With great sadness, we had to have Wicca euthanized today since her ongoing battle with cancer was taking its toll. Somara and I felt we did everything possible to keep Wicca alive and happy. We agreed that if she didn’t die in her sleep and the pain became too great for her, putting Wicca to sleep would be our only alternative. So right up front, I think Picayune won’t have anything new posted until Monday at the earliest as we’re in mourning for Wicca.
Wicca carrying out her annual Halloween duties.
I only knew Wicca for eight of her 16 1/2 years but I loved this cat as much as Somara did. However, I doubt Wicca felt the same way about me because Somara was always her human. On the upside, I fared better than most of Somara’s past boyfriends; urine in the shoes was a favored demonstration of disapproval. Being attached to one person also meant Wicca preferred to be an only child and through what little reasoning capabilities cats may possess, I’m confident she blamed me for the appearance of Molly, Miette and Nemo in our house.
Wicca always greeted Somara from the window of their apartment when they lived in Phoenix during the early Nineties.
Wicca’s origins were shrouded in a tragic mystery. Somara’s sister Yvette originally found Wicca in 1991. She was two-week-old kitten abandoned in a box by the side of the road near Georgetown. Fortunately, another cat had recently given birth near the Bridge house so Wicca was adopted into that litter. When she was old enough, Somara took her and they were buddies ever since. No matter where my wife’s career took her, Wicca followed, including Somara’s time in Phoenix for the externship of 2005.
Wicca loved the smell of pennies.
Now she’s gone yet Wicca will live on in our hearts. Dr. Todd (our awesome vet) will be returning her ashes to us in a couple weeks. I knew how important Wicca was to Somara so I approved of the expenditure to have the remains put in a ceramic urn and not with the other poor creatures burned en masse.
Wicca found the snow in New Jersey to be puzzling.
Eventually, Molly, Miette and Nemo will realize Wicca isn’t returning. As much as they all picked on her, I did notice a lack of scuffles involving the elder cat when her cancer became pretty evident. I’ll wrongly chalk it up to them being respectful instead of some cruel instinct. I believe they will miss Wicca in an odd cat way, namely getting first crack at the tuna she didn’t finish. Eventually the hard part will be coming in a few weeks…resisting the urge to adopt a kitten or taking in another abandoned cat.
I’ll close with several more choice pictures Somara had of Wicca over the years.
A rare moment Wicca let Nemo play with her tail.
Wicca’s drowned rat look after a bath.
She may appear irked, but she’s playing with Somara. A favorite Wicca activity.