We adopted Prissy March 15, 2016…
We said goodbye November 29, 2021…
Heartbroken doesn’t come close to how I (we) are feeling.
Who knew a simple picture on Facebook, a little late night scrolling, a “why the heck not” message would lead to us bringing home a sweet little cat who would become family and impact our family in so many ways.
Yes, it all started with a picture on Facebook.
and honestly, I’m still shocked we were the ones who got her.
As they say, everything happens for a reason, as it should.
I was simply scrolling Facebook one night, bored and just not paying all that much attention.
Then a picture showed up, a lady holding the prettiest cat with the most adorable little heart nose.
“Needing to rehome”
I read her post quickly, sat for just a second thinking and rushed to message her.
I know how Facebook works, things are gone within seconds and this adorable cat? Yeah, I was certain the lady already had dozens of messages.
I didn’t even ask my husband, I messaged saying we were interested in adopting (oh my goodness, were we? I hadn’t really thought much about a cat. We had discussed something like a hamster for Abby but a cat? Was I crazy? yep, I didn’t give a second thought to it, I wanted a chance to adopt this cat).
And OH MY GOSH the lady responded…. and we talked… and talked some more…
and made plans for us to come see the cat and possibly bring her home!!!
YAY!!!
…. now to tell my husband ….
Obviously we went to meet the lady and the cat, which was named Baby at the time. They were rehoming her due to family being allergic and such. Baby responded well to us and to Abby, it was love at first sight for me, we gathered up her belongings and headed home.
“Baby” made herself right at home, there was no hiding time frame or anything. She first went straight to my bed then to my recliner. She was happy, she was home.
As we got to know her personality and little quirks, we finally settled on her name. Prissy fit her perfectly! Oh my Miss Prissy definitely lived up to her name!
Prissy could not have been any more perfect for our family.
At the time, Abby was 6 and as a special needs child, she could be a handful at times. I worried what a cat would think of her. Prissy completely surprised me. She tolerated Abby’s over the top big personality, she was patient and she was incredibly loving. If Abby was sick or stressed or in a flare up or just anxious, Prissy calmed her. Prissy would cuddle, comfort her, be there to help Abby get through whatever it was she was dealing with. Prissy soon became Abby’s emotional support animal.
We eventually figured out that Prissy was 10 when we adopted her. As time passed, Prissy slowed down a little with age. She became more of my constant little companion as Abby got older. If I was sitting in my recliner, Prissy was in my lap. She always slept in my bed but we soon added a heating pad to her spot. She went from attacking the window in hopes of getting the annoying little birds that taunted her to just glaring at the window wishing the birds would go away. She soon started finding little quiet areas to nap, areas that were slightly isolated and we couldn’t easily get to. But even with age slowing her down a little, she was still our Prissy and kept us laughing at times and always loving us. She would meet my husband at the door, begging him for treats. If he slept past his alarm, she would sit in the hallway crying until he got up. She would assist me with work any time I sat in the recliner and worked on my laptop and often would hog my kindle while I attempted to read. She went from the foot of my bed to sleeping above Abby’s head on a pillow. She claimed one of Abby’s dolls as her “baby” and goodness don’t leave the bathroom door open or she would quickly make her way to the bathtub!
Then she started getting sick. Vomiting a little more often than a random hairball, urinating outside the litter box, sleeping much more than usual, walking slowly, stumbling at times. I made a appointment to visit the pet.
The vet didn’t give us good news.
Prissy was in kidney/renal failure….
That was Fall of 2020
Her numbers weren’t awful but they weren’t good either.
They gave her medicine and fluids, advised me on diet changes and what decisions we would soon face.
Prissy improved thanks to the fluids but I knew it wasn’t going to cure what she was battling.
My sweet Miss Prissy was sick and our time suddenly became limited.
We didn’t focus on the bad, we lived and loved her and enjoyed our time together.
She did great for awhile but then had another bad episode.
Back to the vet we went and numbers weren’t good.
