RIP: Jack

[thewayne]

We lost a cat yesterday. Jack was probably between 15 and 20 years old, we really don’t know. He arrived with a (non-related) sister, One, with a Filipino couple across the street quite a number of years ago. When they were to move on, they asked my parents if the cats would be left behind, my parents agreed. They remained as outdoor cats and got along well with the rest of the menagerie.

I don’t know why, but without exception, cats at my parents house have always been pretty mellow. Jack and One were no exception. The general routine was to find a shady place to lie in all day, come back for some dinner, find some place to sleep in the carport at night. In the winter Mom would arrange grapefruit boxes with towels and rags that were beyond use for padding and warmth, Jack and One always slept together at night.

Jack’s demise came as a result of old age and loss of hearing. I was at my parent’s house yesterday afternoon and my dad was leaving immediately after I did. When I arrived, I saw Jack under the back of my dad’s car. Unfortunately when my dad backed his car out of the driveway, apparently Jack didn’t hear the car start. He suffered major internal injuries and was put to sleep as he probably wouldn’t have survived any operations to try and fix him.

He was a good cat. I’m hoping One doesn’t go into a decline because of this as she is pretty much the same age as Jack was.


In other critter news, our pit bull/chihuahua, Cricket, was taken to the vet. She’s also getting up in age, definitely also in the 15+ range, and she hasn’t been doing well of late. The vet diagnosed her with fluid congestion of the heart sac, he didn’t know if it was blood or water and recommended an ultrasound, my mom opted to go with medication as it’s not cheap to have such things done. So hopefully Cricket will improve with the medication.

Comments

Very Sorry To Hear This

[deborak]

I always look under the car, just in case the neighbor's cats are lurking. I need to get Bill in the habit of doing that as well.

Re: Very Sorry To Hear This

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

It's a sad thing, but it's also a fact that like us, animals lose their hearing as they grow older. My truck has more ground clearance than my dad's Buick and I get a full look underneath when I walk up to it from my condo, but my dad's driveway and the short distance between the door and the car would make it difficult to look without making it a specific task, which would definitely be to the benefit of our pets. I'm sorry he is gone, but he had a very long run of it, and vehicles are the bane of outdoor cats, as demonstrated.

Sympathies...

[cardigirl.livejournal.com]

Losing a pet is always such a wrench. And how awful for your dad to have run him over! He must feel terrible -- I know I would. I'm not in the habit of looking for critters under my parked car (there are few free-roaming cats in the neighborhood), but I'll be more alert now. I ran over a kitten, years and years ago, and I can still hear it in memory. It was dark, and I thought the little dark lump on the street was nothing more than a bag or a banana peel. So sad.

[slashophile.livejournal.com]

:big huggles: I hate to lose any part of my family, especially the animals.