This Monday was a sad day for me. I had to take Pokey, my cat, to the vet to get put down. He was 18 years old and had been getting weaker and losing some weight over the past week, but Sunday night, he fell on the stairs and hurt himself to the point where his back legs wouldn’t support him. He seemed to be in pain when he’d try to move his back end, so it was best to end his life peacefully.
Pokey claiming the computer for himself
I got Pokey at a friend’s farm while visiting for his wedding. He and his brother Casper (who died in 2001) were about 8 to 10 weeks old when I got them. Pokey was the runt of the litter, but was only a little bit smaller than the other kittens. He was a great cat and was always super-friendly… to me. He was pretty much scared of almost everyone else until his last few years when he lost his hearing which seemed to make him a lot more laid back. He also became a lap cat in his last couple years. He’d always preferred to lie right next to me on the couch, but had taken to curling up in my lap when I watched movies.
Eighteen years is a long time to have a pet, especially a cat, and he’ll be missed… a lot.