Smushy the Cat

We had this cat. She was old, fat, and crotchety (?). She was Aiden's cat for years before I knew him. She has personality. I think it's fun when animals are so human that you think they actually understand English. We'd say things and she'd meow back at us as if she was in the conversation. Not just in reply but as if there was understanding. Like if we said she was a fat lazy cat she'd meow back snottily(?). Or if we said how cute she was she'd give us a short meow like "yeah, I know".

She was very old and getting sick in ways that would fit her personality. She knew she was Aiden's cat. She had a bloody bum a lot and would only get the blood on my side of the bed (generally the pillows) or she'd throw up on the carpet right next to the vinyl flooring. Because she could. Anyway, the decision was made that we had to put her down. So my fantastic friend Michelle went with me to the WSU vet hospital and we talked with the vet. She explained that Smushy may take a few breaths after she was dead but it was reflexive. She did not warn us she may have seizures. Michelle has worked at the humane society and had been a vet tech in the past so she knew what to expect and warned me (this was my first pet death to witness) that she may pee and/or seize.

They did the shots and it was peaceful and quiet. The vet and vet tech were holding her and telling her she was a good girl and it was all somber and still. THEN there was this high pitched squeak. I thought it was the vet's bum or maybe her shoes. I was confused. But it was short and not the time for anyone to say "excuse me" so I let it go. But then it happened again. And then it held out for a full 10 seconds going from high pitched and.... dry? to low and wet. I kept looking at Michelle to see if she knew what was going on and we caught each other's eyes and had to stifle laughter.

The vet realized she couldn't just let this go anymore and in the somber voice of a funeral director said "oh, she has a little gas". At this point we were almost rolling on the floor. The cat with the worst smelling poo in the world who bled only on my pillows must have realized in death that I was the one who took her here and took her revenge the only way she could; she farted. She stunk up the whole room making the vet team exit quickly so we could have "a moment" with her. They waited right in the hall and we were pretty abreviated in saying our goodbyes. Partly because this was Aiden's cat and I wasn't all that attached but mostly because we had tears rolling down our faces from the moment and the stink.

So my first experience putting an animal down as an adult was less than depressing. I have shared this story with some of you who may read this but I had to type it here for posterity. Someday we'll print this out and read this post and know again how that cat got the best of us.

As a side note, WSU does provide free clay prints of the pet that they will mail out in a couple days. It's a nice way to keep a momento without having the ashes and cost of cremation and urn rolled into it.