Angela & Blackie & 3 Others
Member Since 2010
It is with an extremely heavy heart, and another floodgate of tears that I write this for my beloved Jr. Mint, who was one of Blackie's sons. He was born in the later part of the afternoon on July 11, 2001, along with 4 other syblings, 1 of which died a week after his birth as it was Blackie's first, and only litter. He was a very good cat; never hurt anyone, played with his brother Groucho, went after the females on ocassion, peed outside the boxes on more than one occasion. I may have grumbled about it, but I always try and clean them as best as I can.
This morning, I woke up 1/2 hour before my alarm went off. I noticed that Jr. Mint was in one of the laundry baskets, which were full of clean clothes, and I checked on him to make sure he was ok. He was. I got all the boxes cleaned like normal, got the coffee made, and he came out into the kitchen. I made him a dish of about 1/4 tsp. of food. I knew he probably wasn't going to eat it, and he only licked a few bits of it. I put him in one of the litter boxes, only to have him jump out again. He went to the water bowl, and drank a fair amount. Then, went under the end table next to my side of the couch. And laid there. I decided to try feeding him again in a couple of hours from that point. In the meantime, test, shot and feed time came, so I took care of Blackie, and the others. Fed Blackie her +1 meal 1/2 hour after letting her out of the bedroom where she was locked up while the others ate. Went outside at 7:45 to go feed my horse, BJ, and came back inside just in time to feed Blackie her +2 meal, with the 1 gram deduction. 9:00 a.m., fed them all, including Blackie, who was put into the office with her snack, and so the others could eat. Got the carrier ready with a towel, but kept it in the backroom while I took care of everyone else. Jr. Mint had made his way back to the bedroom by this time, and was spending his last moments in the sunshine on the bed. I let Blackie out at around 9:15, went back to get the carrier, got Jr. Mint, and put him in headfirst. He fought for a bit, but he was so weak that he didn't fight for long. He didn't make a sound. Got him secured in the front seat of the truck (I stuck the belt through the handle and secured it properly), opened the gate, drove out, got out and closed the gate, and got back into the truck. Not a sound was utter from him. On the way there, I talked to him for a bit, but for the most part I was quiet. So was he. Got to the vet's office, and I just broke down. I told the receptionist, "It's Jr. Mint", and the floodgates opened again. There were a few customers in the waiting area, but I didn't care. I signed the form, paid for the procedure, and we sat down. 5 minutes later, I was called in. I took him in, and together we gently brought him out of the cage, despite that he didn't want to come out. As I held him, he was given a sedative to help him relax. I talked to him, told him how much I loved him, and that I was so terribly sorry. I also told him to fly free. I talked to the vet about him, and his siblings. He slowly went to sleep. I kept petting him, and the tears start flowing again. After some time, she asked if it was time. I simply nodded slightly. She got the clippers, shaved his right front leg, and started injecting him the final dose. All this time, I was holding his head, and my hand was on his neck. I felt his pulse getting weaker with each passing second of the clock. Finally, it was over. Both the vet and I petted him, and then he was taken away to be picked up later by the company who'll cremate him.
Fly free, my sunny Jr. Mint, fly free. I miss you so terribly much.
This morning, I woke up 1/2 hour before my alarm went off. I noticed that Jr. Mint was in one of the laundry baskets, which were full of clean clothes, and I checked on him to make sure he was ok. He was. I got all the boxes cleaned like normal, got the coffee made, and he came out into the kitchen. I made him a dish of about 1/4 tsp. of food. I knew he probably wasn't going to eat it, and he only licked a few bits of it. I put him in one of the litter boxes, only to have him jump out again. He went to the water bowl, and drank a fair amount. Then, went under the end table next to my side of the couch. And laid there. I decided to try feeding him again in a couple of hours from that point. In the meantime, test, shot and feed time came, so I took care of Blackie, and the others. Fed Blackie her +1 meal 1/2 hour after letting her out of the bedroom where she was locked up while the others ate. Went outside at 7:45 to go feed my horse, BJ, and came back inside just in time to feed Blackie her +2 meal, with the 1 gram deduction. 9:00 a.m., fed them all, including Blackie, who was put into the office with her snack, and so the others could eat. Got the carrier ready with a towel, but kept it in the backroom while I took care of everyone else. Jr. Mint had made his way back to the bedroom by this time, and was spending his last moments in the sunshine on the bed. I let Blackie out at around 9:15, went back to get the carrier, got Jr. Mint, and put him in headfirst. He fought for a bit, but he was so weak that he didn't fight for long. He didn't make a sound. Got him secured in the front seat of the truck (I stuck the belt through the handle and secured it properly), opened the gate, drove out, got out and closed the gate, and got back into the truck. Not a sound was utter from him. On the way there, I talked to him for a bit, but for the most part I was quiet. So was he. Got to the vet's office, and I just broke down. I told the receptionist, "It's Jr. Mint", and the floodgates opened again. There were a few customers in the waiting area, but I didn't care. I signed the form, paid for the procedure, and we sat down. 5 minutes later, I was called in. I took him in, and together we gently brought him out of the cage, despite that he didn't want to come out. As I held him, he was given a sedative to help him relax. I talked to him, told him how much I loved him, and that I was so terribly sorry. I also told him to fly free. I talked to the vet about him, and his siblings. He slowly went to sleep. I kept petting him, and the tears start flowing again. After some time, she asked if it was time. I simply nodded slightly. She got the clippers, shaved his right front leg, and started injecting him the final dose. All this time, I was holding his head, and my hand was on his neck. I felt his pulse getting weaker with each passing second of the clock. Finally, it was over. Both the vet and I petted him, and then he was taken away to be picked up later by the company who'll cremate him.
Fly free, my sunny Jr. Mint, fly free. I miss you so terribly much.
