A few hours ago I had my adored cat Nick, who was nearly 23 years old, put to sleep by the vet. A few years ago I posted on the death of his sister cat, Daisy. (Anyone who is a fan of The Great Gatsby knows where the names come from.)
Daisy, the grey cat, was the loving one, so affectionate that people who came into contact with her said she was more a dog than a cat. Nick, on the other hand, was the beautiful one, a brilliant orange color with a white thrush of a throat. He was sublimely arrogant; it was his house and all the food in it was his and I never owned him, he owned me.
Nick had been losing weight for months and I knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. Over the past few weeks his legs gave out and he struggled to stand up. When he lost interest in food a few days ago I knew it was time.
I won’t get all sentimental. I’ll just say that Nick was my life, and I always loved his grandeur, his egotism, his self-centeredness. No, I know these aren’t admirable qualities in a person, but in Nick’s case they made him regal, as though he was always holding court. It was funny that he behaved like a monarch. He was spoiled as hell, but what beloved pet isn’t?
I was massaging the back of his ears as the vet injected him with the anesthesia, which put him down in about 30 seconds. Yes, it was agonizing, but it was a relief to put him out of his pain. He’ll be buried in my back yard, right alongside his long-time companion Daisy. May they both rest in peace forever.
1
By t_co
I’m sorry to hear that.
August 9, 2012 @ 10:44 am | Comment
2
By LC
Can I comment in Chinese? 你对小猫的感情很真挚, 很感人. 但我们这个社会里,很多可怜的老人被儿女们遗弃,孤苦伶仃,流落街头. 佛说, 众生平等. 众生真的平等吗?
August 9, 2012 @ 10:50 am | Comment
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By Brandon Rauch
I am so sorry to read this. I have known Nick for approximately five years and grew quite found of the little bugger. My sincere sympathies to you and Rick.
August 9, 2012 @ 11:44 am | Comment
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By Liuzhou Laowai
Reading this had me welling up and I don’t even particularly like cats. A very well written tribute. I am sorry for your loss.
August 9, 2012 @ 1:05 pm | Comment
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By justrecently
A Buddhist friend burned the name of a deceased horse in front of a Thai monk some time ago. The horse had got those final injections, too. The monk asked about how the horse lived and died, and told her that man must not intervene and let things take their natural cause instead. Possibly true when it comes to a fly or spider – but it’s just as true that all living beings seek happiness, and try to avoid pain.
It’s the price of having loved ones – people and animals – that things can’t last forever. Loving memory helps – after a while.
August 9, 2012 @ 4:03 pm | Comment
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By Gil
@Richard – Not a cat person, but sorry to hear of your loss.
@JR – Reminds me of the Border Collie my family had when I was a kid. He’d been a stray, come up to my mother on the street and put his head in her lap one day and she’d taken him him home. No idea where he’d come from, but he was greatly afraid of men, took a while before he was no longer afraid of my father.
Thing was, he was simply the smartest animal I’d ever known – could understand whole sentences, help us learn to walk by standing next to us and letting us put our hands on his back whilst we toddle along. Being a male Border Collie who got bored easily he would sometimes run away, escaping no matter how high our fence was even in his old age, only to come back also of his own accord days or weeks later. Once he was returned by a farmer who said he had just shown up on his farm one day and started herding sheep for him.
I remember the comment of a buddhist associate of my mother’s after he died that he was now going to be re-born as a human being for sure. My mother’s response was that, if anything, that would have been a step down for him. The one thing I’m sure of is that if there is reincarnation, that’s one bloke I’d love to have a pint with.
August 9, 2012 @ 5:47 pm | Comment
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By narsfweasels
Sincerely sorry for you, man.
Remember: dogs have owners, cats have staff.
August 9, 2012 @ 5:49 pm | Comment
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By S. K. Cheung
Sorry about your loss.
August 9, 2012 @ 9:19 pm | Comment
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By justrecently
Gil, I never kept a dog myself, but my grandparents (living next door to us) always did. I’m more into the kat kult, as KT likes to say, but from my own experience, I can see what’s good about dogs, too.
