I knew the sad day would come and now it has. We have given up our “Kitty” whom we took in as a kitten and have had as our feline pet for some 8 years now. Despite all the things we have enjoyed about our cat, my wife has always complained about the hair she leaves behind and has suffered many skin allergies because of her. She has been a good sport throughout the years however, suffering through it all because well… we love Kitty.
However, when our first grandson came into the picture, who I might add lives with us, Kitty picked up another bad habit.
She already had the habit of pooing on the tile floor next to her litter box. She would pee in the litter box but would not poo in the same box. Rather she would do her business on the tile floor next to the box. It was an annoying part of her that I did not like as I was the one always picking up the poo. We kept a tub of Clorox disinfectant wipes in the laundry room (where her box was located) so I could not only pick them up each time she dropped them but make sure traces of ecoli were not left behind as well. Gross? I couldn’t agree more.
After Andy (our grandson) was born, she started peeing directly on the floor. Not everyday mind you but when she did, it became more difficult (and gross) to clean up. On two occasions, it went behind the washer and dryer in which case I had to pull them out to clean up the mess. Yesterday, she tracked it throughout the house. Enough is enough!
So, the combination of her bad bathroom habits, her hair all over the place and the fact that we have a baby in the house moved us to the decision to finally part with her.
My wife took her to The Humane Society yesterday. It was very difficult for her as she was the one who originally brought her home as a kitten. To her relief, the staff at The Humane Society just loved Kitty. One of the workers even commented that she was going to take her home. I pray that is the case as I would hate to see a cat that has been with us for so long euthanized simply because she could no longer live with us. Even if the worker does not take her, I am pretty confident she will be adopted by someone as she is one of the most beautiful and sweetest cats I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
So with that I say, “Goodbye, Kitty. You’ve been a pretty good cat but we care about the health and welfare of our grandson more than you.” I pray she finds a good home where she will be spoiled rotten and where she will also enjoy the remaining years of her life.
We still have our dog, Jodi as a pet, who is an outside dog. I don’t think we will ever have an inside pet again unless I can ever get all my kids to move out of the house and we get lonely. If that occurs however, I think we would settle for a small petite dog or a short hair cat. No more long hairs!
I leave off with some of my favorite pictures of Kitty. The full set, at least what I have in digital format can be seen at my Flickr account.
Kitty loved sleeping in my empty guitar cases.
Even with all the fur, kitties need blankets to keep them warm.
For as long as I had these fish, Kitty used it as her water supply.
Here is Kitty hard at work, serving as a paper weight
Kitty in a basket?
Every Christmas, Kitty helped assemble the Christmas tree.
For quite some time, this was Kitty’s chair – a $800 Lazy Boy.
Sshh… she thinks she is hiding.
