Saying Good-bye to Shadow

Last Wednesday we had to say good-bye to our cat of 12 1/2 years.  Shadow had refused to eat and/or drink for almost a week, even though we tempted her with all of her favorites and she received a hydration treatment at the vet's office on Tuesday.  We don't know exactly what the root cause of Shadow's problems were, but we know that she was a very uncomfortable cat towards the end and we chose to end her suffering in a humane way.

Although we were surprised by the speed of her decline in the end, in hindsight we realize we had been seeing symptoms that something wasn't right with Shadow for a little while before Rusty arrives.  The timing of Shadow's illness unfortunately coincided with the arrival of the kitten, but (as Ethan and Anna were quick to point out) having Rusty around helped bring us some smiles even when we were feeling sad.

Kate and I probably had the hardest time with saying good-bye.  Not only does Kate feel things more deeply than the other kids, but Shadow has always had a special place in Kate's heart.  Many time in the last few years when Kate was sad, she would say "I just need Shadow!" and would carry the cat into her room to snuggle for awhile.

For me, I realized last week that Shadow has been a part of my life longer than any of the kids.  One of the reasons she earned the name "shadow" was because she followed me around all the time when she was a kitten.  She always slept on our bed at night and we often joked that Shadow had a "lap sense" that would tingle whenever anyone in the house sat down.  She was the epitome of a lap cat, loving to sit with or on someone while they talked or read.

As part of our grieving/healing, Kate and I looked through some old pictures of Shadow.  Here's a few of our favorites.

(The smaller one is Shadow; the larger cat is Shadow's brother, Pounce.  We rehomed him several years ago when he started harassing Shadow, often in the middle of the night.)

Shadow transitioned easily to having babies in the house, especially since she had more things to lay on or play with.

Shadow was a very tolerant cat, first with Anna, but then later on with Kate and Ethan, too.

 
Not only was she tolerant when the kids were babies, but she also received lots of love from them as toddlers and preschoolers, even being content to sit still while someone covered her with stickers.

Kate's relationship with Shadow started early.  As a baby, she loved that cat.

 

 
As Kate grew, she loved Shadow just as much, but in a different way.

Shadow had no reservations about being included in the different activities and toys of the kids.

As Shadow grew older, she enjoyed snuggling with the kids as they read or rested.

For the last couple of years, Shadow would jump onto Anna's bed early in the morning and snuggle with her until the rest of the house got up.

We will miss our sweet, old cat, but we will cherish our memories of her knowing that she had a good life filled with lots of love.