Dear Sid,

I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you’re in pain. I’m sorry I never took the time to take any photos of you. I’m sorry you’re spending a night alone at the vet’s… but I’m glad tomorrow morning you will have someone there who cares for you as you go to sleep. I hope you understand. I hope you had a great life and that you look back on your memories fondly. I’m glad I got to spend at least a little time with you today, but I wish I’d spent more time actually talking to you rather than worrying about you. I hope your journey to the rainbow bridge is peaceful.

A cat at work today, I found him and knew he was sick. I took him to the vet’s. My boss later told me that the reason he couldn’t walk well was because of a horrible ear infection that has moved to his inner ear. Due to the stress treatment would put on his very frail body, the amount of pain he is certainly in, and the fact that he is 19 years old or so, we all made the decision to humanely euthanize tomorrow morning and let him be at peace. But still, there is a part of me that feels guilty somehow. Tonight I cry for Sid. RIP old man.

R.I.P. Jeremy. You will be missed.

(He was a Leukemia positive cat at work. He passed away Friday night.)

R.I.P. Calvin. His shaved body never quite grew back the fur, his face was always covered in food and he had no teeth left, but he was happy and comfortable right up until the end.

I think I’m going to write about the cats at work here, because this is a pet journal, after all.

The exciting news today was about Simon. Now Simon was/is a feral cat. He was there two years ago when I was working there, but he was kept in a cage. If you would go near the cage, he’d flatten himself to the ground and hiss viciously and growl low. In order to scoop the litter box, which was right beside him, you had to wedge a piece of cardboard between the litter box and his bed, so he couldn’t do you any harm.

When I started working there early this summer I walked into that room and said, “Awwww, Simon’s gone.” My boss said, “Simon? You mean him?” and pointed to a cat laying in a cat bed on the floor. Simon was still there - his cage was gone. But he’s still very feral.

Well I’ve been spending time sitting in front of him. A few months ago he was laying in a bed on the floor and I knelt down in front of him and held out my hand. He sniffed my fingers. I stretched a little bit and touched his cheek… he didn’t flinch. I rubbed behind his ear…. and he leaned into it! That was awesome! That was the most anyone had ever been able to touch him. Boss lady could only just touch his nose.

So today, he was once again laying in a bed on the floor. (I found if he’s sleeping in the cat tree is is far less open to having any hands reach towards him.) So again I knelt down and held out my hand. Not only was I able to scratch behind his ears - which he again seemed to enjoy - but I very gently touched his back. He didn’t flinch, didn’t move. I continued to lightly pet him. I was petting Simon! He didn’t seem bothered at all. Before I got up I rubbed his cheek and behind his ear again. He yawned and leaned into it.

This is huge. I’m so happy!