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Saturday, February 8, 2014

R.I.P. Ginger

I headed over to my parents' house this morning and shortly after, I went with Mom and Julie to the vet to say goodbye to Ginger.  Dad had to drive my uncle to the airport, but he had gone with Mom yesterday afternoon to say goodbye already.

Wow, it was a tough morning. Ginger was in a cage by herself, covered in blankets to keep her warm and an IV in her arm.  She wasn't looking so good.  They let us have some privacy and some time with her.  Ginger already had hyperthyroidism and as she got older, she started showing signs of heart and kidney disease.  I think the vet said something about some clot that had formed and it had moved to her lower extremities which explained why Ginger's legs weren't moving.  She also explained that she was probably in pain and even if they could get her better, it'd happen again and it probably wouldn't be a humane thing to do for a cat so old (16+ years!).  The nurse gave her a sedative and gave us some more time with her.  After about 10 minutes, the vet came in and gave her the last shot which basically shut down all bodily functions. We had a few more moments with her and then it was time to go home.  I couldn't be in that exam room much longer.  Mom requested a cremation and the vet office was really nice to say that we didn't have to worry about paying for anything that day and we could pay for the treatment when we came back to pick Ginger's ashes up.

I hung out at the house for a little bit and when I got home, I spent most of the afternoon on the couch.  After a week of being sick and then dreading this morning, it was difficult to get any restful sleep this week.  Now that I've had some time to reflect on all this and while it's sad that she's gone, at least she lived a very full life, complete with a comfy place to sleep (basically everywhere...) and good food to eat (she'd hop on the dining table hoping Dad would give her some fish).  When you take on a pet, you're committing to take care of it through better or for worse.  They are depending on you to make the right decisions, whether it's the choice of cat food or end of life care.  I feel like we fulfilled our commitment since the day we picked her (and her "brother" Oliver) from the animal shelter back in 1997 (!!).  While Oliver died suddenly in 2006, at least we were able to say goodbye to Ginger.

Through all of this, I really feel bad for my mom because Ginger was her constant companion, especially during the years that I moved out and Julie was at school.  Consequently, Ginger didn't really listen to anyone else except Mom.  When we got home today, Mom was like "It feels lonely."  :'( Come over and visit RJ.  I'm sure he'll appreciate the extra cuddles.

I went through my external hard drive and found some old pictures of her.  It's kinda nice to go down memory lane.
 
 
Bye, kitty.

3 comments :

Jen W. said...

Oh, Tina, I'm so sorry to hear about Ginger! As hard as it is to make these decisions for our pets I feel like it's the last gift we can give to them - a peaceful end to their suffering. And you're right - Ginger had 16 wonderful years in what sounds like a fabulous cat home! Remember the good times.

June K said...

Tina, I'm so sorry to hear about Ginger. She sounds like she was a wonderful cat (even if she only listened to mom:). Thanks for sharing these photos.

cards4ubylouise and other treasures said...

Sorry to hear....it is always hard to lose a dog or cat as they are so much a part of the family, and they have us well trained too. Sweet photos.

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