Today, we said goodbye to our little cat, Crusty. She was the last of our Idaho animal menagerie that we received as a kitten from our neighbor who found her in her office building's parking lot. Our neighbor knew we had kitten formula and bottles, so she brought her over for us to take care of. She ended up being with us for sixteen years. Lately, she had been suffering from kidney disease but yesterday she took a turn for the worse and we knew it was time to say goodbye. In fact, last week I got "the talk" from our vet about when to decide to end her suffering but I just didn't think she was that bad yet. The photo above was just two days ago when she was still acting very normal, hanging around with us and doing the four critical activities of eating, drinking, pooping and peeing. She was even eyeing the birds and going into that hunting mode. But yesterday, she quit the four critical activities, just over night. We had elected not to give IV fluids like the vet suggested (like we did with our previous cat, Ichi) so I think her kidneys just stopped working. So, it's been a sad day. It also happens to be my birthday - not a good way to start it off! But we ended the day at one of our favorite places, Salty's at Alki, with Lauren who joined us for dinner. We sat outside, of course, social distancing from other tables in this age of coronavirus. They had their outside seating area with less than half the tables set up so it was easy to do so.
After not going out for so long, it really felt special to be there eating such wonderful food, including my all-time favorite cake, their White Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry Coulis. I got my own complimentary piece for my birthday. That alone is reason to go to Salty's on your birthday!
Next week Nick and family are returning to the U.S. after seven years in Japan so it will be a new beginning of sorts. We have been busy going over to his house setting things set up for them since it will take about a month for all their stuff to arrive and we have a lot we can give them. Yesterday, I set up the "toy room" for the kids; all Nick and Lauren's old toys that I've saved for 30+ years! Remember Beanie Babies? LOL
We had enough extra furniture to give them that they will be quite comfortable in their new home.
The living room is a little bare but their furniture from Japan will help fill it up when it arrives.
This house is a little larger than their house in Japan so our extra stuff will help fill it up. Yesterday, we took the ferry home from his house and it was a gorgeous day to be out on the water.
There is a lot to look forward to but today we are still thinking about Crusty. We know she had a good life and that's all you can do as a pet owner. Next week, our hearts will be filled with our grandchildren being in town and that will be so exciting, we can still hardly imagine it! That will be my greatest birthday present of all.
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