Scottie acted different yesterday; he did not meow to ask to come in in the morning, he sat on his blanket most of the day and he did not come stand by me while I cooked dinner.  Stuart then discovered that Scottie appeared to have lost his vision.  He was facing the wrong way on the blanket, walking very timid and bumping into things.  We carried Scottie to his water, food and potty, but he did not care to drink or eat.  We knew that his time might have come.  Stuart had gently given the boys a small talk last night about this to prepare them. 

     This morning Connor tried to get some food for Scottie to eat.  After I called in to work and dropped off the kids to school, Stuart and I took Scottie to his appointment at the vet.  The vet confirmed that Scottie had completely lost his vision from retina detachment (secondary to high blood pressure and his kidney problem).  Scottie was also very weak, and we all agreed that his quality of life without vision and hearing was very poor and it was time to let Scottie go.  The vet gave Scottie a sedative first and he immediately relaxed and stayed very still on his blanket.  We spent a few minutes patting him, then the vet returned with the anesthetic.  Scottie was such a fighter.  His heart took few minutes to slow down, but somehow it raised again; so the vet gave him a second dose, and Scottie then finally rested in peace.

   Scottie was a great kitty.  Dora, Gloria and I adopted Scottie from Dora’s friend when he was only several weeks old.  He lived at my parents’ house with us until both Gloria and Dora moved out, so I flew home to fly him back to live with me in California.  Scottie had been very adaptable and always adjusted quickly after the many moves I had over the years.  After Stuart came into our lives, Scottie had become Stuart’s officemate all these years and Stuart had always taken great care of him.   Scottie was very independent and was not a needy cat until he turned into very much a lap-cat 5-6 years ago.  We all definitely had our battles with Scottie as he bugged and annoyed us at times, but he was always here when we needed him.  We always felt privileged when Scottie chose our laps to sit on and we often fought for his affection too.  I always felt safe when I had Scottie nearby and seeing him sleeping calmly.  The boys like Scottie but usually the three of them basically did not bother each other much, however the kids did enjoy having Scottie sitting on them too.  Scottie was a big part of our family; we always had fun celebrating his birthdays and he was never forgotten during the holidays.

     Here are some assorted photos of Scottie; his size had changed a lot throughout the years.  Our 19 year old Scottie will always be remembered by all of us and I am sure by Gloria and Dora too.  His ashes will rest in peace in our backyard soon.