Tonight I put down only one pet food bowl for the first time since 1990. My precious Brillo is gone.
In June I posted about the loss of Ziggy, Brillo’s brother. As I processed my grief, I blurted out that I resented my remaining cats, because they were still here and Ziggy was gone. Now I only have Felix. In less than 5 months I lost two of my treasured cats.
Brillo was an amazing cat. I met her on the day she was born. I pet-sat for her as she grew up right down the street. Brillo was a show cat…a purebred American Wirehair. She traveled the country by car and by plane, and quickly became a grand champion.
My neighbor bred her twice. She had one kitten each time. Girls. The second time she gave birth in Virginia, was given an orphan kitten to raise along with her own, and then flew back to Texas as soon as they could travel. Oh how I loved Brillo.
Brillo became mine when she was three. She was retired and did not get along well with the neighbor’s other cats. She got along just fine with my other two. And so began twelve years of love and adventures.
Brillo loved activity and was quite social. Any party and she was THERE. She especially loved my best friend Paul. She also fell for a couple of plumbers last summer, which led to her biggest escapade…crawling around in the ceiling between my first and second floor after finding a hole in the floor during renovations. She did that on two occasions and never stopped begging to be let back into the ceiling. I have so many gray hairs from that.
Brillo also loved her toy rat. She would carry it proudly while calling at the top of her lungs. The last time I heard that sound was Wednesday.
Brillo was also a skilled and dedicated hunter. Nothing was safe from her and I had to stay on my toes as she tended to catch her victims and then bring them into the pet door and release them. Snakes, lizards, mice, moths, even earthworms. She loved to hunt.
Brillo enjoyed a life of excellent health until just 13 days ago. I wrote in detail in the Cat Health forum (Intestinal Lymphoma). She was diagnosed just yesterday and this morning she made it very clear to me that she was ready to complete her fabulous life. At 10:30 this morning, the most compassionate vet I have ever met (yesterday was my first visit with her) helped Brillo pass peacefully.
I am left shattered and in shock. I can’t believe this has happened. I am still very much enveloped in grief from Ziggy’s loss and now Brillo is gone too. It’s all too much.
I sit and type in my empty bedroom. Brillo shared my bed almost every night for the twelve plus years she lived with me. The room seems quiet and sterile and sad. The world seems dull and colorless now. Somehow I will have to learn to live without my precious wirehairs by my side.
RIP precious Brillo.
In June I posted about the loss of Ziggy, Brillo’s brother. As I processed my grief, I blurted out that I resented my remaining cats, because they were still here and Ziggy was gone. Now I only have Felix. In less than 5 months I lost two of my treasured cats.
Brillo was an amazing cat. I met her on the day she was born. I pet-sat for her as she grew up right down the street. Brillo was a show cat…a purebred American Wirehair. She traveled the country by car and by plane, and quickly became a grand champion.
My neighbor bred her twice. She had one kitten each time. Girls. The second time she gave birth in Virginia, was given an orphan kitten to raise along with her own, and then flew back to Texas as soon as they could travel. Oh how I loved Brillo.
Brillo became mine when she was three. She was retired and did not get along well with the neighbor’s other cats. She got along just fine with my other two. And so began twelve years of love and adventures.
Brillo loved activity and was quite social. Any party and she was THERE. She especially loved my best friend Paul. She also fell for a couple of plumbers last summer, which led to her biggest escapade…crawling around in the ceiling between my first and second floor after finding a hole in the floor during renovations. She did that on two occasions and never stopped begging to be let back into the ceiling. I have so many gray hairs from that.
Brillo also loved her toy rat. She would carry it proudly while calling at the top of her lungs. The last time I heard that sound was Wednesday.
Brillo was also a skilled and dedicated hunter. Nothing was safe from her and I had to stay on my toes as she tended to catch her victims and then bring them into the pet door and release them. Snakes, lizards, mice, moths, even earthworms. She loved to hunt.
Brillo enjoyed a life of excellent health until just 13 days ago. I wrote in detail in the Cat Health forum (Intestinal Lymphoma). She was diagnosed just yesterday and this morning she made it very clear to me that she was ready to complete her fabulous life. At 10:30 this morning, the most compassionate vet I have ever met (yesterday was my first visit with her) helped Brillo pass peacefully.
I am left shattered and in shock. I can’t believe this has happened. I am still very much enveloped in grief from Ziggy’s loss and now Brillo is gone too. It’s all too much.
I sit and type in my empty bedroom. Brillo shared my bed almost every night for the twelve plus years she lived with me. The room seems quiet and sterile and sad. The world seems dull and colorless now. Somehow I will have to learn to live without my precious wirehairs by my side.
RIP precious Brillo.
