The thing about living is that you have to take the good with the bad.
I know that is a cliche, but the thing about cliches is they are always based in the truth.
So, an impending birthday had me looking for good things, hoping for some fun and a little break from work and the stress of recent weeks.
But before that could happen, I came home to let the dogs out and found Chyna, our part-Siamese cat on the front stoop. It is unusual, especially at the end of the day, for the cats to be in front of the house because that side faces west and the sun is quite hot there in the afternoon.
I opened the door and let the dogs out. Chyna did not flinch.
I scooped her up and she was completely limp - no resistance whatsoever. Normally, she is a chatty cat, like most Siamese. She has a guttural, raspy voice and always responds to us with a growly meow, snapping her tail like a bullwhip.
Except on this evening.
I brought her inside and tried to make her comfortable in the den. I brought her food and water and she ate and drank - something I took as a good sign.
Not knowing what was wrong with her, we quarantined her on the porch overnight, away from the rest of the animals - cats and dogs alike.
The last time we looked at her, she spoke to us a little and whipped her tail weakly.
But in the morning, she looked the same. Maybe even worse. So we took her to the vet - waiting outside until they opened the office.
They confirmed what we knew, that Chyna was very sick and her condition was critical. We left her there to have bloodwork done, with a promise that we would be called as soon as anything was confirmed.
Chyna did not have feline leukemia or feline AIDS, both common maladies for outdoor cats or indoor/outdoor cats which is what all our cats are.
But she was severely anemic, dehydrated and had a mass in her stomach that probably was cancer. Her mouth was yellow, a sign her liver was shutting down. She would need a blood transfusion to stay alive, but the likelihood that she would live through a trip to an emergency center was very unlikely.
So we had a horrible decision to make, complicated by the fact that Chyna is my step-daughter's favorite pet. Whenever Olivia comes home from college, Chyna always looks for her. In fact, when she was home at the beginning of August, Chyna came inside two or three times, which is unusual in the summer. I am so glad because Olivia got to play with her kitty and will have those memories always.
The best we could do for Chyna was to let her go.
This sadness colored the rest of the weekend. Even when we were having a good time, something was not quite right.
When I fed the cats in the morning, I put out three bowls of food like I always do. When I realized what I did, I just couldn't empty the third bowl.
There are a lot of roaming cats in our neighborhood. Some snack here. I have long suspected that our cats snack elsewhere.
Chyna might not be coming home, but we'll leave her bowl out for her friends.
