Saying Goodbye

Today was one of the hardest days of my life. Today we had to say goodbye to our cat, Dusty.


We got Dusty the day the war in Iraq started back in March 2003. That day we drove around to all the local shelters to see who was up for adoption. Dusty was an older cat, already seven years old, and obviously very unhappy at the shelter. He was sitting in his litter box, subdued where the other cats and kittens were hyperactive. No one was paying him much attention since he wasn't as "fun" as the other cats. But I knew he was the one when he nuzzled my hand while I was petting him. We signed the papers that day and brought him home. Even though I'd grown up with cats and dogs, Dusty was SP's first pet. He was so excited, buying him toys and a bed to sleep in that he never even set one paw in the entire time we owned it. He came to us with the name Doobie, but after spending a month hiding under our bed he was christened Dusty (for obvious reasons). After that the nicknames came easily - Dusty Springfield; Dusty Wusty Was a Bear, Dusty Wusty Had No Hair; Dustman.


Dusty was with us for every major life event, from getting engaged, to getting married, buying our first home and having Baby Girl. He would sleep at the foot of our bed, always hopping off like clockwork 15 minutes after we turned the lights off. He loved to chase string and the light from a flash light. We nicknamed him Doctor Dusty for how concerned he was when one of us was sick. He was always so low-maintenance that we could leave a bowl of food out and he'd just graze all day. He was never a lap cat, but he would sit next to me on the couch every night while we watched TV.


In the almost 9 years we had him we only had to take him to the vet for illness once. A few years ago he stopped eating and we were using a syringe to force-feed him baby food. He bounced right back like nothing had happened. He's always been a chunker, so when he started losing weight about a year ago we got concerned. The vet said we might be looking at the big C. We monitored him and over the last few weeks it became clear that something was definitely wrong. It all came to a head today when we noticed that he was having trouble walking, that his back legs just didn't seem capable of supporting him anymore.


We knew it wasn't good when they put us in the Comfort Room at the vet's office. A quick talk with the vet confirmed our fears. We had known it was coming, but hearing the words made it unbearable. I will forever be in debt to the amazing vet who took the time to talk with us, make us comfortable and who seemed genuinely upset about what was happening. At the end SP was holding Dusty while I pet his head and we said soothing words to him. Right before the sedative kicked in, Dusty looked at me and nuzzled my hand. In that moment we came full circle. It was one of the best and one of the worst moments of my life. I hope I never forget it.

Dusty, you were the best cat in the world. You were more than a cat - you were a friend. You will be missed for the rest of our lives and there will always be a hole in our heart and someone missing from our family. We are better for knowing you and we love you.

Rest in peace, my friend.

PS. I'm planning to take a small break from blogging. Life has been incredibly difficult lately and I need to focus on other things right now. It won't be a long break since I've got another recipe swap coming up in a few weeks and a roundup from the last one to put together. Thank you, as always, for reading.

Cat in a Blanket

You'd think with the weather being so warm these days that our cat would be done sleeping in, or even on, heavy blankets. Apparently not. I found him snuggled up in a comforter a few weeks ago:


He's such a cutie.

Cat Photos

I love seeing the random things our cat does. Last weekend he crawled under the chair in the living room to sit on the newspapers SP keeps there for the fireplace.


And later I happened to look out the window and saw a cat sitting in our backyard.


I didn't recognize him, but he seemed very interested in me. Or he might have seen our cat laying in the sun in front of the slider. He never noticed the intruder in our yard since he was stretched out fast asleep.

Sun Cat

It's been awhile since I posted a photo of our cat. On Sunday it was warm and sunny, so he took up residence near the open slider door:


Doesn't he look comfy?

Breakfast

The Friday after Thanksgiving we had a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast:


I always get a loaf of rye bread for my favorite Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. As we were sitting down to eat I noticed our cat lounging in the sun so I snuck in a quick shot of him:

I Guess He Found a New Spot

You know how I just posted about our cat loving the closet in the second bedroom? The other night I swore I heard him rustling around in my husband's gym bag, which he left on the floor next to his dresser, but when I looked in the bag I didn't see any obvious cat hair so I didn't think anything of it. Imagine my surprise when I got home today and this is what I saw when I walked into our bedroom:


Do you think he looks comfy? He was so proud of himself that instead of bolting when he saw the camera, he sat there preening and rubbing his face all over the bag. Nice. He left the bag for a quick head pat by yours truly, then hopped right back in. He's in there right now and quite thrilled to be there.

Comfy Closet Cat

As any cat owner knows cats love to find new and interesting places to sleep. Recently we couldn't find our cat, until we looked in the closet in the second bedroom. We had left the door slightly open and he'd made himself a little bed using my fleece jacket that had fallen off the hanger. Seeing as the temperature keeps dropping, I needed to reclaim my coat. The other day he was sleeping on our bed, so I swapped the fleece for a large towel I got at my work conference. The cat must not have minded the switch because he was back in the closet this afternoon:


He just looks so cute all snuggled up in there.

