Samantha

After my earlier optimism things went downhill. Samantha had trouble walking starting on Wednesday, and by Saturday afternoon it got to the point where she was continuously falling down. I stayed home Saturday night to be with her, and ended up taking her to the U of I Small Animal Clinic. They wanted to run some tests on Monday, and I elected to keep her there, so they could monitor her. Sunday we went to see her, and there wasn't much change. She still didn't seem to know what was going on, and while she could walk a little, it still wasn't enough. Monday's tests were a severe blow. All the inidications were that she had cancer, starting in her lungs and spreading to her brain, which was causing her symptoms. We could have elected to have more tests done, but there really wasn't any hope. We decided to let her go. We were able to go Monday night and see her one last time. Her last meal was tuna and liver, the equivalent of kitty junk food, and she enjoyed it tremendously. Before we left, they took an imprint of her paws on a clay disc and gave that to us as a memento.

The hardest thing may be the routine. We've developed so many little habits over the years. I usually feed her, but if Mike gets up before me or if I come home late, the first thing I say to him (after hello or good morning) is "did you feed the cat?" I also find myself looking around, wondering where she is, or if I see movement out of the corner of my eye I expect to see her. I know that in time it will get better, but it's hard right now.

Sam, we really miss you. It's just not the same without you. You had a lot of love in your years with us, and you gave a lot of love back. You will always be in our hearts.