In 2008, Jean came to live with me and brought with her Princess, Boo, Lightning, and Pebbles. Of those four cats, only Princess still lives now. When Lightning and Princess were here at the house, they didn't get along together, and there were some terrible cat wars. Lightning would pee in corners in response, and it made for some interesting times. Jean had a condo in Belgrade and took Princess there so that she didn't have to compete with any other cats, and Lightning lived peaceably at my house ever since. Still, Lightning would occasionally pee in a corner for no reason, even if I was right there to deal with her.
Lightning always had minor health problems. Jean adopted her as a kitten in poor health. She had lost her meow as a kitten somehow and only squeaked when she wanted attention. Even while I had her, she had problems tearing, and also with eczima. In January the veterinarian diagnosed her with kidney disease. At the time, I took her there for a bladder infection.
Generally she got along really well with other cats in the house and only wanted a peaceable life.
I couldn't allow her inside my bedroom at night because she would nuzzle me until I fed her wet cat food, even though there was dry cat food everywhere in the house. I wanted my sleep, so I closed the door. She clawed and squeaked at the door until her demands were met. I wanted my sleep, so I put her in the garage at night. She didn't like this, and evidenced this to me on a few occasions, but I got my sleep. She reminded me of another cat:
She and I weren't terribly close since she basically only asked for my attention when she wanted wet cat food. She could be annoying about it too.
Regardless, I felt pretty bad for her when her kidney disease was getting the best of her recently. Her behavior changed a bit. She started peeing in the bathtub, and would hover over the water bowl without drinking from it. At some point she stopped eating, and I could tell that she wasn't feeling very well. On September 28, I took her to the vet to be euthanized because after I got home from working at Super 8, I found that she was in great discomfort and was seriously dehydrated. On the drive to Livingston, she didn't even get agitated, and it takes an hour to drive from Gardiner there. She mostly stayed quiet. I felt more bad for her in her condition than anything else, and I was glad that the vet could make a quick end of it. She wasn't terribly old—maybe 10.
Everyone I know has been really nice about Lightning's death, and I appreciate it very much. It's good to know that people care for their animals and are sensitive to others who own them also.
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| Lightning basks in the sun. |
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| Lightning rolled in some catnip. |
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| Lightning takes a nap with Thunder as a kitten. |
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| Lightning didn't go outside very often, and this was pretty far from the house for her. |
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| Lightning sits on the outdoor swinging chair. |
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