RIP Kermie

It is time to say good-bye to our first furbaby:  She came into our lives through Ramsey County Humane Society.  It said on her card that she was a stray, and picked up in an alley.  She was very anxious and had a large bruise on her nose from pushing against the cage.  When we got to play around with her, she continued to be anxious around us, but I felt like she was still a good fit.  We brought her home, and within a week, we adopted a second cat, this time from the Hennepin County Humane Society, and part of a litter of cats.  We decided that because we weren't going to be home a lot, having two cats to keep each other company would be best.  We decided to name them Kermie and Piggy (for my love of the Muppets) and found that their names seemed to fit them.  They were both born the early part of 1998.  Piggy gained weight fast and became larger than Kermie.  But Kermie was the responsible one.  Much more shy but still wanted attention, just not if there were a lot of guests in and around the house.

Even through babies and kids, Kermie really got it.  When the kids were of the age where they would chase after the cats and want to pull their tails, Kermie would wait until they were either up for a nap or down for the night.  You can see from the pictures above that when the kids were babies and couldn't get around fast enough to chase them, she knew she was ok.  Kermie was the one that you would find sleeping on top of your head.  Piggy was the one that was looking for any sudden movement on the bed to pounce on.  Kermie was the one that loved the laser beam lights.  Kermie was the older "sister" and like some older sisters that I know, really acted the part keeping her younger siblings in line.

When we got a third cat - a kitten - a little under two years ago, it seemed like Piggy's health was going downhill.  At the time, I thought Kermie would outlive all of them.  She lived such a relaxed life.  She would still play fight with Piggy and play around with the new kitten as well.  But she never had any problems.  Unfortunately, over the past year or so, she started losing weight.  She wasn't the heavy one to begin with, and it wasn't dramatic until the last few weeks.  Then this weekend, her whole attitude changed.  Even as recent as a few days ago, she was within what I would consider her normal behavior.  She was jumping up to get onto beds and chairs, but this weekend, that all stopped.  She spent most of the days in our bathroom waiting for the sink to drip water.  So I knew she needed to be seen.  I made an appointment on Monday morning for that afternoon.  I tried many times to make sure she was comfortable or to drink or eat something, but she just wouldn't or couldn't.  Russ decided he was going to take her to the vet.  We had the kids pet her, and while they were at the vet, I prepared the kids for the thought that she was going to be gone because she was sick.  When the blood work came back that Kermie was in severe kidney failure, we knew it was time to explain the facts.  All of us were crying, and trying to grasp the concept, particularly for Gwen.  She hasn't had to deal with any sort of significant death in her lifetime.

So, it is with great sadness that we must say goodbye to our first furbaby....at 15 1/2 years old.  We all love you and hope you enjoy your time following the laser light in the sky.