Bootsie Is Gone

This morning one of our cats, Bootsie, passed away.

9 years ago we bought our first kitten, Patches, to keep Mark company, since he didn't have any siblings. Turned out Patches was lonely, so a week later we bought our second kitten, Bootsie. They've seen their world change since then - we've gotten our dog Sparkle, and have adopted our 2 Ukies. Mark has gotten older and doesn't spend time with the cats like he used to.



Last week Boots seemed normal, but in the last couple of days Nancy noticed that she had lost weight. This morning we found her laying down in their kennel and she was mostly unresponsive and cold. I scooped her out and put her in a box with a towel and took her upstairs for the kids to take turns holding her before school. Mark didn't want to hold her, so I put her in his lap. He really wasn't sure how to handle it. His cats were his buddies since he was 5.

Nancy and I took her to the vet the first thing this morning. The Dr. said that she would do a blood test and try to rehydrate her and warm her up, so we both left for work. About 5 min. later I got a call that she had passed away of kidney failure, but that there was a volunteer at the clinic holding and comforting her when she went, and she died peacefully.

The poor thing, she was only 9. I am surprised at my own grief today. She was my favorite of the two cats.

This is our last picture of her. I took it as we were leaving for the vet's. She died 1/2 hr. later. We love you Bootsie and will miss you...