Farewell, Dear Feline

Alex, 1990–2009

The little nefesh of Sir Laurence Alexander SSPP Mo Chia Pish Violino Bad Bunston of Tweed Otherwise Known As Alex has passed on. He turned 19 on March 15 and had just this year started to show his age and the effects of advanced kidney disease. He was a fine cat and feline companion since my first year out of college. He will be dearly missed.

We started talking to Amirah about Alex's situation a couple of weeks ago. She had plenty of time to process it and consider what was best for him. Last night, she, papa, and I sat in bed petting him and telling stories about him (which he couldn't hear, being stone deaf!), laughing and crying. The preparation for her was good, and she accepted his death with grace, tears, and fond memories. She had a special link with Alex. Her first word was "cat" (actually, it was "chia.") Alex was also on several occasions able to stop her infant fussing by crooning to her when our attempts had failed. She really loved him, and will miss his presence.

This afternoon, the kids went to play next door while we took Alex to the vet for his final moments. Amirah had the option of coming with us, but she decided to go next door and play. She got to have a last little visit with him before we left, and it was nice. The end for Alex was very quick. They gave him a sedative, which put him in a dreamy state, then while I was holding him the vet gave him an injection of barbitol and it was over in a few seconds.

Alex was a great cat. A solid all around cat's cat. We will all miss him very much!