December 21, 2021. Ancaster, Ontario. Pets.

Pets have a much shorter life expectancy than humans so a cat that is 17 years old is not long for this earth, which means that a family who loved and nurtured that cat for all those years will soon be sad. It is a sad fact for any pet owner. Neice Wendy had two cats. One of them was actually owned by Katey, who recued the cat as a kitten. Many years ago, when Katey moved into an apartment in Toronto, the cat was left with Wendy, who has loved that cat ever since. When I arrived last Thursday, it was clear that the cat was ailing. She would sit staring at the wall. And she stopped using the litter box which was in the basement. She also had lost weight. Two weeks ago, the vet prescribed medication which did not seem to work, so on Monday, Wendy had an appointment with the Vet at 4:45 to ask hard questions. The cat was black. When you called the cat's name, it was pronounced "See eh Tee" with the emphasis on the last sylabble. It sounded exotic or perhaps French. But in truth, the name of the cat was C.A.T. See eh tee. It took me a long time to figure out her real name. The vet suggested that the cat was either senile or had a brain tumor. Evidently, 50% of cats become senile in their old age. Who knew. But in truth, the vet told Wendy that there was no cure. After a phone call with Katey, the cat was put down. C.A.T. was not enjoying her life so the kindest thing to do was to send the cat to cat heaven. But now we have only one cat in the house, Muskoka, who fortunately is young. Wendy shampooed the basement carpet for the last time. We are all grateful that everyone enjoyed and loved that black for 17 years.