Our Nala

We had to put our sweet old girl Nala to sleep about 5 days ago.

You forget how old they get. She was 18.

She came to us from Cape Breton. A friend of mine brought her down to “the big city” to become a kitty of leisure.

I remember going out with my then young daughter and choosing toys, a kitty blanket, food dishes and food. She was so excited for her first cat.

Nala endured quite a bit those first few years. Being dressed up in doll clothes and paraded around. She took it all in stride.

She was so ingrained into our lives that I never thought about what would happen when she got older. She was going to live forever.

We got her a sister, Jax, when she was 8 years old. She welcomed the little feral kitten and they enjoyed each other’s company.

Over the last year and a half we noticed the arthritis setting into her two front paws, and her inclination to sleep more than play. Bet visit ls were a little more frequent.

When we added Eggs Benedict to the mix a little over a year ago, she wasn’t really up for a new addition, but she tolerated him nonetheless.

Her rapid decline started a few weeks ago, and it was getting harder to watch her struggle with her litter box. She started vomiting up anything she ate.

I made a call to our vet, explaining all of what was happening and made an appointment for her.

The day before that appointment I woke up to her hiding, and not begging for food. Something felt off. I went into work, thinking that I would split my day and work at home in the afternoon.

The text came in at 11:30 from my daughter: “I think you need to come home now”. Nala had soiled herself in her chair, and wouldn’t let my daughter clean her.

I made it home, and called our vet, they had just gotten in an emergency and were not able to see us. I had to call the Emergency Vet.

Needless to say, we had to make the hard decision after seeing the Emergency Vet.

It’s not easy saying goodbye to a pet after all that time. The day is a now a blur in my brain.

It’s been hard not hearing her meow from her perch when we walk through the door, or see her in her favourite chair.

Day by day it gets a little bit easier, and we are glad that Jax is not alone, even though Eggs Benedict is a little bit of a hellion.

We will miss her always.