Death of My Cat Last Week

My cat of 15 years, Puddin', died last week.

I noticed she was missing on Tuesday, April 25, and that afternoon
after work I looked for her -- under my house, under my shed, under my
neighbor's house. Did not find her.

On Weds. I expanded the search, looking in neighbors' yards several
houses away from my own. I thought I heard my cat's distinct "meow" in
the yard four houses down from my own, but did not find her.

On Thurs. I called the town animal control officer, who said he had not
found my cat; I went out to the pound anyway, and did not find her. I
also called the police, to see if any officers had reported a dead cat.
And I called all the vets in town, to see if someone had run over her
and brought her in. Did not find her.

After work that day I searched the park a block from my house, and,
finding nothing, I went back home, and resolved to search my own yard
again more carefully.

To my shock, I found my cat dead in a sewer drain; I could plainly see
her through a grating, which she had reached by climbing through a PVC
pipe about 7-inches in diameter. She was lying down, with her front
paws before her, and her back paws behind her; her head was erect. She
looked as though resting.

It had rained terribly on Tues. & early Weds, and although her hair was
now mostly dry (there no longer being any water in the pipe), it was
matted and spiked, showing that it had been extremely wet. The hair
from her chin to the top of her head, however, looked as though it had
not gotten wet. Her eyes were slightly open.

My original thought was that she had been pulled down into the sewer by
rushing rain water; or that before it rained she had crawled into the
pipe out of curiosity, and had been caught there by the water. But she
did not look like she had drowned, since she was in a relaxed position
with her head up. Also, I found it hard to believe that she had been
sucked into the pipe, because the pipe in question simply didn't draw
that much water; it merely drained a small part of my yard.

Increasingly, however, I am of the opinion that she crawled into the
pipe to die, since cats are commonly known to hide away in order to
die. As far as I know, she had never before crawled into that pipe,
even though it had been in our yard for several years. Perhaps this is
wishful thinking on my part, but she was 15, as I mentioned, and not
the cat she used to be.

SKB, 1 May 2006

"Feles" wrote in message
oups.com...
My cat of 15 years, Puddin', died last week.

I noticed she was missing on Tuesday, April 25, and that afternoon
after work I looked for her -- under my house, under my shed, under my
neighbor's house. Did not find her.

On Weds. I expanded the search, looking in neighbors' yards several
houses away from my own. I thought I heard my cat's distinct "meow" in
the yard four houses down from my own, but did not find her.

On Thurs. I called the town animal control officer, who said he had not
found my cat; I went out to the pound anyway, and did not find her. I
also called the police, to see if any officers had reported a dead cat.
And I called all the vets in town, to see if someone had run over her
and brought her in. Did not find her.

After work that day I searched the park a block from my house, and,
finding nothing, I went back home, and resolved to search my own yard
again more carefully.

To my shock, I found my cat dead in a sewer drain; I could plainly see
her through a grating, which she had reached by climbing through a PVC
pipe about 7-inches in diameter. She was lying down, with her front
paws before her, and her back paws behind her; her head was erect. She
looked as though resting.

It had rained terribly on Tues. & early Weds, and although her hair was
now mostly dry (there no longer being any water in the pipe), it was
matted and spiked, showing that it had been extremely wet. The hair
from her chin to the top of her head, however, looked as though it had
not gotten wet. Her eyes were slightly open.

My original thought was that she had been pulled down into the sewer by
rushing rain water; or that before it rained she had crawled into the
pipe out of curiosity, and had been caught there by the water. But she
did not look like she had drowned, since she was in a relaxed position
with her head up. Also, I found it hard to believe that she had been
sucked into the pipe, because the pipe in question simply didn't draw
that much water; it merely drained a small part of my yard.

Increasingly, however, I am of the opinion that she crawled into the
pipe to die, since cats are commonly known to hide away in order to
die. As far as I know, she had never before crawled into that pipe,
even though it had been in our yard for several years. Perhaps this is
wishful thinking on my part, but she was 15, as I mentioned, and not
the cat she used to be.

SKB, 1 May 2006


I am sorry about your cat. As you know, when you allow them to roam
unsupervised, literally anything can happen. Please consider keeping any
other cats you may adopt inside where they are safe.

My only other comment is: ? Because it is
unusual for anyone to create an email just to post to Usenet about
the death of their cat, there are people who will suspect that you
are full of **** and so is your story. I can be sure of this because
I am one of them.

However, on the off chance that you really did have a cat that died
in this way, I offer my sincere condolences.



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I merely wanted to share my grief with other cat owners; I did not
expect to be told that I was "full of ****."

I find your comment most inappropriate, particularly under the
circumstances.

"Feles fatalis" means "deadly cat" (not "dead cat"), and it reflects my
love of large cats, both modern and extinct (such as smilodon fatalis,
better known as the saber-toothed tiger).

A simple Usenet search would reveal that I have used
" for some time.

"Feles" wrote in message
oups.com...
I merely wanted to share my grief with other cat owners; I did not
expect to be told that I was "full of ****."

