Saturday, November 1

Wednesday

Wednesday was one of the worst days of my life. It started out like any regular work day; J and I got out of bed, showered, and were getting ready when we heard a bang from downstairs. With cats, this isn't abnormal. Our dishwasher stopped working so the sink was full of dishes. It sounded like Rolo fell into the sink. J went down to check it out.

Rolo was in the sink, on top of the dishes, not moving. J screamed Rolo's name and when he did it a second time I knew something was wrong. J was panicking and I was yelling at the voicemails of multiple vets that were greeting my desperate calls. We packed up our lifeless cat into a carrier and hopped in the car.

Of course it had to be the day after the first snowstorm of the year and the drive to the vet took way too long. We were both in shock but determined to make it to the vet. J did an awesome job of keeping the car on the road and I did a good job at yelling at all the innocent people driving to work like they do every morning.

We finally got to the vet and answered all the same questions they asked when I finally got a live person on the phone on the drive over. They showed us to an exam room, but only a minute later ushered us into another room with couches. That's when I lost it. That's when it became real.

The vet came in, delivered the bad news. Rolo had died, most likely from a heart attack. Would we like to see him? I surprised myself by saying I would. They brought him in and we held him and consoled each other for I don't know how long, cursing the "couch room" the whole time.

Again, J stepped up and paid the vet and somehow got us home safely. We spent the day alternating beween mind-numbing quiet and all-out sobbing. I have never felt as broken and I have never seen such pain in J's eyes. It was absolutely awful.

Thanks to our wonderful friends who came by with food (I would not have eaten had it not been for you) and who came to spend some time with us. We needed your support and you definitely delievered.

It's going to take a while before we're back to normal. For now, we don't want to talk about it. We don't want to answer questions. Mostly, we want our lives to be as normal as possible. We will tell you if there's anything you can do.

Rolo was our little brown buddy. He was incredibly soft and cuddly, he loved water and had a touch of OCD. Tuesday night, he ran around with Sandy being all crazy and he slept with us, and Wednesday morning, he licked the water after my shower and while I brushed my teeth and purred with J after his shower. He was a happy little cat right to the end. My heart is broken.

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I already knew how the story ended but it still made me cry again reading about it. I'm so sorry for you and J and Sandy.

Author said...
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Author said...

I am so sorry, K.

k1 said...

I am SO sorry to hear of your loss, K. How sad.

Sue said...

I'm so very sorry. We've been in "the couch room" a few times and it is so, so, horrible.

Rolo was a lovely kitty and will be missed so much. I'm glad he was happy right up to the end though.

Anonymous said...

Although I rarely got to see Rolo, I have always enjoyed hearing the stories from the family about the antics of Rolo and Sandy. Rolo will be missed but fondly remembered by many people, including both Ray and I here in Thunder Bay.

Anonymous said...

Although I rarely got to see Rolo, I have always enjoyed hearing the stories from the family about the antics of Rolo and Sandy. Rolo will be missed, but fondly remembered, by many people, including both Ray and I.

Kelly said...

*hugs*