This is sort of tough to write because I don’t know where to start or what to say. Last summer, my sister’s cat Neffertiti had a tumor on her hip that turned out to be cancerous. She had her leg amputated, and she seemed to recover fine. The vet told my sister (aka Cosmopolitan, as she is known on some blogs) that if the cancer was going to come back, it would most likely do so within a year. Well, it’s been 8 months. She suddenly stopped eating and had a fever – X-rays showed that the cancer is back, and it’s in her lungs. She has a tumor about twice the size of her heart.
So tomorrow, my sister’s vet is coming to her apartment to put Neffertiti to sleep. They want her to be peaceful, and she’s scared of the vet, so they’re going to do it at home. The hope is that it will also help her other cat, Ramses (Neffertiti’s brother), cope with the loss, if he’s there with her when it happens. She’s only 9 years old, which isn’t terribly old for a cat. It’s just horrible – for her, for my sister, and for Ramses, who has never spent more than a day away from his littermate.
I wish I could say how sweet this cat is. She’s the first cat I ever met who had no concept of personal space, because she wanted to be in your face, being loved and adored, all the time. Nef sleeps on the same pillow with Cosmo every night (much the same way that Teenie does with me). She was the tiniest cat to ever terrorize our cat Fred. [A note about that photo, which I love: Neffie is the one in the red collar on the windowsill, getting as close as she can to Fred, who’s observing her from the safe distance of the cabinet. She was too little to jump up there, or she would’ve been right up in his face.] She was the first cat to fall asleep on my dad’s shoulder, who has always claimed to actively dislike cats. She prompted me to take this photo at the Luxor in Las Vegas. She’s just an all-around great cat, and I’ve had a lump in my throat for her and my sister all day today. So there you have it. Fare thee well, Neffertiti, and may there be lots of kitty treats and shoeboxes to nap in wherever you may go.
The cat pics do not show up 🙁 Just an X when you click the link.
Yeah, I caught that. I don't know why I had so many problems with the pictures that I scanned. (They're both from the mid-90's, long before I had a digital camera.) But the links are fixed now.
thanks, cindy — from me, ramses, and the neffer. love, T
Losing a Pet is such hard thing to go through. When my beloved dog Bart left us, my father couldn't face doing it. Dr Vickers was kind enough to come over with his doggie ambulance and staff. Everyone loved Bart. He was well known to everyone around town. People came over to pay their respects. That made feel better since I am living on the East Coast and couldn't be there for my dad that day.
I'm sorry about Neffertiti. It's always sad to lose friends.The pictures just require a little patience. They're fairly sizeable. Perhaps it would be beneficial for everyone to sit in the lotus position and chant a few ohms while waiting.