A Case for Cats

We recently had to put down our 18 year old cat. We found him on Facebook when he was 15 and was being re-homed because his mom died at the ripe age of 94. My husband and I both had family cat(s) when we were younger and had chatted about the possibility of adding a cat to the home but didn’t really know where to start or if it was a commitment we really wanted. Then we came across the post and we figured at 15, it would be a perfect test run. We had a 12 year old Australian Shepherd at home and we didn’t want to bring in a pet that would overwhelm him. As awful as this may sound –  when we decided that yes, we will in fact get a 15 year old cat with terrible arthritis and a heart murmur, we thought it would be helpful with the grieving process of inevitably having our dog crossing the rainbow bridge – a practice run, if you will. We were WRONG.

He came with a carrier that had a piece of painters taped and the name “Smokey Mathews” written in bold sharpie across it so we decided, out of respect for the circumstances of the adoption, we would keep his government name and continue the Mathews legacy. That following week, we set Mr. Mathews up with a grooming and vet appointment and let me tell you, the magic of a fresh groom and monthly arthritis shots for this cat is something that needs to be studied because when I tell you he was brand new – he was BRAND NEW. *See before and after pic* He started jumping on things, got the zoomies, stomped all over us at 5 AM, and genuinely seemed to have a new lease on life. We really started to fall for the little guy as he melded right into our family.

If there was a popularity contest at the vet, Smokey Mathews would’ve won by a landslide. The whole staff was overtly obsessed with him. Sometimes when they would take him back for his shot, I’d wonder if they were actually planning on coming back or if they had already made it out of there with the getaway car. If I’d bring our Aussie, Bundie, in at the same time (who is also a very sweet and good boy albeit shy and old) it felt like I’d have to keep reminding them he was even there! But in retrospect I’m glad they saw it. They saw why he was so special.

Smokey Mathews’ health seemed pretty steady over the 3 years we had him while Bundie’s started to visibly decline over the last year or so. We started to shift our perspective, throwing our original plan straight into the garbage. (It’s really not worth having a plan with geriatric pets anyways – they always surprise you, good or bad.) Then little Smokey Mathews very quickly declined over the span of about a week when we had to ultimately make the decision to put him down. We had so many people reach out with kind words and condolences but there was still the obvious undertone of “at least you still have Bundie, at least it wasn’t the dog”. Only having Smokey Mathews for 3 years and him being a cat did not make the grief any easier. The short time we had with him and the quick decline, though at his age we knew it would come eventually, still made it incredibly hard. My husband and I both work in construction and he didn’t even tell anyone at work because he knew they wouldn’t respect his grief for the cat. But he was still sad. Last year, he had quit his job and took a hiatus for 8 months and that cat was his lifeline during that time. It doesn’t feel fair that just because he was a cat the grief that comes with it is dismissed. So with all that said, here is my case for cats:

1. They purr. Have you ever quietly listened to a cat purr when you’ve had a bad day or are feeling anxious? Big Pharma needs to figure out how to bottle it up and sell that shit.
2. They are easy, I.N.D.E.P.E.N.D.E.N.T and low maintenance. Automatic feeder, water fountain, litter box. Like, are you kidding? Dream.
3. If they sleep on your head it’s okay because they are soft… and they purr. It’s like taking melatonin before bed.
4. They are annoying but in a very silly way. I mentioned the water fountain but have you ever heard of a bathroom sink? They’re the best to meow about for 5 minutes straight and when it gets turned on, just sit and stare at the running water. 
5. The loudest they get is meowing and they don’t bark at the mailman, yardman or door bells. 
6. They are not afraid of thunder storms. They actually get as close as they can to the window to laugh in the face of danger. (classic feline)
7. They might sleep 20 hours a day (tight) and keep to themselves when people are over but they still have a personality and are just as affectionate and loving with their owners as dogs.

And to wrap up, I will quote two songs: Live like an Egyptian and R.E.S.P.E.C.T. the cat (find out what it means to me🎶) A note that I also love dogs – I would just love to see cats get the R.E.S.P.E.C.T they deserve. 

**Disclaimer** Smokey Mathews was also a Ragdoll so perception is skewed to a dog-like cat. 

Take care, TCB,

AC