Final Harvest

It's the middle of October and I'm still getting tomatoes. I can't believe how many tomatoes these plants produced. Since they're calling for frost tonight, I decided to pick all the remaining tomatoes off the vines. Look at how many were still on there:


I hope the green ones ripen, but I don't have much faith.


And because it's been awhile since I posted a photo of the cat:

Sun Kitty

It's a beautiful, sunny day today and our cat is taking full advantage:


I love when he hides behind the curtain in the dining room:


He always keeps an eye on me, though. Can you see his little eyes watching me?

Sunday Breakfast

On Sunday my mom made breakfast:


I had two fried eggs, some potatoes and onion and rolled deli ham, along with a few slices of tomato:


I couldn't resist taking a photo of my parent's cat. She's very shy and rarely comes out of hiding, so seeing her perched on my mother's lap as she tried to read the comics was a hoot:


Just like our cat, she fights literacy every chance she gets.

Sleeping Kitty

It was a hot, sunny day today and our cat was enjoying sleeping in the sun:


Look at that little face:

Window Cat

SP took this photo of our cat this weekend:


His new favorite spot is sitting in front of the slider, kind of wrapped up in the bottom part of the curtain. Whenever I get home from work that's where he is.

Cat Photos

On Sunday I was baking and cleaning downstairs when I looked over to the cat's new favorite sleeping spot and saw this:




I couldn't resist taking some photos. I love when he sleeps in strange positions.

Cat: A Pictorial

On Sunday I was watching cooking shows with our cat. He's been quite the lovebug these days, so I decided to take some pictures of him.


I can't get over how young he looks in these photos. It's like seeing a flashback to his kittenhood. It always amazes me how different he can look from one day to the next depending on the lighting and his mood.


He was being very patient with me, which is rare. He really wanted me to just put the camera down and pet him.


He fell asleep after awhile and was having the most animated dreams, complete with leg and facial twitches. Then he stretched into this position:


Such a goofball. I love this little guy so much.

Where's the Cat?

Can you spot the cat in this photo?


As any cat owner knows, they love to find new places to sleep the day away. Sure, our little guy has his favorite spots, but every once in awhile he changes it up and when we stumble upon him we can't help but scratch our heads and wonder, "Why there?" Recently our cat started sleeping in the corner of our bedroom, between SP's guitar and the wall:


I guess it's cool over there, since it's near one of the vents. I thought he looked so cute all splayed out in the corner. I was being extra quiet, but he can always sense my presence.


Caught again!

As I was working on my blog he switched positions:


Such a cute little bugger.

Sleeping Kitty

My little smoosh, sleeping the day away on a lazy Memorial Day:


Ain't he the cutest?

Kitty Update

I mentioned that our cat was sick, so I thought I'd give you guys an update in case anyone was wondering.


After a multitude of trips to the vet, expensive tests, lots of anxiety, force-feeding and hoping for the best, our cat has made a full recovery. From what, we don't know. The vet was perplexed and told us that sometimes cats just have unexplained fever/illness. His best guess was that he got a virus and it made him feel crappy so he stopped eating. Apparently cats like to do that when they're sick. At his worst he was down to 10.5 pounds. But luckily the combination of antibiotics, force-feeding and an appetite stimulant helped him on the road to recovery and when he went back to the vet 5 days later he was up to 12.25 pounds. He's now back to his old self - playing, running around the house, eating like a champ and meowing at us when we aren't paying him enough attention. He and I spent a good part of Memorial Day snuggled up together on a chair. It's good to have my baby back!

Cat: A Pictorial

When I came upstairs to update my blog I saw the cat sleeping on the big chair in our bedroom. The chair has been one of his favorite places to sleep ever since we won it at a silent auction a few years ago. I love capturing him sleeping in adorable positions so since I had the camera with me I was able to snap a few photos before he woke up. This is how he looked as I crept quietly into the room:


Despite the squeaking floorboard I stepped on, he didn't wake up right away and I was able to stand in front of the chair in order to capture a different angle:


Then I moved around to the other side of the chair. I love it when he sleeps with one arm completely outstretched:


Miraculously he was still sound asleep. I love that his little pink tongue is sticking out in this photo:


Uh oh...he's on to me! His eyes suddenly opened, the arm came down and he woke up.


After a quick stretch he followed me into the office, where he proceeded to stretch out on the floor for another quick nap.

Duvet Cat

Over the weekend I changed the cover on our duvet and, of course, the cat didn't miss a chance to snuggle up in its warmth:


"Oh no, she found me!" He always reaches out one paw as if to say, "Please, go away. Shoo!"


By this point he was starting to get annoyed so I let him enjoy it a little while longer:


... at least until we needed to remake the bed.

Lazy Sunday

Amidst all the cooking and baking I did today I came upstairs to check on the laundry and found our cat snoozing on the bed. Of course he woke up as soon as he heard the camera click on, but I did managed to catch him in mid stretch.


I love when he's half asleep. He has that dazed and confused look about him that makes me want to hug him and squeeze him. I really love that little guy.