Saying Goodbye to a Friend

We said goodbye to our cat, Tigerlily a week ago. She was an ideal first pet for Addie -- extremely patient and tolerant and never once so much as growled, hissed or even swatted at Addie (and biting or scratching were unthinkable for her). Addie loved her a lot and regularly stated that to Tigerlily. Addie's affection was shown by her holding, petting and even carrying around Tigerlily. Addie also "read" to her on a regular basis, brushed her hair, applied pretend make up and lotion to Tigerlily, and shared her toys with her. In short, Addie treated her like her best pet pal.

It was stressful for us at times (the cat didn't do a good job standing up to for herself and so we always had to intervene), but I am glad Addie's first pet experience was so positive.

Unfortunately, for the adults in the house, it was a rougher experience. As our blog entry of over a year ago stated, we thought we had adopted a one-year old cat, in good health and with good litter habits. Instead, we soon found out that we had a senior cat, who required a special diet, and who had some serious internal problems (probably cancer). In our more than one year with her, she was always sick and we had a number of challenges to deal with. But, she was a very sweet kitty, and we felt a duty to care for her and love her until things reached the point of being too painful for her, which is what led to our decision to put her to sleep a week ago.

We all miss her, but I know Addie misses her the most.