Author's Note: Usually I do a lot of fun/silly notes on this blog, but for the first time in a long time I wanted to drop a serious entry. In the book "Me Talk Pretty One Day", Author David Sedaris, mixes the funny with the sad. Inspired by his essay "The Youth in Asia" where he recounts a few family pets and their lives, I found it fitting to throw in an inspired serious entry between my LOST fandom and movie/pop culture/ random complaining entries. Plus, I think this is my own personal way to deal with the loss of a pet. So this really is more for me than anyone else, but if you happen to read this, I promise my next entry will be funny.
Zoey entered our lives just a little over a month ago. A friend of Stacey's was looking for a home for her since Zoey didn't quite get along with her bunnies. We weren't looking for another cat, but we decided after weighing the pros and cons to take her in. Not so much because we wanted another cat, but mostly so that our cat Gilbert could have a playmate that wouldn't mind his sneak attacks as much as we did. Within a few days, the two were great friends (that's all they'd be since Gilbert is neutered and didn't care so much about her looks). We'd occasionally be woken up by the playful hoots between the two cats who decided playtime would begin once the lights go out rather than during the daytime when they would take a 2o hour nap instead. The impact of introducing Zoey into our lives was immediate. Our arms and legs would no longer bear evidence of a Gilbert mauling and we were able to get a collection of funny and cute pictures of the two together.
With no name besides "Kitty" or "the cat", we decided to pick a name for her and even reached out to our facebook friends to help pick a name between "Zoey" or "Isis". She technically would be known as "Madeline" at the Denver Dumb Friends League, but her previous owner and us did not enjoy the name so much. So we compiled a list of possible names. We had a few fun and pop culture inspired names like "Petra" or "Ripley" were eliminated earlier. It was a close call but in the end the name "Zoey" became the winner. The name Zoey, by the way, came from the TV show Firefly. She also subsequently earned a few nicknames in her time. Zoe-bot was a common one for her, and I likened to calling her "Ol smokey-face" due to her gray face. Had she lived longer, several more would likely follow as we call Gilbert several things depending on the mood of the week, that's just how Stacey and I roll.
Zoey fit into our family rather quickly. Soon she would give "nose kisses" to us when parting or greeting and sometimes for no reason at all. And like Gilbert, she was intrigued by the mystical world of the shower. She was a little more adventurous about trying to enter the "magic rain-box" and even got a quick splash or two when we decided to turn on the shower head. After that experience, she'd hold off her investigation into the shower until after it was used and the water was off. She was a quick learner, she also picked up on the fact that when treat time came, we liked to make the cats do a small "trick" and put their front paws on our knees before being rewarded.
Zoey often would like to engage in long conversations with us (usually whilst doing her crazy "exorcist kitty" head spin). We didn't have much to talk about really, but she did like meowing "answers" to us. Since she officially became a part of our family, we bought her a kitty bed and new collar. When Stacey would have to go to work she often enjoyed exploring the balcony while I'd wave goodbye to her, but since it was too cold we had to compromise on cold nights by having the fireplace going. She would often be found sleeping in front of the robust fire I started, I believe this was a fair compromise to her.
Although she wasn't as mischievous as Gilbert, Zoey often found her way into mischief. With her being so tiny and light, she found that she could stealthily jump on top of the fridge without us knowing until something would move, or Gilbert would express his jealous meows "to tell on her". She was also responsible for our impromptu pillow barrier in front of our couch after she had a expedition not under, but INSIDE the couch, causing one major headache rescue mission for Stacey and I.
Zoey became sick on Sunday and threw up her food from earlier in the day, in the past Gilbert would do the same thing but we were recommended to not feed him for 12-24 hours, then try a small amount of bland food. So we did this and Tuesday it seemed she started to show signs of recovery by playing with Gilbert. That night she even tried to sleep in bed with us...which we allowed until it became uncomfortable. By Wednesday she seemed extremely bad and would not eat at all despite what was offered to her, that night she slept between Stacey and I all night long. Thursday we took her to the vet where it was discovered that she was in really bad shape and we elected to try to save her by paying for an overnight visit and an IV line. The outlook seemed very grim and it was doubtful she would make it throughout the night. Knowing that in all likelihood, that she would probably die overnight, Stacey and I did a few farewells to her before leaving. Zoey managed to survive overnight and shortly afterward the vet gave Stacey a call saying that Zoey is getting worse and needed us to approve euthanasia and invited us to say our goodbyes. I was unable to go to work due to running a few minutes late and not knowing if I could afford another "late occurrence" following the snow delays the week before. I didn't want to take a chance so I called in absent (better a day's pay cut than a permanent one). On the way home Stacey phoned me and told me the news and I met with her at the vet office. After having Stacey sign the paperwork for the euthanasia , the Vet brought Zoey in to spend a little time with us before having to euthanize her. She was heavily sedated and swaddled in a few blankets to keep her warm and comfortable. We didn't want to spend more time to delay the inevitable but we both sadly held and caressed her assuring her that we love her and will miss her. She would just stare up at us, which I believe she knew that this was our farewell to her. I didn't want to stay for the actual euthanasia, so I said bye to Zoey and despite her heavy sedation, she managed to lift her head high enough to give me one final "nose kiss".
I made a B-line to my car where I cried for the first time since Stacey and I were going long distance with our relationship 2 years ago before moving to Colorado. I was done for the moment when Stacey came back out. I was assured that Zoey went peacefully and didn't have any convulsions or show any pain. Being a student at a Vet Tech school, Stacey was asked if she'd be interested in attending Zoey's autopsy. She was able to attend and immediately got into "work mode", so to everyone and later, my surprise she was able to go through it without crying. Which is good, since she'll have to deal with this sort of thing after she's done with her program and this was a good test for her. The autopsy would reveal that Zoey had abnormally small kidneys, which she was born with. Because of this defect she was not able to handle things most cats could, the non-toxic flower we noted she chewed on from a bouquet I got Stacey for Valentines Day could have been too much for her, making it one of several possibilities. This was comforting to know, since she was born with this, she would have inevitably been in this position later in life or have suffered a chronic kidney disease. We also realized that in all likelihood we'd probably have not been able to save her anyway as she died of (or was dying of) acute renal failure and we did and paid for everything we could to possibly save her. In the end, hard as it was, I was glad to say goodbye to her, rather than get a voicemail and immediately having to deal with customer's complaining about a 2 dollar increase in their bills for the rest of the day.
Although she was with us for a month, Zoey was a major part of our family and we were glad that her final month she had a playmate and enjoyed her final days before growing ill. She leaves behind a void which will be very hard to fill and will be missed.
Zoey Bagby
Dec 22, 2008- Feb 26, 2010
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