Last Wednesday, June 8, was one of the most difficult that I’ve had to endure in my life. That was the day we discovered our beloved Smoky had chronic kidney failure also known as CRF. I had no knowledge of the disease in pets, but after the vet did a blood test on Smoky he told us it was a fatal disease. Even after flushing out his system and stabilizing him, he had less than a 40% chance to survive. Instead of putting him through that, we decided to put him down. Now in my heart I wonder if that was the right thing to do – half of me says yes, the other half screams no. But that decision was made and it’s too late to have second thoughts now. Will we get another cat? Probably not. But the house is now so quiet – we may change our minds in the future.
Smoky was so much a part of our daily routine, I guess that is why I find it so hard. From the morning when he wanted out to the evening when we went to bed, he ruled the house. He interacted with us – scolding me when I didn’t let back in the house in the morning, to screaming at me when he wanted out. He loved being outside and when we went outside, he’d show up from some unknown spot to keep us company. And in the evening while watching TV, Bruce would brush him until he tired of that, then he’d curl up and settled in while we watched TV. Most nights, he’d sleep at the foot of the bed.
Smoky was a stray – we plucked him out of the snow in 2003.
But it wasn’t long before he was gaining weight and becoming the handsome cat that we loved.
He always enjoyed a game of ‘Kickers.’
My favorite picture . . .
Since Smoky was my favorite subject for a picture, I have taken hundreds of them over the years. These are some of them.
He willl always have a special place in our hearts.
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