R.I.P. Gretel- a very sweet little Maine coon girl
In 2011, my wife bowled a tournament at a center in SC- there she met and fell for a small female Maine coon-like tabby living in the center parking lot. The center manager was elated because she, too, had fallen for the little girl but couldn't take her home- so my wife came home from the tournament with "$60 and a cat". The cat was Gretel. She had some problems- she was FIV+, which meant runny eyes and occasional sniffles, and parking lots aren't healthy environments- but she was a total love from the start. She fit right into the pride here, taking her share of laps and pets and food, and purring happily.
She started showing her age this year, moving more slowly, getting skinnier, but checked out OK on blood work and exams- just aging, not kidney probs or cancer that anyone could find. She started on Cosequin for her aging joints, and later some steroids for her GI tract- but she was just getting old. I started giving her some sub-cu fluids because she was a little dehydrated and that seemed to help her a lot, although her kidney values were still good. She started sleeping on my head at night, in order to make sure I was up on time for her breakfast- she wasn't eating a lot at any one time, but requested (and got) many small meals throughout the day. Yesterday it was clear she was starting to shut down- she was eating but very little, but still comfortable and happy to get on laps and cuddle- and last night, she just totally shut down and passed very quickly and quietly. We're really going to miss her- she was part of my Breakfast Club of elderly cats that got food in the morning even before I got coffee-- and she had a good long comfortable life with us. She loved us and was dearly loved by us.
Send purrs from RB little Gretel- we'll miss you a lot and will never forget you-
bowlkat
