Lucy

Today I am writing with tears filling my swollen eyes. These past 72 hours have been horrible. I went home to Atlanta to the weekend to find that my precious kitty cat Lucy was very sick. My mother warned me that she was sick, but for some reason it did not sink in until I took her to the vet on Saturday morning. She weighed only 5 pounds, which is about half of her normal weight. The doctor took some blood tests and we got the results this morning. Her kidneys are failing. She is 12 years old, so I guess this should be somewhat expected, but it was not. I was in no way prepared for this. The vet said that we could give her dialysis 3 times a week, but that it would not cure her. It would only make her last days more comfortable. Knowing this would be painful and difficult for her, he suggested we put her to sleep.

I knew from the vet's expressions on Saturday that she may not have much time left. I spent the entire weekend holding her, kissing her, spoon feeding her tuna and yogurt (her two favorite foods), and Drew suggested we take a photo shoot. I am so thankful we did that. I have some beautiful pictures of she and I.

Lucy was my absolute best friend. That may sound weird considering she was a cat, but I have had her for more than half of my life. I picked her out before she was even born from a litter of a friend's cat. I have spoiled her since she was born. I dressed her up, pushed her in a stroller, played with her outside (which she loved), played with her and her toys, and in return she was ALWAYS there for me. She saw me through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. She saw me have my heartbroken for the first time. She licked the tears on my cheeks and would lay on my back whenever I cried. It was her way of comforting me. If I was crying in my room, she would find me and lay right next to me. She always made me feel better. She was with me when tragedy struck my family. She was the only one I could tell all of my feelings to. She was with me through high school and when I moved to college she was always waiting for me when I came home for breaks. We were inseparable.

I think she is the most beautiful animal in the world. She has never bitten or scratched a soul. She lets babies rough house with her and she remains incredibly sweet. She always took care of me. She saw me get married and knew that Drew could take care of me now. I think that has a lot to do with her sickness taking over so quickly. I think she held on until she knew I was in good arms. Our last night in Atlanta she spent a lot of time with Drew. She sat in his lap and slept practically on him when we were sleeping. This was weird because I am normally the only person she does that to. I honestly think it was her way of telling him that she trusts him to take care of me now since her time was almost finished.

I cannot imagine life without Lucy. I am beyond heartbroken. I will never have another relationship like that. I will miss her terribly. I dread the next few hours knowing that her time on this earth is limited.

Your prayers are very much appreciated.

MB