Callie, New London, WI
Back when I was a teenager we had a cat that gave birth to a litter of kittens and then got really sick. Her kidneys failed and we had to make a decision of whether to try to save her or have her put down. It was an especially hard decision knowing that she had a whole litter of kittens to take care of, but in the end it didn’t look good and euthanasia seemed like the best option.
To care for the kittens we had to buy formula and tiny bottles. My brother and I set our alarm clocks for every few hours and took turns feeding each of them for weeks. Until they were old enough to eat watered down food and then real food. When the kittens were big enough we gave them away, but kept one calico kitten for ourselves. Appropriately, we named her Callie.
Callie lived with my parents for the past 17 years. Over the weekend my parents had realized they hadn’t seen her for a while, which isn’t that odd. She had a warmly insulated house outside where she lived and my parents’ house is on a large plot of land with a woods and a pond and lots of hiding places. Callie and their other cat Bailey have the run of the land, as does the dog, Dakoda. They all spend a lot of time both inside and outside.
I just found out this morning that when my dad found Callie on Sunday it looked as though she was soundly sleeping in her cat house, like normal, except that she had actually passed on to kitty heaven sometime in her sleep. I’m saddened because we had her around for so long, but I know that she had a long, long life. Almost 20 years old! Still, when my mom sent these photos of her and our dog Max who passed on a couple years ago, they brought a tear to my eye. Callie was kind of a major grouch and a loner, so I didn’t think I’d miss her really, but when I think about how long she was in our family… I think there’s also a special bond because we had to be adopted mother to her when her own kitty mom died when she was a few days old.
RIP Callie & Max. At least they are back together now.
Callie & Max, New London, WI
6 responses so far ↓
1 Mary // Feb 25, 2008 at 9:41 pm
oh that is so sweet, and sad that she is gone but, its great that she lived for so long
I love cats, but I cant be near of them, cause’ Im allergic
2 Ray // Feb 26, 2008 at 10:08 am
Weird, your cat bears a striking resemblance to the cat I grew up with, the cat my sisters adopted, a stray they named “L.C.” (for lost cat). She, too, was a grouch, a curmudgeon…hated being around the dog (Sydney, a mutt of sorts we adopted as a consolation to giving up a different dog when we were fairly young). At various points in my parents’ life, we all migrated out of the house onto adulthood, but the cat and dog stayed. L.C. was the first to go, but she did live a good long life, probably as long as Callie. My father found her in much the same condition as your father found Callie — she was asleep on top of the HVAC equipment in the crawl space, and she probably passed away atop of her favorite resting place — the warm ventilation equipment for the house. Sydney passed some years later, at a very ripe old age….my mother says she passed from loneliness, as her favorite “play thing” (read: she tortured the cat) was no longer around.
Reading your entry this morning brought back a lot of memories for me, and reminded me that I need to find pictures of those two furballs to put up with the rest of my family pictures. Thanks for always sharing.
3 RachelleB // Feb 26, 2008 at 10:13 am
great story, ray. funny how even with the sadness of losing callie and max over the past couple years, it makes me want to get a dog of my own even more. yesterday i saw THE cutest pug puppy on the walk to the train.. and i don’t even like pugs that much!
4 Ray // Feb 26, 2008 at 10:43 am
Oooooh, don’t get me started on pugs. My youngest sister in Seattle just “adopted” (how can you call it “adoption”, or even “rescue”, when you still have to shell out $700!!!!). His name, for short , is Dr. Kosbee (there’s a much longer name, and not because of the AKC naming conventions for pure-breds….my sister’s just a nut). Dr. Kosbee grows on you…but, he snores as bad as my retired father!
And, if you are looking for a pug to “adopt” (read: $800!!!), I know of an someone on an ad I saw in a Starbuck’s (I know, I know…please don’t crucify me for my Americano) that just had a mess of pure black pug puppies.
5 Richard // Feb 26, 2008 at 12:45 pm
You said it perfectly. She was a grouch and I never really thought I’d miss her either, but it’s still sad that she’s gone. I’ll never forget waking up in the middle of the night to bottle feed those damn kittens with their sharp little teeth. RIP.
6 smussy // Mar 4, 2008 at 12:15 am
oh. sad. sorry to hear it, but it does sound like she went to a spot she was comfy and safe.
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