Sad Day

 We took our Kevin to the vet this afternoon. He was still not eating or drinking much, and his little face reflected his misery. I knew it was going to be bad. He was so listless all weekend. Did not respond to anything. I brought his favorite box inside for him to lay in, but he was not interested. He didn't want to be held or petted. He just tucked his legs and tail under his body and sat staring at nothing.

He perked up a little when we got in the truck. He watched the scenery go by through the window while I held him up. Sparked a little hope in me. They took him back to get his vitals and weigh him, then the vet came in looking worried. He told us he suspected that one of three feline diseases were the cause and that they were all bad. We paid for him to test his blood, and he came back and told us that the one Kevin had (I was no longer paying attention to all of his words) was treatable but was not always successful and was expensive and difficult to maintain for 6 weeks. He said that Kevin was very sick and his prognosis was not good.

We decided to put him out of his misery as long as they would allow me to hold him while he went over Rainbow Bridge. I held my sweet cat in my arms and told him how much we all loved him. I told him to look for Martha, the boy cat when he got over the bridge, that Martha would take good care of him. Then I cried as he slipped away.

He will be cremated tomorrow and join the teak boxes of ashes that sit on the shelf to remind me of all the animals who have given me so much love and companionship over the years. Everyone here is just sad. Even BoJangles is subdued. Come bedtime he will be looking for his cat.

Everything has changed and nothing has changed. Time marches on. The nightly news is still depressing and I don't want supper. Toni is still oblivious to her surroundings, tap dancing across the floor with that silly grin on her face. I swear that dog is the happiest old lady I know! Losing her will hurt, but she has lived a long and wonderful life. I thought she would be the next one to go and I had been bracing myself for that.

When I woke this morning and headed across the porch to open the door to let the dogs out, there arose such a ruckus of barking and hissing I had ever heard. It was very early and not quite light outside yet. I thought the hissing I heard sounded like the maddest cat I have ever heard.

It was not a cat, but a raccoon, backed into the corner trying to get away from my dogs. Very small, this raccoon who looked at me with pleading eyes. I pushed my dogs back inside and opened the door so the creature could escape. That is when I saw another raccoon about the same size outside the screened porch. The one inside scaled the full-length screen and was hanging there making clicking noises with his (her) mate on the outside. 

I alerted The Man and roused him from his slumber. He rushed out to look at the situation and promptly returned to his bed. My hero! I fed the dogs and gave Dora, the turtle a very fat juicy worm and then brewed my coffee. I had a good view of the raccoons from my recliner and watched as the outside raccoon tried to convince the inside one to join him. The sun was coming up and like a vampire, they wanted to be home. I think the little guy (gal) had his claws stuck in the screen. They were there for about an hour before they made their escape. The screen was torn; I am thinking that is how the claws were freed.

The raccoon story pales in comparison to the ordeal at the vet clinic. I am just so sad.