Is that what I said?


I find your comment most inappropriate, particularly under the
circumstances.

Do you mean the comment in which I offered my condolences?


"Feles fatalis" means "deadly cat" (not "dead cat"), and it reflects my
love of large cats, both modern and extinct (such as smilodon fatalis,
better known as the saber-toothed tiger).

A simple Usenet search would reveal that I have used
" for some time.


As for the latter, I rarely "Google" anyone's posting history.

As for the former, I fear I am losing my Latin. It happens quickly
when one stops using it daily.




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"Feles" wrote in message
oups.com...
I merely wanted to share my grief with other cat owners; I did not
expect to be told that I was "full of ****."

Since I am already on your bad side, I would like to ask a question that I
am willing to bet many people would like to know the answer to: what on
earth were you thinking leaving a 15-year-old cat outside unattended? At
that age many cats are beginning to become hampered by age.



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"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Feles" wrote in message
oups.com...
I merely wanted to share my grief with other cat owners; I did not
expect to be told that I was "full of ****."

Since I am already on your bad side, I would like to ask a question that I
am willing to bet many people would like to know the answer to: what on
earth were you thinking leaving a 15-year-old cat outside unattended? At
that age many cats are beginning to become hampered by age.

I don't know where you live (can I guess it's somewhere in the U.S.?) but
here in U.K. most people allow their cats unrestricted access to "outside".
My two earlier cats lived for the outdoors, caught rats and so on, and they
lived to be 19 and died of old age. We take our chances, and I lost a
9-month-old kitten on the road a month ago, but I've still got her brother
and my 11-year-old lady, who are growing closer. These things happen.

Cats are better with a short happy life outside doing their catty things
than living to old age stuck indoors where they can't do the things that
cats want to do.

My condolences to Feles on the loss of his/her cat.

someone97

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

As for the latter, I rarely "Google" anyone's posting history.


Perhaps you should consider doing that before making insensitive, judgmental
comments.

"Feles" wrote in message
oups.com...
My cat of 15 years, Puddin', died last week.


Sorry for your loss.

Toni from T.O.

Feles wrote:

: My cat of 15 years, Puddin', died last week.
:
: I noticed she was missing on Tuesday, April 25, and that afternoon
: after work I looked for her -- under my house, under my shed, under my
: neighbor's house. Did not find her.
:
: On Weds. I expanded the search, looking in neighbors' yards several
: houses away from my own. I thought I heard my cat's distinct "meow" in
: the yard four houses down from my own, but did not find her.
:
: On Thurs. I called the town animal control officer, who said he had not
: found my cat; I went out to the pound anyway, and did not find her. I
: also called the police, to see if any officers had reported a dead cat.
: And I called all the vets in town, to see if someone had run over her
: and brought her in. Did not find her.
:
: After work that day I searched the park a block from my house, and,
: finding nothing, I went back home, and resolved to search my own yard
: again more carefully.
:
: To my shock, I found my cat dead in a sewer drain; I could plainly see
: her through a grating, which she had reached by climbing through a PVC
: pipe about 7-inches in diameter. She was lying down, with her front
: paws before her, and her back paws behind her; her head was erect. She
: looked as though resting.
:
: It had rained terribly on Tues. & early Weds, and although her hair was
: now mostly dry (there no longer being any water in the pipe), it was
: matted and spiked, showing that it had been extremely wet. The hair
: from her chin to the top of her head, however, looked as though it had
: not gotten wet. Her eyes were slightly open.
:
: My original thought was that she had been pulled down into the sewer by
: rushing rain water; or that before it rained she had crawled into the
: pipe out of curiosity, and had been caught there by the water. But she
: did not look like she had drowned, since she was in a relaxed position
: with her head up. Also, I found it hard to believe that she had been
: sucked into the pipe, because the pipe in question simply didn't draw
: that much water; it merely drained a small part of my yard.
:
: Increasingly, however, I am of the opinion that she crawled into the
: pipe to die, since cats are commonly known to hide away in order to
: die. As far as I know, she had never before crawled into that pipe,
: even though it had been in our yard for several years. Perhaps this is
: wishful thinking on my part, but she was 15, as I mentioned, and not
: the cat she used to be.

I cannot guess what happened, but all circumstances considered your
guess appears reasonable. My heart goes out to you. All our bonds are
this way, someone will leave the other one behind. Get more cats, make
more friends, continue to participate fully in the play of life, and be
accepting of its inevitable edges.

cybercat wrote:

: I am sorry about your cat. As you know, when you allow them to roam
: unsupervised, literally anything can happen. Please consider keeping any
: other cats you may adopt inside where they are safe.
:
: My only other comment is: ? Because it is
: unusual for anyone to create an email just to post to Usenet about
: the death of their cat, there are people who will suspect that you
: are full of **** and so is your story. I can be sure of this because
: I am one of them.

This is insensitive and irrelevant. The cat did not die from a road
accident. All indications are, she died of old age and natural causes,
so being indoors would not have helped.