by Maureen Ort
(St. Louis, MO, USA)

Scooter, our beautiful black, gold-eyed kitty, just left us this past Sunday night, one of the most depressing days of my life so far.

We were never really sure of Scooter's age. He was young when we adopted him, but not a kitten. The place we adopted him from said 6 months old, but a vet we took him to for something later said he was older than we originally thought he was.

Anyway, we had him for 12 or so wonderful years. Not long enough. I miss him so much. He brought us so much joy, & he was so funny! So many memories.

I'll never forget the time I was at work, & their was a plumber at our then flat installing a new shower. He was doing something, and out of the corner of his eye, before he could stop it, he saw a cat crawl into the wall. I got a call at work, and had to go home and coax Scooter to come up and out of the shower wall so the guy could carry on with his work!

Scooter also used to walk around the house with a little squeaky Santa Clause cat toy (not just at Christmas) during the night and carry the toy around in his mouth, squeaking it and then letting out a series of meows. This would go on and on for a while, 'til he got bored or tired.

I remember having to get him declawed when we moved into our house 'cause we got new furniture, and he liked sharpening his claws. But he was such a good boy through the whole declawing process, and he seemed fine with it. There are lots of other memories, but it would take forever to put them all into this.

Scooter seemed okay, though I knew he was getting up there, until not too long ago. He was still eating and chasing cat treats I'd throw for the cats. But suddenly he quit eating, and then stopped wanting water, and seemed lethargic, and felt different when we touched him. A vet said it was renal failure and very common in older animals, and not much could be done about it at this point, and there is no cure.

As the weekend progressed, I knew the end was near, and it broke my heart. Saturday evening I even tried to get some food down him, but he wasn't wanting it. All day Sunday I sat with him, held him, petted him, & talked to him. At one point I noticed he could no longer walk. He chose to lay under the coffee table, and I'd check on him from time to time and let him know I was there. Around 9:00 or so, I checked for the last time. He was gone. I held him, and it hurt so much to see him like that.

We wrapped him in something and buried him in the yard close to the house & next to another cat, Cairo, we lost some time ago. He was a very sweet, special kitty too. It never stops hurting. If only our wonderful pets could live longer lives. We've got a dog and 2 other cats, and I love them all.

But Scooter, you're my buddy and special to me. We've been through a lot together. I miss you, and will never forget you. I love you, Scooter. Remember the Rainbow Bridge.