Things just aren’t the same without Smitty here.
Water conservation by the numbers
We got out first water bill in two months yesterday. I’m proud to say our water use has plummeted dramatically. Our last bill, covering August through September, was $103 and our October-November bill is $65. That’s a drop of almost 40 percent!
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Annapolis again
I hit the road this morning for Annapolis. Company meetings are today and the company’s holiday party is tonight. Tomorrow I have more meetings before returning home in time for the kids’ bedtimes.
Goodbye, Smitty: 1 Jan 1993 – 12 Dec 2007
[Warning: Long, sappy, cat-focused blog post ahead.]
We all bid goodbye to our family cat, Smitty, today. It was a sad occasion, one that I won’t get over for a while. She was a part of my life for fifteen wonderful years: a significant portion of my life. I took it for granted that she was always there, that she would always be there. Its so hard to say goodbye.
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Funeral
We just had a little funeral at sundown tonight, putting Smitty in a grave behind our fence. The kids drew pictures to put in the grave. I left a paper cup of milk. The kids were weepy but incredibly understanding, too.
Got to finish up more work now.
Time
Time
Pink Floyd
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
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She’s gone
I asked the vet to put Smitty down this morning after getting the results of her blood tests. Her kidneys were failing and she apparently was in pain, judging by the fight she gave the vet crew.
She took her last breath at 10:52 this morning. The vet doc had to give her a sedative first as Smitty was fighting and cussing all the way. I got a chance to say goodbye, though. If it weren’t for my business trip today and tomorrow, I might have let her spend her last days at home. But I wanted to be there.
More tonight.
Smitty’s prognosis not good
I got back from the vet this morning without Smitty with me, who is staying to get some blood tests done. Her weight is down to 8 pounds, 4 ounces: a far cry from her fighting weight of 11 pounds. Even without the results of the bloodwork I know such a drop is not good.
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Smitty’s still here
Smitty the cat is still with us, which surprises me after a night I thought she wouldn’t be. She’s walking around (albeit slowly) and sticking close to me, though she didn’t show any interest in her food or water today. She just crawled into my lap as I type this, to bea;lkh;kjhdfx.
I will have her at the vet within 20 minutes for a check-up.
Smitty at death’s door?
My sixteen-year-old cat, Smitty, has been sicker than I’ve ever seen her today. She hasn’t eaten, has barely drunk anything, hasn’t visited her catbox, and hasn’t been the sometimes maddening, constantly-underfoot cat that she’s always been. Windows were open and sunbeams were in ample supply but neither was enough to tempt her from her sleep at the foot of Hallie’s bed today.
Her lively, feisty self has disappeared with astonishing speed, almost overnight. I think this is it. I’ll frankly be surprised if she is with us in the morning.
Update: She’s still here this morning.