Our cat Phoebe was born over 18 years ago. In the last few short months, her normal old-cat weight loss got worse. She started refusing food a bit, but tried to drink water. She was tired and almost listless. Monday she seemed bad.

The roommate said, "E, I don't think Phoebe is doing well."

After looking at her, I said, "listen, this is a tough conversation. But we have to be compassionate. SkinnyGirl was miserable and we kept her a bit longer than we should have allowed. We can't keep Phoebe here for our own comfort."

That night, she made her way over to me and say on my chest for a good hour; something she never really does. She just sat with me. I hugged her, cried my eyes out, told her I loved her, and that if she had to go that it was okay. We would never forget her.

We called the vet and Tuesday November 7 the doctor felt her abdomen and said she had a mass in there. And she likely had kidney disease. That made sense. She had a urinary tract infection in the summer which we treated. We said our goodbye and stayed with her as she left us.

The week has been shit and we miss her so much. April 2024 she would have been 19 years old. She was the oldest cat we'd ever had and the longest we'd ever had one.

Anyway, these are a couple of pics of her. She loved to hang out with the roommate (who I got her for, ultimately but we both shared in our lives together).



Her last minutes with us.



I just wanted to the world to know what an utter darling she was to us and the joy and unconditional love we had between all of us. No cat could ever be what Phoebe was to us.

If I've been snippy with anyone this week, I apologize. I've just not been in the right place mentally. I should've stayed off line probably.

[Edited 11/12/23 21:43pm]

Sorry to hear about your cat. I had my cat for 12 years (not as long as you) and she passed away this past September 12th. It really does suck.

kpowers said:

Sorry to hear about your cat. I had my cat for 12 years (not as long as you) and she passed away this past September 12th. It really does suck.

Thanks. Yeah, it's horrible. One of my best cats ever died just over 12 years old. That one as hard as this one.

PJMcGee said:

Beautiful kitty. So colorful. You gave her a very long, happy life.

Thanks. She was pretty colorful. We had a throw that she would lay on and pretty much disappear. She was pretty happy. She was never moody or anything, loved her routine every day.

I used to sing, loudly and out of tune because I'm not a singer, the theme to Family Guy. When I did, she'd come over and start grooming the back of my head. If we sang American Dad, she'd go to a blanket or throw and start making biscuits while biting the quilt. hahaha

What a beautiful cat!

Very sorry for your loss, it is very hard to lose a furbaby.

I swore I would never get another pet after we had to put our yorkie down for nasal cancer.

2 years later I found a puppy and had to have her. We named her Paisley

PJMcGee said:

Is that the throw in the last picture?

No, that's some little blanket the roommate bought from a lady who had a little home business.

This is the throw, and oddly she's not on it. The black cat (the aforementioned Clarice) and her are on opposite colored throws. haha

PennyPurple said:

What a beautiful cat!

Very sorry for your loss, it is very hard to lose a furbaby.

I swore I would never get another pet after we had to put our yorkie down for nasal cancer.

2 years later I found a puppy and had to have her. We named her Paisley

When Clarice (in the above pic under the Christmas tree) died in 2014, I told the roommate, no more. We had Phoebe and SkinnyGirl.

Then he goes and finds a guy at work who had to give up their cat. The kids were allergic (found out later they weren't), and they were moving. So they told the kids the cat was going to "stay with the house to watch it."

So two months after Clarice died, Sookie shows up, and looks just like Clarice! I was done, but we love Sookie. Sometimes it's okay to get another pet right away. You are used to having that energy around, and giving out the love. It has to go somewhere, and why not dote on a new fur baby? It's not a replacement, just a new place for things to land.

RJOrion said:

Extending my condolences on the loss of your beloved kitty

Thanks, man.

Sorry to hear when someone loses family, fur fam or otherwise.

S2DG said:

Sorry to hear when someone loses family, fur fam or otherwise.

Thankie.

With pets you truly break even. Nothing hurts like losing them, but nothing better than the love you experience having them.

Sorry for your loss, R.I.P. Phoebe cat.

[Edited 11/17/23 5:15am]

WhisperingDandelions said:

With pets you truly break even. Nothing hurts like losing them, but nothing better than the love you experience having them.

I think it's just the sheer helplessness that digs the deepest.