August 9, 2012 @ 9:46 pm | Comment
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By Handler
Richard: My sincerest sympathy. From age 4 to 21 I raised a dog whose bearing was so admirable he practically made me a misanthrope. Few things have been burned into my consciousness as deeply as the day I took him to be put to sleep. Now I’m watching an elder Cream Mackerel Tabby–so stolid he once simply shrugged off losing a few toes in a fight with a raccoon–enter his twilight. Mourning is a work that begins early and is carried on indefinitely.
Friends. Praise be to them.
August 10, 2012 @ 12:27 am | Comment
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By east2west
My kids recently buried our hamster. She was a very good pet, and we all miss her. Sorry for your loss.
August 10, 2012 @ 12:39 pm | Comment
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By MeganKnight
What a lovely tribute to a grand old man cat.
August 10, 2012 @ 5:56 pm | Comment
13 Posted at beijingcream.com
[…] Posting as a fellow cat owner… “I was massaging the back of his ears as the vet injected him with the anesthesia, which put him down in about 30 seconds. Yes, it was agonizing, but it was a relief to put him out of his pain. He’ll be buried in my back yard, right alongside his long-time companion Daisy. May they both rest in peace forever.” [Peking Duck] […]
August 10, 2012 @ 9:00 pm | Pingback
14
By jamie
I’ve been there, my friend: far too many times:
http://bloodandtreasure.typepad.com/blood_treasure/2012/05/my-life-as-a-cat-undertaker.html?cid=6a00d834518d3769e2016766a468d0970b
August 11, 2012 @ 5:46 am | Comment
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By goju
Sorry to hear of your loss. Pets are the closest relationships we have in life.
Gil, having been around dogs my whole life, I can say Border Collies may actually be a seperate species of canine. There is one in Europe that has a 1000 word vocabulary and demonstrates rudimentary reasoning capabilities.
August 11, 2012 @ 10:30 am | Comment
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By kingtubby1
@Richard. Losing any type of animal companion is an awful loss, and they all rightfully deserve a good obit. Nick had a good life.
When I left for Korea in 1999, I had to interview about 10 people before I could find the right home for my parrot. Quizzed them on dietary knowledge, cage cleanliness etc. Did they have the necessary Italian operas in the house…..I’m dead serious, even though a couple of interviewees thought I was barking mad.
@Goju (is your net name taken from a Miike movie????)
I believe your remark about Border Collies. I think a well trained cattle dog such as a Blue Heeler could function as a quite competent national leader, and would do an equal if not better job than Gillard, Cameron or Merkel.
August 11, 2012 @ 4:01 pm | Comment
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By King Tubby
@ Richard. Nick had a good life. The loss of any animal companion is hard and they all deserve a good obit.
I recall having to find a new home for my parrot before I moved to Korea in 1999. Interviewed about ten people in all….dietary knowledge, cage cleanliness etc. Did they play Italian opera on a regular basis. I’m serious, even though a couple of interviewees thought I was barking mad.
@Goju (is your net name taken from a Miike movie????) I agree re the intelligence of Border Collies. I have a preference for Blue Heeler cattle dogs, and believe a cattle dog would make a perfectly good national leader. Perfectly capable of replacing Gillard, Cameron or Merkel and could do an equal if not better job.
August 11, 2012 @ 4:15 pm | Comment
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By Formerly_Not_a_Sinophile
My wife and I are very sorry for your loss. She is the animal lover in our family and tears come easily to eyes even at the suggestion of the loss of pet in a movie or book. As her partner, I have come to appreciate the strength of the emotional bond between pets and their companions. The depth of those feelings is immeasurable.
Please accept of our deepest sympathy for your loss. Your eloquent tribute touched our hearts and those of many others who read your blog.
August 12, 2012 @ 10:49 am | Comment
19 Posted at www.pekingduck.org
[…] I wrote here a couple of weeks ago, I recently had to put my 23-year-old cat Nick to sleep to put him out of his pain. This was an […]
September 1, 2012 @ 12:18 pm | Pingback