Thursday, May 26, 2011

Abby

It's a grey, gloomy day outside & I'm feeling pretty grey & gloomy inside too. What I thought was arthritis in one of Abby's legs didn't respond to treatment. By this week she could barely put any weight on the leg at all, she wasn't eating very much & she was losing weight & just generally miserable. She had blood tests & X rays this morning & they showed a bone cancer in her leg that had advanced quite a bit in only a few weeks. So, I made the decision to have her put to sleep. She was at least 16 years old & I didn't want her to suffer any of the treatments on offer - amputating the leg and/or chemotherapy.

Abby lived with my Dad for her first 10 years. She was a stray who just walked in one day about six weeks after my Mum died & took over Dad's life. He loved her & she was a wonderful companion for him. Then, she came to live with me six years ago when Dad died and took over my life! I got used to the 4am wake-up calls, the imperious demands for me to hurry up & sit down so she could go to sleep on my lap & her unerring instinct that I was about to cook some chicken or fish & could she have her share please? My life will be a little bit lonelier without her.

Here are some of my favourite pictures of Abby. Luckily I have lots of photos & I have all my posts here about her as well. Another reason I'm glad I started blogging. I'm having Abby cremated & I plan to scatter her ashes in the rose garden I'm planning. She had many favourite places to sleep but this was one of the best & shadiest on warm afternoons.

34 comments:

  1. Oh Lyn I am so sorry to hear this. I've only known you for a few months but I know Abby has been a very special part of your life. Cyber hugs from another cat lover.

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  2. So sorry to hear about Abby. I've always enjoyed the pictures you've posted of her in your garden. Scattering her ashes there sounds the perfect tribute. Our cat was buried in the garden under the butterfly bush where she used to sleep all the time, and it's been flourishing ever since.

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  3. This is so sad. She looks like such a lovely cat and you will miss her, but great to remember her as such a good companion over the years. Cyber hugs from me too.

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  4. I'm so sorry to hear about Abby. I loved the pictures/posts with her enjoying the garden and the leaves. I ll miss her presence in your blog as she obviously had quite a personality. I'm sorry for your loss of your and your Dad's pet. Susan E

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  5. Such sad news, Lyn. Abby was a lucky lady indeed to have found such loving homes with your Dad and then you. And my goodness, to have fans around the globe! I know only too well how you're feeling, hugs.

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  6. I am so sorry to hear this, Lyn. Abby was a wonderful individual and I always looked forward to your posts and photos of her. I will miss her presence on your blog but I am glad that she had such a happy life with you and your Dad.
    I know how hard it is to lose a loyal friend and to make such a difficult decision. My thoughts are with you x

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  7. I'm so sorry to hear about Abby. She was a special kitty and friend, and lucky to have both you and your dad in her life.

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  8. My heart is breaking for you, but you definitely made the right decision. We lost one of our Irish Wolfhounds to bone cancer, which is extremely common in that breed.

    Losing a companion animal is so difficult. We spend more time with them than we do with many people we love.

    I've enjoyed your photos of Abby and sometimes showed them to my cats (who also rule my life!). She was lucky to have chosen your father and you for her family.

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  9. So sorry to hear about your lovely cat - I know what you're going through, been there three times myself and it's awful. You did the right thing, though, she had a lovely life first with your Dad and then with you, so having her put to sleep before she was really so ill that her life was a burden to her was the kindest thing in the world. How lovely she found such a loving family.
    Margaret P

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  10. I'm so sorry to hear about your cat, Lyn. I'm not sure if I've posted here before, but I read your blog often and have seen posts you've done on Abby before. It's so hard to lose a pet, and you have my condolences.

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  11. I'm sorry to hear about this, Lyn. Losing a beloved pet is always very sad, but I think you made the right decision. I'm going to miss seeing Abby on your blog.

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  12. What a sad time for you. I know what it is like to lose a pet and also to have to make that decision, which I think was the kindest thing to do, especially in how you described the life she had.

    I hope you treasure all the photos and memories for many years to come. I do of the cats that were around when I was growing up.

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  13. I am so sorry Lyn. I loved reading about Abby and looking at her pictures, and I know you will miss her but you did the kindest thing by letting her go.

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  14. Thank you everyone for your kind words & sympathy. I know I made the right decision but it doesn't make it easier at the moment. I've just been putting away all her things so it feels very final now. I do have lots of memories & photos so she won't be forgotten.

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  15. What a sweet girl--I'm so sorry to hear this. I've been reading the discussion/daily email digests in the Doves group but haven't had a chance to log in and say how awful I fee for you. What a lovely post and I am sure she will be well missed by not only you but also your blog readers--I always have enjoyed seeing her in your posts! It sounds like she had a very happy and contented life! Do take good care of yourself--and your rose garden will be a lovely reminder for you of her!

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  16. Thank you Dani, I'm sure my Abby posts were more popular than my book posts, it's something I lived with! I was just happy to follow her around with my camera trying to get another good photo to appease her many fans. She did have a good life with every whim catered for & she couldn't live forever. I'm glad she didn't suffer too much.

