Alex's Guide

Last Friday, the day I posted Meowdansen, Chris and I took Harriet to the vet just to investigate some strange behavior earlier last week.  Tragically, she did not come home with us this time.

We got Harriet from the classifieds, an ad promoting free kittens.  When we went over to the house to pick one, my mom and my sister were cooing over a little orange kitten when all of a sudden, Harriet leaped up onto me and sat on my shoulders, which pretty much sealed the deal.  We were like two peas in a pod, in almost every way.  She loved all of my family, but she was always my cat.

For the last four-ish years, she lived with me in my apartment.  She was bad sometimes, but always just as sweet as can be, and ever the silly, derpy kitty I’d always known.  Earlier this year, we found a lump on her belly that turned out to be breast cancer.  She had surgery to remove the tumor, and had recovered from it quite well, but then early last week, Chris and I noticed she was having what seemed like dizzy spells; falling off things and not being able to stand back up for several minutes.  All in all, she was very subdued and not the happy, bouncy kitty she usually was.

The vet told us the cancer had spread to her lungs, which was where the sudden weakness came from.  There was no surgical option at that point, and any medications to give her a boost would’ve only given her about a month left, two at most… so I made the decision to let her go while she was still happy and not in any pain.  My sister and Chris were there with me, and we petted her and cried for about an hour while we waited for my mother to join us.  I’d brought a can of wet cat food with me as a post-vet treat, which she got to eat as her last meal.  She was surrounded by love in her final moments, and went quickly and painlessly, which is all we could ever hope for.

She brought so much joy into our lives, and I’m going to miss her so much.  This is for her.