Shademan (Cat): 5/1/1997 - 5/3/2016

[Fruitycake]

I am now catless. ShadeMan had something neurologic happen this evening, maybe a seizure, maybe a stroke, maybe something to do with a brain tumor, and it was kindest to let him go.

 

I have absolutely no regrets about what I 'should have done' for him, because since his sister passed a year and a half ago, he has been totally, 100% spoiled rotten. He got whatever kind of food he wanted, even if I had to offer two or three types of canned food to find something that wasn't deemed 'poison' and was fed whenever he wanted - even in the middle of the night - with his dish held at just the right angle for him to eat. All he had to do to ask was look at me and do a subtle single lip smack and I jumped to get him food. He could even wakeme from sleep with that little lip smack, and I would get up and carry him out of the bedroom and get him a bit of canned food. He had two bowls of Kitten Chow in areas kept safe from dogs, because he loved that stuff. He had water dishes through the house, with his main one raised on top of another dish so he didn't have to hunch over it to drink.

 

His litterboxes were always scooped as soon as he was done (even in the middle of the night) and he had five of them around the house with three types of litter. When he wanted to use the litterbox in the basement, he got a ride back up the stairs when he told me he was done. I trimmed his backside (he was a longish mediumhair) so he didn't get too much litter stuck in it, and he purred so loudly when I wiped him when things stuck! He didn't even mind my washing his feet if he stepped in a fresh 'biscuit' after peeing and got litter clumped in his toes.

 

He would call for me to come sit on the back porch with him in the mornings, so I would put aside everything else (or get up if I was trying to make up for lost sleep at night) and sit and color in my coloring book while he napped next to me in his chair. And sometimes he would yell at me from the porch and he would actually be demanding to go outside on his leash, so I'd leash him up and we would spend whatever time he wanted going anywhere in the yard he wanted to go. His last trip out was on his birthday, a pleasant stroll with a little grass eating, some shrub sniffing, bird watching, and walking around the house to check up on the messages from the neighborhood dogs that pee on the cedar at the corner of our lot.

 

He had quirks: as a kitten he was terrified of a fur 'mouse' on a pole toy that my brother bought for him...until he realized it was real rabbit fur and chewed it to pieces and then dragged the remaining stick around the house wherever he went for nearly a year after that. Figuring out how to work the lever-style door handles of our first apartment, and periodically opening the bathroom door when someone was in there. Playing fetch with sparklie balls, where you could throw them and he'd chase and bring them back a few times before he bored of it. Stealing potatoes from the pantry and carrying them around the house. Figuring out that my asking 'Does anybody want a snack?' was a code for feeding time, so he would lead the way to the food cupboard, and then sit at his own dish waiting to be fed. Figuring out how to open cupboards (high and low) and requiring that we get child locks to keep food safe. It was funny that time you wanted to make oatmeal cookies while we were on vacation and the pet sitter found rolled oats and flour on the kitchen floor, and the baking powder can, the brown sugar, and the coconut in the living room. Being a bread-loving freak (he gets that from my side) and requiring all bread be kept in the fridge because even child-safe locks weren't ShadeMan-proof enough. Figuring out that the flip-down door stop on the porch door made a perfect kitty door knocker for when he was on the porch and wanted back in. Making us panic because he would become mute when in a closet or cupboard, even if we wandered the house calling out for him and asking 'anybody want a snack?' in a desperate attempt to verify that you had not gotten outside and lost. Having his sleeping spot under the topmost blanket on the bed, immediately right of my hip, and turning into a snarling maniac if I moved (that was from my side, too).

 

Even though I'll be allowed to sleep through the night again after over two years of waking in the night to feed a cat, I don't know how long it will be until it actually happens. I don't even know if I know *how* to sleep through the night anymore.

 

And I think I should send a thank you to my old workplace for laying me off and to every place that didn't hire me so I could be there for him and his sister at the end. What a gift it was to be able to do so much for them both.

[ramonaghan]

I'm so sorry for your loss. How lucky you were to have each other, and for so long (though it's never long enough, of course). I can relate to much of your post with my diabetic boy who turns 13 this week. Rest well, ShadeMan.

[Remolacha]

I am so sorry. I know how it is, I currently have a 17 yr old that gets me up in the middle of the night, demands that I sit down and make a lap for him to sit in, and so on. Totally worth it when you know they won't be around

[Batmom]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

Godspeed, sweetie.

[Neighsayer]

Hugs!

[BatterseaBrindl]

So sorry for the loss of your kitty.

What wonderful memories you have.....

[Beachbum1]

So very sorry fr your loss.

[Fruitycake]

Oh, and in unrelated news...today's job interview is going to suck. Hay fever/allergies are why nose and eyes are completely red. Yeah. That's why. Mmm hmmm.

[GreyPoopon]

I'm so very sorry. He was a very special boy and he capped a great life with a fantastic last year and a half.

 

Godspeed ShadeMan.

[sabrina]

Shadowman you have earned your wings . We are sorry for your mom's loss of you

 

 

Daphne & Penny

[carronstar]

I am so very sorry.

[FiveRoooooers]

What a wonderful tribute to your most wonderful old fella. I am so sorry for your loss

[Patsy]

Shademan, we bow all our knees at your incredible hooman-training skills. Gentle rubs to your mama person.

 

Linus &Jazz

[queenwinniesmom]

Aw, what an awesome guy he was, one who truly deserved all the spoiling he got. How you'll miss your precious Shademan. I'm so sorry.

[Tracey]

I am so sorry for your loss.

[Lexi]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your wonderful Shademan.