More fluids and a few more good months. We were packing and preparing to move by then. Of course I worried how she would handle the move but I was also ready to get her moved, get her into a home with lots of windows so she could see outside and just a better space for her.
She did okay once moved.
She did okay when we brought Luna into the home… they had a few cat fights and we turned my room into Prissy’s
She did okay with the arrival of Cinnamon and Sugar.
She did okay….
And I watched as my sweet little cat started to decline.
I couldn’t ignore what I was seeing…
We visited our new vet here and while Prissy was obviously sick, she was still okay and we simply made a few food adjustments, she was given fluids and we were informed of more serious signs to watch for.
3 months later we returned to the vet…. and I was informed it was time. I chose to bring her home to let my daughter have time to say goodbye and spend a little time with her. A little more time to love her, spoil her. She loved laying in front of the window, loved having the windows opened. She mainly stayed in my room, in my bed…
We struggled…. oh my did we struggle with this decision. Was it the right decision? Was she really that sick? Should we get a second opinion?
Weeks passed by, we loved her and just took things one day at a time….
Then I started noticing bigger changes….
She was eating less and less…
She was isolating herself even more, curling up under a box flap under my desk….
She had temperamental moments when she was obviously dealing with lots of pain, she bit me for the first time ever…
She started having trouble getting up on my bed, she was walking even slower…
She started losing too much weight….
Getting sick became violent for her little body…
And her eyes… we saw less and less of those little blue eyes as her eyes became largely dilated. Taking pictures of her, she was no longer looking at me….
She just looked sad at times… and I knew… I knew…
I made that heartbreaking phone call…. I set up the appointment…
And we said goodbye to our special Miss Prissy.
It broke me…
We were all with her as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I sat with her and she faced me the entire time.
Soon after I started worrying that she resented me, how could her mommy do that to her? how could mommy kill her?
Yes, I know that was the depression and mental state of mind I was dealing with at the time but those thoughts did cross my mind.
Then I looked at pictures. I cried and struggled looking at pictures but I found one from that afternoon, just hours before we went to the vet. I looked at her little eyes…. those little eyes that use to shine bright blue and were full of spunk and sassiness…. those little eyes that had turned almost all black and that picture showed me one major sign we all failed to see. Those little eyes were all but lifeless…. as if her spirit was already fading.
It was time. She had been holding on for me, for Abby, for her family. She was supporting and loving us all while dealing with being so sick. She was ready but knew how much it would hurt us so she carried on each day.
Mommy did the right thing, no matter how hard it was.
It was time for Prissy to rest, to let mommy take care of her and end her battle.
And I know she’s no longer in pain.
Abby is doing okay, a little better each day.
Monday she was devastated, heartbroken and lost. She slept with me, she cried, she struggled with losing her best friend, her first pet, her special little companion.
Slowly she’s started accepting things. She cried Tuesday but had long periods of “normal”… Wednesday she would talk about Prissy, how much she missed her, teared up a few times but no tears fell.
I’m thankful she’s coping with this as well as she is.
Me?
I’m an absolute mess….
Yes, I know it’s just a cat…. but then again, Prissy was in no way “just a cat” or “just a pet”
Prissy was family, she filled a void we didn’t realize was there, she was what our family was missing.
I haven’t slept much. The last few weeks with Prissy, she would sleep right next to me or even on me. I miss her impatiently sitting in bed waiting on me then rushing to get in her spot before I could even fix the covers.
My room just feels empty…. I feel lost.
I know in time things will get better, I know I’ll get better but right now, losing her has taken at toll on me.
I know this has become more of a book than just a simple post but writing has helped. Sharing helps. I have to find my little ways of coping with this.
The other cats look for Prissy, they know she’s gone. Cinnamon has taken to curling up in my lap and I try to let her even though I’m not ready to be loved on by another cat.
I’m trying….
Some will never understand how losing a pet can be so devastating. Some will roll their eyes at my tears, tell me to get over it she was a cat not a person… those are the ones I ignore. Thankfully, some understand.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading Prissy’s story and letting me share with you.
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