter/LC years to the present.  It is like she had always been here.

Ayla was my first cat in 24/7/365 "at home, retired" life.  She was my constant presence and I was hers too.  It feels so empty here now without her.  I'm not even really understanding my day without her.  16 years is a long time even for people.

My Princess is gone.  Whatever physical troubles she had in her last month, at least they are over now.  I'm glad for that.  But the tears don't stop...

I will remember Ayla forever...

Puddy

 

We will miss our friend...

Day 4

The household is settling down to new routines.  It's sad but there is nothing to do about it. I'm discovering some changes:

1.  Iza at 10 lbs ate almost as much as Marley (15 lbs) and Ayla (6.4 lbs always) combined.
2.  Iza was responsible for 80% of the litter box "product".
3.  The waterbowl stays relatively filled.
4.  Ayla is moving around the house more often.  I did not realize the stress Ayla felt.
5.  Ayla ate in the kitchen for the first time in years.
6.  Marley is on my lap more often.  I did not realize how heavy he is!
7.  Ayla purrs more often.
8.  Neither Marley nor Ayla will nap where Iza did.  I need to launder all those towels.
9.  Marley and Ayla sniff around the house at spots that seem unmeaningful to me.
10. I need to completely mop all the floors and vacuum the carpets.  Iza had a couple years of tummy troubles and it seemed purposeless to other than "spot-clean".
11. A very detailed Spring-Cleaning would be good for both me, the Mews, and the house.
12. Iza is in the freezer.  While clearing the spot where she will join Skeeter and LC, I pulled a calf muscle and can hardly walk, never mind dig.  I will have to wait a few days.
13.  I miss her purrs, her weight on my lap, her food demands, her presence on the corner of my bed at night, stroking her minklike fur, seeing her napping on her heaty-mat, her constant close nearness to me anywhere I went in the house or outside, her calls to me outside when she lost track of where I was and how she came running over when she learned where I was, and how she just wanted to be near me all the time.

I am not a blubberring mess like I was in Dec 2008 when Skeeter died.  The Cats who came before were strays or unwanted who I got as adults.  I surely loved them and they at least liked me in return.  Skeeter was the first I chose (though it WAS a case of just him to choose).  And he was the first who lived with me when I retired and was home all day.  So he was also the first cat I experienced daily going outside with me so that I learned so much about his full personality.  Those kinds of details matter.

LC was Skeeter's cat.  It was deliberate.  I got her specifically to be his companion, since most of their lives LC was his only connection to another living creature.  Not that I didn't love her too, but she would nap with Skeeter, eat only with Skeeter, and so far as I know, they used the litterboxes together.  After Skeeter died, LC connected to me more, but she died suddenly one night (assumed stroke).

Ayla came when both Skeeter and LC were still here.  It wasn't a great time for her.  Skeeter and LC were bonded and Skeeter was messily dying, so LC was also distressed.  And as soon as LC died, I got Iza.

They got along great at first, but Iza grew bigger and stronger and was a bit of a meanie in small ways.  So Ayla was happy when Marley came along.  But he rapidly grew bigger and began to orient more to Iza.  Ayla took over my bedroom as her territory.  There were never fights or anything.  A 6.4 lb cat can't contend with 11 lb and 15 lb cats.

When Iza had to be brought to the vet for release to the Bridge, I was so very sad and stood there and cried.  But I was able to drive home more easily this time.  There have been plenty of cries, but not so much of the shock of loss.  This time was different.  Skeeter failed slowly, but Iza had more medical issues, so it was more of a release.  I can't explain it as well as I wish I could, but I think Iza was in more pain than Skeeter was so I couldn't delay.  I guess I felt more "kindness" this time.

Every cat's last times are different.  Skeeter went very gradually and (I think) it was more mental than physical problems toward the end (my vet at the time assured me he wasn't feeling physical problems).  LC literally died overnight.  With Iza, it was definitely physical, so it was easier to accept that I had to let her go sooner than later.  Her last problems came on her faster than Skeeter's, so the decision was more forced.

Again, I thank everyone who left comments about Iza.  They will be cherished for so many years as I still cherish the comments about Skeeter after 12 years and LC after that.

Iza watching a vole hole for a careless mousie to play with...