abby

It occurred to me that it’s been a while since I’ve posted about my alarm cat, Abby.

Lately her alarm cat status is in question. In fact, I’m usually the one to wake her and tell her it’s time for breakfast. She still sleeps on my feet every night. Or in that place in the small of my back. I find myself staying in the same position for many hours so that I don’t wake her up.

God forbid she should get less than 20 hours of sleep a day!

Abby has been with me for nearly 18 years. My daughter wanted a kitten and I grudgingly agreed. At that time, I had just recently lost a cat that I dearly loved and wasn’t willing to risk heartache again so soon.

But then we saw Abby.

She was so tiny. She was in a litter of 7 and she was the tiniest. While all her siblings were fighting and playing, she just stood on the sidelines and watched. But she was so curious and her facial expressions were too cute…we couldn’t resist bringing her home.

Now Abby is an old lady…well, we got old together. We share joint aches and pains. Our hearing isn’t as good as it used to be. Ditto our eyesight. We both love bellying up to the dinner plate/food bowl.

She has good days and bad days. Today, the sun is shining and she keeps moving her sleeping spot to where the sun is shining on the floor. This is a good day.

Bad days involve lots of vomiting and maybe a trip to the vet to replenish her fluids. I am preparing myself for the end. My vet is wonderful and I trust her completely. I have instructed her to tell me when it is “time” as I tend to put it off until too late and my poor kitty is suffering.

I know when the end comes, as much as it tortures me to think about it, I know I will want to be with her at the end. She will be afraid and I don’t want to her spend her last minutes alone. So I will hold her and hug her. Until the very end.

But for now, we are enjoying the sunshine. Hopefully for many more days.