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  17. I'm so very sorry to hear about Abby, she was a beautiful and loving companion.

    I will paste into this comment a poem that was published in a local animal rescue shelter newsletter some years ago. Hope this will be of some comfort to you, after having done the very last kind thing you were able to do for Abby.


    "If It Should Be"
    by Dorothy Bernstein

    If it should be that I grow frail and weak
    And pain should keep me from my sleep
    Then you must do what must be done
    For this, the last battle can't be won.

    You will be sad - I understand
    Don't let grief then stay your hand
    For this day, more than all the rest
    Your love and friendship stand the test.

    We've had so many happy years
    What is to come can hold no fears
    You'd not want me to suffer so
    When the time comes, please let me go.

    Take me where my needs they'll tend
    Only stay with me until the end.
    And hold me firm and speak to me
    Until my eyes no longer see.

    I know in time you too will see
    It is a kindness you do to me
    Although my tail its last has waved
    From pain and suffering I've been saved.

    Don't grieve that it should be you
    Who has to decide this thing to do
    We've been so close - we two these years
    Don't let your heart hold any tears.

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  18. Thank you Geraldine, what a lovely poem - although now I'm crying again! I do hope that's what Abby was feeling at the end. I know it was the right decision for her.

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  19. Abby was a beautiful cat. We lost our Puss when she was 17 and it was so sad. We buried her under the apple tree where she used to like to sit. Sorry for your loss.

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  20. She is so beatiful! I'm so sorry to hear about that but you should be very happy to know that both your father and you have given her good care and love. I'll miss Abby 's Sundays, too.
    (sorry for my English)

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  21. Thank you Nicola & Miss Winnifred. She was much loved & I know she had a long, happy life so I won't be too sad for long.

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  22. I am so sad to hear this-we lost one of our two Siamese Brother at 16 to a virus he could not not beat no matter what-is brother Charles is almost 19-he also does the 400am howl to be fed and howls for me to sit down so he can sleep in my lap!-we also have 2 rescue cats 3 and 1-I have my cat pics on my blog-again I am sorry for your lose

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  23. Thank you mel u, it's always a sad day when it happens but sometimes it's the kindest thing to do. You're lucky to still have Charles at such a great age. It must be the 4am feeds that do it!

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  24. Sorry to read about Abby, but she had a long life, and was obviously much loved. People who don't have pets can't really appreciate how much they are part of the family, and what a wrench it is when they go. But you have lots of happy memories. I hope you get another cat soon - that's the best therapy, I think. Best wishes to you.

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  25. Thank you Rob. I have lots of lovely memories to look back on & I know she had a good life ewhich does make it easier. I would like another cat in a while, probably two cats so they can keep each other company while I'm at work. Maybe in the spring.

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  26. I've enjoyed your updates on Abby and am very sorry for your loss - they are family, aren't they?

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  27. So very sorry to hear of your loss. Your Abby was truly a beauty, and you did manage to capture such lovely vivid shots of her. Have enjoyed reading your posts for the past few months, though this is the first time I'm leaving a comment. Reading this post has been heartbreaking, as I deeply feel for your loss, as well as am reminded of my own two furry companions whom I've lost in the past. Glad to know you have plans to get another two cats soon. Take care & best wishes.

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  28. Thank you bibliolathas & Michelle. Abby was part of my family for such a long time & it will take a while to stop expecting her to greet me when I come home or jump up on my lap when I settle down to read in the evenings.

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  29. What a lovely cat..I'm glad she chose such nice people to share her life with and I'm sorry she had to fall ill and be put to sleep but at least you were brave enough to be kind and not let her suffer when you knew she could not get better.

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  30. Thank you Val. She was beautiful. I'm really starting to miss her now that I'm over the first grief. I miss saying goodbye to her in the morning & seeing her at the gate when I came home - loudly demanding dinner!

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  31. I just came across your blog today, and cat lover that I am, was attracted initially by the photo of your Abby. I read, with sadness about your recent loss, and wanted to say how sorry I am. Losing a beloved pet hurts, and Abby sounded like a special girl, coming into your family's life when you and your day needed her most.

    How brave of you to know when to let her go, so that she would not suffer.

    Take care.

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  32. Thank you Diane, Abby was a beautiful cat & I do miss her very much. I know I made the right decision for her sake but it will a long while before I stop missing her.

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  33. Oh Lyn, I am so very sorry, I've only just read this...you know that we understand our own version of your sadness, I would never have believed quite how bereft I felt after we lost Rocky. His little corner by the gate to the field is a mass of daisies at the moment, all the seeds we planted when we buried him. Wishing you gentle days x

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  34. Thank you Lynne. I know how upset you were when Rocky died, I shed a tear myself. He had such personality, even though I only knew him through your blog. Abby will have a special place in the garden too soon. I'm surprised how much I miss her though. The house is very quiet without her.

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