Goodbye Chloe

This morning our sweet cat Chloe passed away. I didn't think that I would be so sad. I actually thought that when this day came that I would be relieved. As you know we were often caught complaining about Chloe. He was always getting on the kitchen table, going outside and getting dirty, leaving dead mice and birds on our back porch, jumping on our laps when we were busy, whining to go outside or for food or for water. We always had to clean the litter and clean up after him when he would throw up from eating too much grass. Disgusting huh?!? Unfortunately, you don't realize what you have until it's gone. Chloe was the best pet. He never bothered us except when he wanted something. We were sort of on auto pilot with him. He knew exactly how to get what he wanted from us. If he whined in the bathroom it meant that he was thirsty. He was very particular and would only drink water from the master bathroom sink. If he whined by the stairs it mean that he was hungry. If he whined by the back door it meant he wanted to go outside. Tim, Payton, Parker & I would always just automatically respond to these cues without hardly even noticing that Chloe was there. I guess that is why I'm so sad now. I feel like we took for granted what a great pet we had. He didn't ask for much; just to be sheltered and fed. Lately, that was about all we were doing for him. Chloe has always been last priority, but he was fine with that. He left every evening to go out and prowl the town, but continued to come back every morning. We gave him every opportunity to leave us and go find a better home, but he just wouldn't.




Tim & I have had Chloe since he was a kitten. When we went in to get his first shots the vet told us that it was actually a girl. We didn't know anything about kittens anatomy so we believed him. We went home and changed his/her name to "Chloe." After 6 months, we went back to the same vet to have "her" spade and the same vet told us that "she" was a "he." So, we had Chloe neutered. We debated so much about what to do with the name. She, I mean, he already responded to the name Chloe. We felt like we couldn't change it...so we didn't. To this day nobody knows whether it's a he or she. For the record...Chloe was definitely a boy with a girl name.




Chloe really was an ideal pet for our family. He was so sweet and loving. He put up with a lot of torture and neglect, but he still loved us unconditionally.



Chloe has been a fixture in our home for the past 8 years. Although we had our complaints, I'm not sure what we'll do without hearing his meow or seeing him lounging around our home or prowling around outside. I swear that I'm not a crazy cat lady, but I can't believe how hard it has been to see him die and know that he won't be around anymore. These are some pictures of Chloe last night just hours before he passed away.



Chloe progressed throughout the night and passed away early this morning so Payton and Parker weren't around to witness any of it. We told them what had happened. They really don't understand death yet. They've spent the morning making cards for Chloe and put them by his grave.