My last mini diary was on a story by Anne Kolaczyk titled Choices, Now, those tears are my own. I was up late last night with my parents and noticed Shadow, our 20 year old gray tabby striped cat was really listless and not drinking or eating. This morning, I found her, curled up, like she was sleeping, at the base of the stairs. She passed over in the night sometime.
Shadow and I started on rocky ground, when she decided she didn't like me, and I guess it was mutual. Always getting into my things, and the final straw was when she decided to use my keyboard as a litter box, while I was turned away! I caught her at it, tried to grab her by the scruff of the neck, and she managed to bite me on the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. thus began our relationship. Spent a few weeks in the hospital for an infection (the first of 4, since every cat I have got since then has bitten my hand once and infected me - did I mention I hate pic lines?). Since then, we made a truce, although she hadn't been as bad or stand-offish the last 10 years. Still, there is going to be this hole here in my heart where Shadow ran through it. So many memories, so many tears.