ratbones: Frost crystals on a dark windowpane. (Default)
ratbones ([personal profile] ratbones) wrote2021-10-30 10:49 pm

Best Cat Alive 11 years in a row, now a shoe-in for Best Cat Dead

My cat, Cora, died yesterday. It was very sudden and I had no cause to expect it any time soon. She was her usual self at 1 PM when she attended my lunchtime by finding a basket of cat toys I'd absent-mindedly left on the table and scattering them around a bit, and then she went upstairs to nap as she does, and when I went in search of her for some affection a bit before 3 she was dead. It looked utterly senseless and causeless, like she'd just been switched off in the middle of her daily rounds. My assumption is that it was something like a blood clot or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The vet once detected a slight heart murmur, when she was ill with a fever years ago.

That cat was my heart. I had let my heart out to run around on four soft little paws. And pardon my abuse of cliche here but I think she'd put hers into me, too, because I feel like my ribcage has been cracked open and something's been ripped out of my thoracic cavity with a pair of pliers. A rush job of an extraction. Her death tableau might have been strangely clean, but I'm a gory crime scene. I'm gutted.

There is some urge to eulogize Cora and extol her virtues, but I'm not sure it's in keeping with our relationship to do so publicly. I'll just choose one secret to share: any time I wake up in the middle of the night, I can expect her to come and look me in the face carefully, knead the pillow a bit, and settle into a tighter cuddle, like she can pin me down and force me into restful sleep whether I want it or not. Last night, I was restless, and there was nobody there to notice.

Cora sitting in a sunbeam, looking beautiful

Cora lying on the bed, reaching out to touch my hand
 
starandrea: (Default)

[personal profile] starandrea 2021-10-31 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
♥♥♥
nnozomi: (Default)

[personal profile] nnozomi 2021-10-31 06:53 am (UTC)(link)
I had let my heart out to run around on four soft little paws.
*hugs hugs*
extrapenguin: Northern lights in blue and purple above black horizon. (Default)

[personal profile] extrapenguin 2021-10-31 07:14 am (UTC)(link)
I'm sorry for your loss. *hugs*
cyberbrain: weilan saved from pillar (weilan pillar)

[personal profile] cyberbrain 2021-10-31 08:37 am (UTC)(link)
I'm so sorry, ratty *hugs* ❤️
tinny: Something Else holding up its colorful drawing - "be different" (Default)

[personal profile] tinny 2021-10-31 10:18 am (UTC)(link)
*HUGS* I am so sorry.
clevermanka: default (Default)

[personal profile] clevermanka 2021-10-31 01:48 pm (UTC)(link)
What a good and perfect kitty. I'm so sorry. All the condolences.
umadoshi: umadoshi kanji (umadoshi kanji)

[personal profile] umadoshi 2021-10-31 03:40 pm (UTC)(link)
So much sympathy. ;_; That's just devastating.
forestofglory: E. H. Shepard drawing of Christopher Robin reading a book to Pooh (Default)

[personal profile] forestofglory 2021-10-31 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so sorry. May her memory be a blessing
marycrawford: 13 hour clock icon (Default)

[personal profile] marycrawford 2021-10-31 07:14 pm (UTC)(link)
OH, this is so awful and I'm so sorry. What a horrible shock to have happen like that, too.
yaaurens: (soft ZYL)

[personal profile] yaaurens 2021-11-01 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
I am so, so very sorry for your loss. *hugs*

[personal profile] simetraxyn 2021-11-01 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
I'm very sorry for your loss, I have been there several times in the past and it's just the way you described it. It takes time, I found myself crying while running errands on the middle of busy streets, but I always try to keep in mind the best times. Wish you well, take care!!
china_shop: New Zealand painting of flax (NZ flax)

[personal profile] china_shop 2021-11-07 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Super belated, but I'm really sorry for your loss. That's so hard. *hugs*