This post is about putting my cat to sleep, and the events leading up to it. There are also some fond memories here. Feel free to stop reading if you don’t want to hear some self-indulgent pet owner wax on about their animal like most people blab about their babies.

Nov 2012
Fargo had been sick for the last 9 months. She suffered considerable weight loss and increased lethargy. After several vet visits, the vet suspected that she had diminished kidney function. He explained that this would lead to kidney failure, and this disease would kill her. I understood that her time was limited.

Spring 1997
Fargo was a gift for my 21st birthday from my college roommates. *Pets are never good gifts. But in this particular case, it worked out.* She was my last choice of the litter of kittens that I had to pick from. While I was chasing her siblings, 8 week old Fargo marched up to my roommate and mewed to be picked up. My roommate announced that she had our cat.

Dec. 12 2012
Fargo had been a little listless, but otherwise ok. I left for the day.

Late 1997
Kitten Fargo had some peculiar habits. She would regularly shred any available paper products during the few moments in which none of my 5 roommates were at home. I would return home to find that an internal snow storm of shredded paper had descended upon our home, winter storm Fargo. When deprived of any loose rolls of toilet paper or paper towels, she would turn to potatoes. Potatoes would be scattered about the house with teeny kitten teeth marks in them.

Dec 12 2012
I returned home at 7pm to find that Fargo couldn’t walk or stand without assistance. She clearly recognized me, and would purr when I talked to her and pet her. I gently arranged her on her favorite pillow, and spent the rest of the night with her. I told her about all stuff we did together, which I am sure was more of a comfort to me than to her.

1998
Fargo liked to climb trees. She resembled a huge black squirrel running up tree trunks. She also had no qualms about jumping on the gas stove when burners were on. She seems displeased when I snatched her up and dowsed her with water in the sink. I don’t think she noticed her singed fur. She liked walks the park; she didn’t like the yellow lab bounding up to her to make friends. She liked throwing-up on my roommate’s bed. She loved escaping, but she would happily come to me when I noticed her absence and called for her.

Dec 13 2012
Fargo started seizing late in the evening. I believe that at some point in the night the seizures caused her to lose her higher brain functions. I called the vet in the morning and set our appointment. I spent the day with her.

1999- through early 2012
Fargo saw me come out. She saw me through every break-up and disappointment; she saw me through every success and achievement. She has moved with me from Clifton to Prospect Hill to Northside to Clifton to Prospect Hill to OTR to Hyde Park to Norwood to Downtown. She has been a consistent fuzzy companion for almost all of my adult life.

Dec 13 2012
We made it to the vet’s office. The vet asked what I was thinking we should do. I said it was time to put her to sleep. He agreed. It wasn’t a difficult choice. She was just a shell of her former self. The vet was very kind. Jenn and I stayed with her until she was gone.

I am at once profoundly sad and thankful. She was a wonderful pet. I will miss her dearly.