A lot of times I don’t answer my phone when people call, mainly because I don’t keep it next to me all the time unless Ryan is away at work. My mom calls a lot to see how we’re all doing and if I don’t answer and she has to leave a voicemail, I usually don’t even listen to it because I know why she’s calling and I’ll get back to her whenever I’m not so busy with the baby. Lately, though, I’ve been listening to her voicemails because I’ve had a feeling that something was going to happen.

She called again today and as usual, I didn’t answer. Not because I was busy, but because I was also waiting to hear from Ryan. He’d just landed in Detroit and was about to head home so I wanted to talk to him first and I figured I’d call my mom once he got in the plane and was on his way here. He still wasn’t off of his airplane, though, so I had a few minutes to spare and listened to her voicemail. She said that she wanted to talk to me about putting my cat, Liz, to sleep the other day. This is exactly what I’d been fearing for a few weeks now and exactly the reason I’ve begun listening to her voicemails.

I sent Ryan a message saying what happened then called her immediately. Apparently Liz had been drinking large amounts of water and would pee constantly. She said that she always seemed thirsty and no matter how much water she drank, seemed to never be satisfied. They took her to the vet on Tuesday to see what was wrong with her, but were not able to afford any testing the vet could have done to figure out what was wrong. Since she was already 11 years old, they decided it was best to put her to sleep.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the news at first. Somehow, I had already prepared myself for what my mother told me because it seemed as though I was almost waiting for it. I’m really upset about it right now. I was excited to have my husband come home from a trip tonight, but this has definitely put a damper on that.

I did a little bit of research online once I got off the phone with my mom and it seems like Liz had kidney disease. The main symptom is an increase in the intake of water as well as increased urination. Apparently kidney disease is also the leading cause of death in older cats and cannot be cured. After reading this, I felt more comfortable about everything and I know that my mother did what was best for Liz. It was her time and I’m just sad I couldn’t have seen her more before she had to go.

I am glad, however, that I got to see her when I went home with Ryan and the baby in February. I made sure to spend a few extra minutes with her before we had to leave because I had a feeling I probably wouldn’t be seeing her again. I did have to fight back a few tears as I said goodbye to her for this very reason.

Liz was an awesome cat. She was all I had at home when I was feeling lonely. I remember being scared of losing her during the month I came home from Germany in 2006. My mom said she was having problems urinating and when I came home, I took her to the vet to have it checked out. She had kidney stones then and had to have them removed. Before we knew what the problem was, I remember spending a few days in my room, crying with her because I didn’t know what to expect. I was scared of losing her and was fortunate enough to have her around for an additional 4 years. It just stinks that I wasn’t around for most of that time. At least I got to say goodbye in February.

When I was gone, she became a great companion to my mom. She has MS and doesn’t get out much so I’m sure having Liz around helped out a lot. And to think that my mom was the one who didn’t even want her around when she first showed up at our house. She used to spray the hose at her to get her out of the yard, thinking that Whiskers, the cat we had at the time, would not get along with her!

It was a great 11-12 years, Elizabeth. You had a great life with us flipping moles out in the neighbor’s yard and sticking to your 5pm curfew in the early days then keeping the family company, always having something to say and not forgetting me when I left for extended periods of time in the later days. We know you’ll continue to have a great life in kitty heaven with all the tuna, catnip and ice cubes you could ever want! I’m going to miss you.