OJ

This morning, the feline member of our family passed away. OJ was 14 years old. He greeted me as I came in the kitchen and yelled at me to turn on his faucet so he could drink. I scratched his head and turned on the fountain; let the dogs out; went and got the paper; and when I went to pour myself a cup of coffee, I noticed OJ had layed down on the counter. I asked him if he wanted more water and I saw that he had quietly passed away.

OJ was our "counter kitty". He ate his food there and watched the dogs from there occasionally flicking his tail at them just to annoy them. He trained all our puppies to be kind to kitties and even taught our rescue girl, Marion Louise, how to love a cat. He'll be missed by everyone in the Garvie Clan. Here's my favorite picture of OJ, on the counter looking out his window at the world.





Jim

Jim, I a sorry for your loss. He sounds like he had a wonderful life with you and I am sure you will miss him.

So sorry Jim. Sounds like he had a pretty good life though.

Jim, I'm very sorry.

Jim,
I am so sorry about OJ. I can't believe how many of us have lost beloved pets this summer and fall. The only thing that is good about what happened is that you didn't have to make "THE" decision. It is so hard. My heart goes out to you and your family.
Diane

Thank you everyone for your sympathy. OJ was a cool guy and the dogs understand he's gone and they miss him. Strange. Rowdy is the most aware -- as I'd expect. But Marion had a special bond with OJ and she's very depressed right now. Looks like ice cream is in her immediate future.

Jim

Hey Jim,

I am very sorry about your poor guy. It is a horrible thing to be going through. Did he have an illness of some sort?

James

James,
he was showing signs of possible kidney problems but had been healthy and happy. In fact, he went into Linda's TV room with all the dogs the night before just to say "goodnight".

Our friend, a vet, thinks it might have been either an aneurism or cardiomyopathy. He died quietly and quickly and had no suffering. Since he was 14, we decided not to do a necropsy.

Thanks for your good wishes.

Jim

Jim, I am sorry to hear about OJ. It is always terrible to lose our furry kids- seems like it's always sudden, even if you know they're sick. Hope you and the rest of the family will be okay, but it does take awhile.

I'm thinking of you.

Jim,

Sorry to hear about your loss of OJ. But the way he went certainly beats any other alternative. I had to make "THE" decision with one of our feline 'kids' earlier this year. Still brings tears to my eyes, just thinking about it.

GG

GG,
thanks for the comments. Yes, we lost our oldest Rottie girl, Annie, a couple of months ago and she, too, took the decision out of our hands. She collapsed and passed away as I was lifting her into the van to take her for an ultrasound.

That, too, was swift and relatively painless. We've had some of our kids hang on for months. We've had to say goodbye to them when they could still understand what was happening. I'll take the way Annie and OJ went any time. It doesn't hurt us any less but it certainly is more humane for them.

And, yes, life goes on. You miss them but you have to be sure to refocus your love on the living.

Jim

I don't know how I missed this Jim, he was a beautiful cat and I am so sorry for your loss.

Julie,
thank you. I miss him every morning when I start making coffee. He used to yell at me to turn on the water so he could drink from the faucet. He was a very cool guy.

Jim

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Julie,
thank you. I miss him every morning when I start making coffee. He used to yell at me to turn on the water so he could drink from the faucet. He was a very cool guy.

Jim

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My 12-year old tabby does that, I can't bear the thought of losing him but age eventually catches up with all of us. I'm sorry for your loss. I hope you bring some other lucky kitty into your home to keep those dogs in line.