Bryde when we got her in June 2003, playing Clue
I’ve written about my old cat several times, when she turned 20 and when she turned 100. There are lots of photos of her over the years in these posts.
I’ve tried to select new ones for this post, but I expect there are duplicates.
The belly August 2003, age 1½ years
She had started to fail about a month ago, having trouble with the stairs.
The potato inspector September 2004
So I set her up in the bathroom on the first floor with pee pads. She did ok with them for about 10 days.
Being soy cheese January 2005
Then she started peeing all around the house. I had pee pads everywhere, but she wouldn’t use them.
September 2006
So for the last week I was cleaning up messes everywhere.
The window replacement inspector June 2007
Then her feces turned black, not a good sign.
Helping my husband make Thanksgiving dinners 2008
But she was still eating well and drinking fine.
Helping Pam take down the Christmas tree January 2009
She was still doing her supervisory job just fine, even when storms came through and her arthritis acted up.
With her Christmas toys January 2010
Then about a week ago the dementia started to get a lot worse. She was spooking at everything and everyone.
In the sun February 2011
On Sunday this week she started not eating much, just ½ of the tiny cans of pate.
Color coordinated February 2012
She didn’t do well when the 2 days of rainstorms came through on Monday and Tuesday.
March 2013
She was sleeping a lot and somehow got upstairs and under the bed in the spare room. When she didn’t come down, I went and got her and brought her down and put her by her food and she ate it all. She’d forgotten how to get downstairs.
Garden inspector June 2014
I got a gate and put it up on the stairs so she couldn’t go up on Tuesday night.
Interrupted Thanksgiving nap 2015
Wednesday I couldn’t find where she’d peed all day, not a good sign. She ate half the can of food.
Helping pack up Christmas January 2016
Thursday morning was much the same, until 10:30AM.
Naptime July 2017
Suddenly she was up and pacing the house and peeing every 5 minutes or so. I followed her around for over an hour, and it was getting worse.
November 2018
There’s a vet that will come to the house to put down your pets but only on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Being recycle August 2019
I’d called him last week on Tuesday when the decline started. But she stabilized on Thursday so we gave her another week.
Supervising construction February 2020
It was obvious by 11AM that she was rapidly failing, so I called him.
On her new cat pillow by the fire February 2021
He couldn’t come out until after 3:30 Thursday afternoon. I let Tom know that I was going to have to put her down.
Sleeping on the seedling mat March 2022
Tom came out around 3:30 and we waited for the vet. He finally got here at 5PM. Bryde had finally settled on the couch and we sat there patting her.
Last photo taken on Tuesday September 2022
She went very quietly. I’d put one of her pillows in one of her baskets to carry her out to the sandhill. My son had dug a perfect sized hole for her out there. Tom and I walked out and buried her with all the other pets and horses that are now out there. She was 101½ cat years/21½ human years old.
I have a lot of cleaning up to do after all the peeing and things to wash and stuff to put away. It’s going to take a while to get it all done.
She’s now not going to have anymore arthritis pain nor be scared because she disoriented from dementia. She always slept on my husband’s bed and I’d like to think they are reunited now.
Right now I don’t think I want another cat for a while, maybe after the New Year. There’s the 2 at the barn and one lets me pat her most days. That will have to do for a while.
RIP Bryde
Mine was with us for 20 years, and now 17 years after she left us, another found us...
Hello lovely lady! 😊
So sorry to hear your beautiful Bryde is gone, but at least, as you said, she's no longer in pain or scared. She's safely in heaven with all the other animals you've loved and lost on your farm over the years and of course she's in your heart and memory. 😊
God bless you and your wonderful family. 😊
I'm so sorry that Byrde is gone, after having her presence about the homestead with you for the past two decades, I am sure she will be especially missed. She was such a pretty girl and I am glad she passed quickly.
Oh! Dear! Your cat has gone to another realm. It’s both sad and relieved at the same time. She had a good long life! This is going to be very hard for a big while. Hopefully, those cats in the barn would become very homely and living too. So many nice photos of her in the post.
Stay well and healthy!