Patora

We had a hard though not unexpected last few weeks ending with one of our older kitties, Patora, passing away yesterday morning.  

(Pato in the foreground, Cleo in the back)

Patora was 18 years old and she and Cleo are brother and sister.  The two of them and another sibling were brought home by Tetsu and me from one of our morning walks when the three kittens came running to us from a box where they'd been left.  The other sibling got adopted out a few weeks later but Cleo and Patora remained in our family all these years.

Patora was never a lovey-dovey kitty though that may have been the humans fault.  For some reason she and Cleo decided they didn't much like each other but she could stand to be friendly with Toi who has his own issues of bullying the other kitties.  Patora and Toi ended up keeping each other company for the last 10 years and they move from the outdoors cat house in the spring and summer months to the upstairs bedroom in the fall and winter.  Neither cat had too much contact with humans... no sitting on laps or snuggling, but they've always been supplied with heated mats and expensive veterinary prescribed catfood.  Still, I feel guilty that Patora didn't get all the loving she might have had.

For the past month, Patora has been off her food but Tetsu and I decided not to force her to eat nor take her in to the vet for energy shots or whatever.  She didn't seem to be in pain and when the days were warm and sunny she would go out on the veranda and sun herself.  When I ended up in the hospital, I didn't really expect to see Patora again but she lasted that week and then this past week has been just sleeping and occasionally mewing.  I spent more time petting her than I have in years...

Tetsu arranged an area in the corner of his garden, near his chrysanthemums, and yesterday around noon we buried Patora there...   All our cats are over 13 years old and so we are heading into a more somber time of their lives...  Everyone, including humans are on some kind of medication...

Now that Patora is gone, we don't know how to incorporate Toi into our family again...  He is still a bully but it seems cruel to leave him to a completely lonely life and so we've opened up the doors and hope the remaining four cats will work out places for each of themselves so that they don't have major blowups...  

My sweet kitty.