Hilde is gone.

[madbaker]

16 months, 13 with us. It wasn't enough. We did all we could to give her a good home and life, and I will cling to that. There wasn't anything else we could have done.

Yesterday Hilde had a good morning - she ate quite a bit, relatively speaking, and demanded more. Then snubbed it after the wife had to go out and get more of that food. Cats.

Unfortunately, she then declined seriously during the day - by dinnertime, she was expending a lot of effort to breathe again. She was even panting open-mouthed to get more oxygen. At that point it was pretty clear that the lymphoma had come back aggressively and wasn't responding to the steroids. Hilde was scared and in pain, and the only thing we could do was to help her not hurt anymore.

We called the vet I spoke with last week and he was already in the city having dinner. He showed up and handled the standard two-shot anesthesia while the wife held her.

Somewhat random memories:
We picked her in early July 2020 from a single picture on the shelter's website; they weren't allowing anyone in so we couldn't meet the cats and get adopted that way. The wife absolutely fell in love with her black nose. She was brought out in a cardboard box and was not shy about expressing her opinions on the matter. On our way home the meows changed from questioning to strident - and the box started bouncing up and down, cartoon-style. That set the tone for her personality. Hilde threw herself at life. She explored the whole house the first day.

Her fur was quite soft for a shorthair, almost rabbit texture. After the first few months Hilde lost interest in laps, but she always liked being near or next to us. She would wriggle in joy when petted. And she would focus so heavily on toys that she would absently use her size to push Miss Bea aside.

Bea brought her toy mousie to Hilde a few times yesterday to try to get her to play. Bea also washed Hilde's ears and neck, presumably to help her feel better. I didn't sleep well and Miss Bea was much more snuggly than usual during the night, so that worked out for both of us.

Comments

[life_of_glamour]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[acanthusleaf]

This is so sad, and so unfair! I'm so sorry you have to cope with this, especially so soon after losing your previous kitty. Poor little boo. Glad she could spend her last days in a loving home.

[kareina]

I am so glad that she got to spend her short life with you, and so sorry that you have lost her.

[beanolc]

I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like she was a wonderful kitty and I am glad she knew love from you both. I hope Miss Bea is okay through this.

[madbaker]

Beatrice has been ultra-snuggly since Hilde left last night. In general over the past few weeks as Hilde has been less active, she has actually become more aggressive about her play demands since she wasn't getting physically shoved aside.
She may like being an only cat. We're not planning on introducing any other cats any time soon. Depending on how Miss Bea adjusts we may not at all.

[beanolc]

She'll let you know.

[threadwalker]

crying.

I'm so sorry.

[tshuma]

I'm sorry. I was reading an old browser page before refreshing. My previous comment stands -- you have given her the best life she could have had and even a little more of it. Not only was this not your fault, you were there supplying the best care and finally the compassion to let her go when it was time.

I'm very sorry your time with her was so short.

[joycebre]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[loup_noir]

Hold onto the best memories of her. I hope you took a lot of photos. Whenever an unexpected photo of Haken shows up, I alternately smile and feel a bit sad, but mostly I smile at the memories. Our pets gives us all the love they can.

My deepest condolences. She had a great life with you two.