Scratch

Moz

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Last Monday, my family, Squee, and I had to say goodbye to Scratch, only three days before her 13th gotcha day. 


Scratch was one of the most beautiful, funny, and sweetest cats I had ever met. She was a farm kitten who had the softest fur I ever felt. She made me laugh every day, whether it was by chittering at birds, going nuts over olive juice (the only human food she ever liked), or play fighting with Squee. She was rarely mean to anyone - the only time she outright attacked someone (hint: me) was shortly after her first cancer surgery. Despite the fact that neither Scratch nor Squee reacted to catnip, I had a small catnip plant outside. I brought it in for Scratch to see if she would actually show interest in it - and she did! She went absolutely nuts, drooling and rubbing her face all over it. After a while, I tried moving it away from her, until Scratch swiped and scratched me. Needless to say, she got her catnip back. 


Scratch was known for being a bit of a scaredy cat when she was younger. While she was friendly to everyone, the only time she came remotely close to cuddling was at night when she would sleep against my legs. As the years went by, she stopped sleeping on my bed every night, but she slowly warmed up to the idea of sitting on laps. Scratch mostly sat with me or my oldest brother, and she always went through a dilemma when we were in the same room and she couldn't decide who to sit with. She would first sit on my lap, then she would sit on his for a while, then she would come back to me. Several months ago, she started cuddling with me every morning after I woke up. Even if I had the laptop on my lap, she would flop down on it just so I could pet her. 


Scratch wasn't the most cuddly cat ever, even with Squee, but she would always come to me when she was sick (and vice versa). Whenever Scratch had surgery, she would sleep beside my pillow for the entire night. She easily could have slept beside anyone else, but she always chose me. I always went to her, too, when I wasn't feeling well. I struggled a lot with anxiety when I was younger and I would always feel better after spending time with her. Even if she saw me having a panic attack, which could be scary to watch, she wasn't afraid. Scratch helped me through a lot of hard times.

Squee was Scratch's bratty little "sister." Scratch grew up with our dog (he passed away three years ago 
) but she never met another cat until shortly after I joined TCS, when we adopted a 3-year-old cat, JC. JC and Scratch did not get along but we hoped they eventually would. Unfortunately, that didn't happen because JC passed away from feline distemper only 11 days after we adopted her. 
 Baby Squee came along about 6 months later, and to my surprise, Scratch accepted her. Squee just adored Scratch. Squee loved to cuddle with Scratch and she usually ended up using her as a pillow when they cuddled. 
 Scratch was sometimes an aloof big sister and she always started their play fights, but she loved when Squee would lick her forehead.

We always joked that Squee was the wild and crazy one while Scratch was the strong and silent type. It was so true - Scratch was diagnosed with cancer three times and she managed to bounce back twice. After her last diagnosis, she wasn't expected to live as long as she did, but she stuck around for 90 more days. She spent nearly every one of 90 days outside with me. The girls were inside cats but Scratch always wanted to go outside. Once she finally spent an entire afternoon outside, she was hooked! As soon as I woke up every morning, she would beg and beg and beg to be let outside. She loved eating grass, sitting on my lap in the sun, rolling around on cement, eating grasshoppers, and chasing any rabbits or birds that managed to get into our yard.

Our last long afternoon outside was on the 11th. The weather had been horrible for the past few days, like only 7°C and cloudy, but it was sunny (though chilly) that day. Scratch usually walked around in the grass for a bit before having a nap beside our storage shed, but that day, she spent most of the time sitting on my lap. What was even more confusing was when she wanted inside only 2 or 3 hours after we went out. She had never done that before.

Scratch had been acting like her normal pre-diagnosis self until the beginning of this month. She started slowing down around the time of her last afternoon outside, not jumping and walking around as much as she used to. She was still eating and drinking, but she just wasn't as active and her breathing was more laboured (she didn't really show any signs of breathing difficulty until then). Exactly one week before she passed away, her breathing suddenly turned worse and we thought she wouldn't make it through the afternoon. Less than half an hour later, though, her breathing went back to normal and seemed to be better.

The rest of that week was confusing and hard. Scratch was still eating, drinking, and using the litter box, but she didn't beg to go outside at all. My mom and I took her outside on the 15th, but she wanted back inside only 15 minutes later. She would have short bouts of laboured breathing. The lump under her front leg was starting to look bad.

Last Monday, we discovered a hole in that lump. That, coupled with her breathing and the fact that she had almost no energy, led us to decide that her quality of life had diminished too much and we didn't want her to suffer any more. Scratch spent her last time at home with Squee by her side.

Scratch passed away that morning, with my mom and I by her side, petting her beautiful fur.

I will miss Scratch more than anything. I can tell Squee misses her, too. It still doesn't feel real. She was my best friend for over half my life. I wish this stupid cancer didn't happen, but I am glad that she was here for as long as she was. 
 
 
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di and bob

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What a wonderful tribute to a wonderful cat! I know it hurts so bad to say goodbye, our hearts don't know the difference between human or cat, it just hurts. It sounds like Scratch had a wonderful life, full of adventure and most of all love. I'm so glad she had you and your mom at her side when she passed, I'm sure it comforted her greatly, even as it broke your heart. Please continue Scratch's legacy and pass on that great love she taught you about, she will rest in peace knowing she meant so much to you. Bless you for loving her so much, I'll keep you and Squee in my thoughts and prayers, take care of yourselves...... RIP beautiful Scratch!
 

nurseangel

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I'm very sorry for you loss.  Scratch was truly blessed to have a happy life with a loving family.
 

jcat

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Scratch was a part of the TCS community for such a long time, and it's painful to read of her passing. Your tribute shows just how special and loved she was. I'm very sorry for your loss.
 
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Moz

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Miss my old girl! 
 

di and bob

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I'm with you on that! I miss my girl too, no matter how long they've been gone it still hurts, and we miss them in our lives so much!
 
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