This was a horrible weekend for me. My beloved cat Reiley passed away on Sunday. She was breathing strangely on Saturday and I rushed her to the vet. She was diagnosed with cancer and her lungs were congested. She didn’t have any chance of survival. I brought her home so that I could comfort her and spend her last minutes close to her. She was like a baby to me. The apartment is so empty now, but I hope that another kitten will choose me to love. I had 10 wonderful years with her. She saved my life more than once when I was in a deep depression over once thing or another.
After my mom passed on, Reiley never left my side. I got her from the pound afer my ex-fiance and I broke up. I wanted someone to love me unconditionally. And she did. It’s somewhat fitting that she saw me through the first two anniversaries of mom’s passing, and then will join her one week later. She went through various room mates, receiving each one with grace and tolerance – Rick, other cats, a doberman, a rat, Florida Softshell Turtles, Gar Pikes and finally squirrels.
She tested out ever piece I knitted or crocheted, especially afghans. She loved nothing more than to lay on my lap and let the yarn run through her fingers. She slowed up quite a bit in the last year, but we had no idea that her body was being taken over by this horrible disease. It was only in the last month that she started showing signs that something was wrong. Her breathing became rapid and she had trouble getting settled. I haven’t gone to the washroom or slept alone since I got her.
My only comfort is that she’s on the Rainbow Bridge with our Doberman Bella and our Rat Cagney. I’ll miss the closest thing I ever will have to a baby. She brought me joy, laughter, comfort and now tears. The best thing I can do for her as her guardian is to give her peace. Until you have loved and lost a pet, you can’t truly understand what a loss this was. I know I didn’t.