Till We Meet Again -- Goodbye Sweet Mew Mew

Mew Mew napping in 2010

Last night we euthanized our sweet old kitty Mew Mew.  It was time.  She was but a wisp of her formal self, skinny and with no reserves.  She'd been sneezing for months and yesterday her nose clogged completely.  She couldn't properly breathe nor would she eat.  She was weak and wobbly.

And yet, despite her struggles, she remained affectionate.  We sat as a family on the kitchen floor, ignoring the escaped onion peel, the random popcorn kernels and the dirt.  We rallied around our kitty. We pet her, scratched her chin and cried.  The dogs were curious and lay nearby.

She let us pick her up and hold her (not typical Mew Mew behavior).  She rode on my daughter's lap to the clinic.  I tucked my family into the euthanasia room and brought Mew Mew to the back for a catheter. Then we rejoined the family. My husband held Mewey as I gave her the injection.  She went quietly, peacefully and in the arms of those who loved her and whom she loved.

Mew Mew was a week shy of nineteen-years-old.  We've known her since the day she was born (her mama gave birth in the very first veterinary clinic I worked at).  She preceded marriage and children.  She outlived a multitude of kitties and a few dogs as well.

Last night there was a conspicuous absence as we lay in bed.  No soft thump as she jumped up to join us, no gentle purr to lull me to sleep.  She will be missed.

*** *** ***

We got home from the clinic just before 9:00 pm.  I was ready to escape and snuggled in on the couch for an hour of Downton Abbey.  How was I to know (spoiler alert here if you haven't seen it) Lady Sibyl was to die?   Another hour spent sobbing my eyes out.  

My heart ached for the characters (and for the actress as she was out of a job -- later I googled it and discovered it was she who quit the show so at least there's that).  

Then I went to bed, eyes swollen from too much crying.  Should you see me today -- extra puffy about the face, a bit peaked, you'll know why.  

This is a strange world we live in.  So much sad along with the good.  I suppose one must have both the yin and the yang.  All I can do is appreciate the moments, both good and bad, and accept them for what they are.   

Today there's cleaning to do. I have a book on tape.  I'm hoping for quiet contentment; if you see her tell her I'm looking for her.  And then send her my way. 

xo.

Birds of a Feather

So we've got these birds, Leo and Leroy.  They are both cockatiels.  Both rescues.  Leroy, who's head you can barely see, is butter yellow.  He was found in someone's backyard and brought in to our clinic.  At presentation he was quite beat up -- smashed nares, bloody wings, missing toes.  I brought him home fully expecting him to die.  And yet he lived.  Suddenly we had a bird.  Because, you know, we desperately needed another animal in our household.

Now I've always loved cockatiels.  I bred them as a teenager.  I especially love hand-raised birds -- they can be such fun!  But Leroy was not hand-raised.  Rather he abhored human contact and had little interest in us.  But we kept him nonetheless.  After all he needed a warm safe place to call home.

Fast-forward another year.  Mr. Peculiar came home from a garage sale looking quite mischievous.  Turns out he got me something.  Yup -- another cockatiel.  Leo was a hand-raised baby and adored human contact (he is especially fond of feet and loves to sidle up to any given foot and carry on a protracted conversation).

Now we've not been quite sure where to keep these guys.  First they were upstairs in the office, then the girls' room, then the living and then the kitchen.  They've finally migrated back to the living room -- this is where they seem most content as there is usually a person about.  Human company is especially important for Leo as he cares more for us than Leroy.

The problem with these guys is they are MESSY.  Food and feathers scattered everywhere.  Truly it is an embarrassment to have people come over and see the mess.  Thus, as part of my new year's resolutions, I am getting these guys cleaned up.

Their cage sits on an old metallic utility table.  I painted it a bright green which contrasts nicely with their blue cage.  I also bought them a new crock hoping to reduce the amount of food spread about.  But the crock was only marginally effective.  Thus, this morning, I sewed them a seed guard -- a bit of fabric wrapped around the bottom of the cage to deflect their scatterings.  Hopefully this will do the trick.

Leo is somewhat befuddled by my actions and is a touch crabby today.  Leroy doesn't seem to care.

At least now when people come over I'm not quite so mortified by the birds.

Tomorrow, as part of our continuing plan, we are ripping out the carpet in our other living room (we have two small rooms that really ought to be one).  We will be papering the floor.  Yippee!!  By year's end my house might actually be presentable.

xo.