The story goes, she has been my kitty for years. She started with my uncle, Rod, and she sort of chose me as her human. She didn't get the attention and love that she needed where she lived, and Rod got a dog, Scribbles, that Snickers automatically hated. I became her favorite person in the world and Rod agreed that she would be happier with me.
So, I had her all through college as my little lady. I can't even recall how many times she moved to new places with me. She was my companion through it all.
My funniest memories of her were when she'd go outside to enjoy the "dusk" (her favorite time of day) and lay in the grass and catch bugs. She'd actually eat grass, and she must've always thought, "I feel sick; I'd better go inside". Then she'd come in and barf on the carpet right inside the door.
Her breed was a tortoise calico, which is a one-person cat. Very stubborn and unfriendly to other people outside the household. This is partly why I always felt such a connection with her since she decided she loved me from the get-go.
Snickers got sick, and she took a turn for the worst right around the time that Melissa was in the hospital. I was so distracted I didn't even notice how she had stopped eating. Snickers had just had a UTI, so I brought her in for her follow up appointment the infamous "week of the 4 life catastrophes". I almost cancelled her Friday afternoon appointment since she seemed to be once again peeing in her litter box normally. (When cats have urinary tract infections and the pain that comes with this, they start to believe that the litter box is causing them pain. So, they start to potty in other places around the house.) Well, I took her in for her follow-up appointment, and it turned out she was still peeing blood. The vet showed me her x-ray, and her bladder was not normal. She believed Snick had cancer.
So, I was stuck with the tough decision... what do I do?
After much deliberation and tears, I decided it would be best to save her from more suffering and put her to sleep. We were going to be gone all weekend on our camping trip, and I couldn't bare the thought of her being home alone in pain.
I had to sign off on all of the documents to put her down as she looked up at me with her little face and purred.
The first shot was to relax her. The vet said they gave her half the normal dose. Snickers hopped up in the window and layed down in the sun. She got so relaxed she couldn't even raise her head, and her little tongue was hanging out of her mouth. The vet said that this meant her body was tired and she was ready to go. I sat and talked to Snickers, thanking her for being such a good kitty all those years. She couldn't move, but I watched her pupils look at me focusing in and out. It was one of those moments that I was looking at us outside myself knowing this was it, and I just sat and watched my reflection in her eyes.
The second shot put her to sleep. It only took about two seconds for her to stop breathing.
I was lucky to have my friend, Michele, around to stop by and go through this whole process with me. Mark was already miles away camping as this was not a planned thing.
I had no clue how hard something like this would be. My main regret is that I didn't even realize she was as sick as she was, and I didn't spend any quality time with her the last couple of weeks. I know I'm a total sap! I can't even tell you how many times I've cried about her.
The vet asked me if I wanted her to take a picture of Snick right after she passed. She said she knew that was a weird thing to ask, but she felt she had to... Snick looked so peaceful laying in the sun like that... like she was taking a little catnap in peace. I don't know why, but I did want to visually remember that. So, here are the pictures of my little lady right after she passed away.
For those that have lost pets, I didn't know how incredibly hard it is to put them down until now. They truly are members of the family, and I miss my Snickers to pieces.
