Goodbye, my friend.

Otis

July, 2001 - August 23, 2010

Yesterday, we very unexpectedly had to say goodbye to a member of our family. Our 9 year old cat, Otis, developed a blockage in his urethra (seemingly overnight and out of nowhere) that was not fixable. His bladder filled, causing his urethra to rupture and urine to being spilling into his body. He had been completely fine until Sunday when he was running in and out of the litter box and then began squatting in other places in the house (which he had NEVER done before), so we assumed it was a UTI and made a vet appt. for the next morning. Never in a million years did I think it would end up like it did. The vet could tell he was "blocked" and said he'd have to stay the night and they would put in a catheter, flush the blockage out and he'd be all fixed up. She called an hour later to say that they had tried and tried but the block was simply too large and they couldn't get the catheter in. Both vets had tried and neither could get it. The only other option was a super invasive surgery that is very difficult, with a hard recovery and likely wouldn't solve the problem completely. She said she would not put her cat through it. We had to make a very difficult decision right away and we decided to put him out of his pain. She told us they would wake him up so we could come in and say goodbye and to come at 3:00.

When we got there, only 3 hours from when I left him, his legs were already swelling because of all the fluid he could not void. He couldn't walk because his back legs didn't work, but I don't know if that was the fluid or just from being under anesthesia earlier. They gave us some time with him and I held him and we all petted him and told him what a good cat he was. We apologized for not being the best owners over the past year and a half, as parenting a human baby had consumed us. Susan left for a few minutes to change Theo and I had a couple minutes with him alone. He curled up on my lap and snuggled his head across my belly, like he was laying down with Lucy. I told him again he was a really good cat and thanked him for always being so good to Theo. I told him that we always told everyone how lucky we were to have a cat that was so good with our baby. I told him we would all miss him and that we were sorry we couldn't fix him.

The vet came in and Susan followed right behind. We told Theo to say bye bye to Otis and gave him last hugs and kisses. I held him on my lap while he went to sleep. He purred right up until he was gone. The vet told me he would close his eyes as he drifted off and I picked Otis' head up to see those pretty green eyes again one more time before he closed them for good. He got more love and attention in his last 30 minutes then he had for the past 2 years and he soaked it all in. It was awful watching the vet carry him away and having to walk out with his empty carrier in one hand and his collar in the other.

His whole life, he made it his mission to try and get outside. He really wanted to be an outside cat, but I was too afraid he'd get hurt or run off. His last day on earth he spent outside. I didn't want him peeing everywhere (not knowing he couldn't anyway) so I put him in the yard with the dogs. It's all fenced and I knew he'd be safe. We laughed because he never left the patio and seemed to just want to come back inside. He essentially got his dying wish and then decided it wasn't all it was cracked up to be!

I got Otis as a tiny kitten 9 years ago when someone found him in a storm drain and brought him up to Rainbow Station where I was working. I was about to move out of my parents' house for my last year of undergrad, so I took him. He was "my" first real pet all on my own. I've had Otis for 9 years, 7 moves, my last year of undergrad, my first move on my own to a new city, my first real job, my first new car, my first real broken heart, my first new house, graduate school, marriage and the birth of my first child. While we jokingly called him "Captain Annoying" or "The Resident Pest", he's been right by my side for a long time. He accepted Susan, even though she threw him out of the bed and accepted both dogs and Theo as members of his family without a second thought. He accepted being relegated to low man on the totem pole and was a happy, healthy cat until his last day. He scratched the furniture and meowed incessantly, but he never scratched or bit or asked for much of anything. He was an excellent cat and we will all miss him. The house already seems so much quieter without his meowing and banging in and out of his room.

We may not have done a great job at showing you all the time, Otis, but we loved you. You were a member of our family and your place in our home will be missed. We won't ever have another cat, but we will keep your place on the landing and the back of the couch warm for you. And when I sit in the chair in Lucy's room and nurse her or read to Theo, I will think of you and how over the last few weeks you had claimed that chair as yours. Thank you for taking care of me and for loving everyone I brought into our family. Rest in peace, Otis Potis.