Today we had to say goodbye to Vegas. He was the oldest kitty in our current household and it came on rather suddenly. The poor guy stopped eating sometime around Saturday. Then he started doing that sad thing many cats do, hiding, looking for a place to slowly die.
We did all we could to keep him comfortable and had been trying for some weeks due to his arthritis, he was over 16 which is 80+ for a human. Despite his size, he was the largest here, Vegas was very timid so he kept to himself. His final year at Castella di Maggi were happy times though. When I first got to know him at Jennifer’s last apartment, the poor guy never left her bedroom because he was bullied by Totoro (now living with Jennifer’s son and daughter). So he spent his days hiding under the bed or a bathroom cabinet. He only came out in the evening to join Jennifer on the bed to sleep. Vegas had a very loud purr to demonstrate his happiness. He was also part alarm clock. Some nights when we’d be watching TV, you’d hear his creaky meow which was his way of telling her it was time for bed.
At the house, Vegas’ quality of life improved. My cats Isis, Agamemnon and Metztli were indifferent to him. This led to him wandering and sleeping on the couch in the open. He even joined the rush to breakfast in the mornings. Insert The Lion King theme as you visualize the clowder running to their food bowls!
Vegas is already sorely missed. No more rumbling/purring to help me sleep nor the bad habit he shared with my long-gone Molly, drooling when he was extremely content. It’s funny when cats lose their dignity given how regal their aura is. I’m going to miss him as he took a liking to me right away.
May his journey across the Rainbow Bridge lead to joy and he overcomes his fear of other cats as he will be enjoying endless warm sleeping places, delicious tuna and wrestling with his original litter mates.