Personal blog - and temporary home page until new website is finished - of writer, editor and graphic artist Christopher Mills


Thursday, June 28, 2007

Sad day

There have been a lot of tears shed here today. This morning my wife and I had to have our cat, Audrey, put to sleep.

The cancer never went away, even after we had a tumor removed from her chest last winter. New tumors appeared, and recently had gotten infected. For the last week or two, Audrey had taken to curling up in a nest under my desk and sleeping the days away. Poor pretty kitty.

Audrey was 15 years old, and a tiny thing. She was found in a ditch by some little girls who brought her to my future wife's door. Brandi planned to take her to a shelter, but never got around to it. About eight years ago, Audrey came into my life, too, when her Mom and I got together.

She was a remarkably affectionate creature, vocal and loving. I'm really going to miss waking up to find her lying on my shoulder, purring, and watching movies with her curled asleep in my lap.

Brandi & I are both taking it hard. It's going to be a bad night.

And, speaking of bad nights, I had my sleep study last Sunday night, and yes, as expected, I suffer from "severe" sleep apnea. Unfortunately, it took so long for me to fall asleep at the lab that I'll have to go back as soon as they can fit me into their schedule and try me out on the CPAP machine. So, while I now have a good idea why I feel so crappy all the time, it will be a while before I can actually start being treated for it.

This has been a rough year all around...

9 comments:

Craig Zablo said...

Chris,

My condolences to you and Brandi. I'm truly sorry for your loss. Remember the good times and smile.

- Craig

DK & The Fluffies said...

You are in our thoughts. ~DKM

Glen Davis said...

It's never easy to put down a family pet.

Condolences.

Good luck with your sleep study.

Andy said...

So sorry to hear about the loss of your family member.

When I die, I want to go wherever pets go when they die.

Anonymous said...

Very sorry to hear about this, Chris. It's been several years now since something very similar happened with my dog, Lucy.

My best to you and Brandi in this tough time.

PDS

Unknown said...

My wife and I had our cat Tigger in chemotherapy for 6 months but put him down in January 06. The whole process was emotionally and financially exhausting. He was a special little guy and I'll never forget him. The worst thing is that the cat doesn't know what's going on. I just hope in some far away dimension they come to understand.

Anonymous said...

"What greater love than the love of a cat?"-Charles Dickens

Anonymous said...

"Time spent with cats is never wasted."-Colette

Anonymous said...

"If there is a Heaven, it is certain that our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them."-Pam Brown