Katharine

She is named after Katharine Hepburn. It's a name I'd chosen when I was expecting both boys. Twice I had to choose a different name for them so by golly when we brought this little fluff ball of a kitten home about 19 years ago she was given the name Katharine.

Now I don't fancy myself a cat lover any more than I fancy myself a dog lover. However when the kids were really young and begging for a pet - after we tried the dog (see earlier post) a kitten/cat seemed a good compromise. After all, cats pretty much keep to themselves, don't chase the mailman, don't chew shoes, use a litter box, groom themselves etc... It seemed like a brilliant idea. A low maintenance pet. At least that's what I thought at the time! But really she has been a good kitty. Probably used up her 9 lives a long time ago. Like the time when she was really young - about a year old - and Tom left to pick up a pizza. No one realized that Katharine had been let out of the house by one of the kids (to this day we don't know which kid it was). As he started the car he heard a terrible sound from under the hood and saw a blackish furry streak fly out and into the garage. Apparently she had crawled up under the hood to keep warm - it was February - and had a run in with the fan belt. As I recall it took a day or two to coax her into the house and then another day or two to get her out from under my bed. When the vet saw her he wasn't optimistic but gave her every medical treatment available and in the end she was left without a tail and quite an abrasion on her side which is still bald today. She is one sad looking kitty!

Katharine has not been herself in quite a while now. She can't (or won't) go downstairs to use her litter box. She can't hop onto the table to eat. (People who live with dogs and cats will understand having the cat food on the table.) All day she sits in the computer chair. And she is not very happy if you want to sit there too. She bites my hand if I pet her but not tonight - tonight she is licking my hand. She used to love sitting on the sunny front porch or even on a sunny spot on the floor or in the window. Not anymore. Only the computer chair. When I googled the average age for cats it said 12-15 years. And that she is the equivalent of 92 years old. No wonder all she does is lay in the chair all day long!

Tom called the vet today. He will take her for her last ride to the vet tomorrow morning while I am at therapy. When I get home she won't be here any more. I think the other animals can sense something too. They are all moping around tonight like me. Tomorrow night when I sit here at the computer she won't be here with me and I feel so very sad.