Farewell to a Much Loved Friend

Mike B. Holding up an annoyed Fric about 5 years ago.

Today we had to put down a part of our family for 15 years. Fric, our cat, sister to Frac who had to be put down 2 years after we moved to MA. We received both cats as a house warming present in '95 while still in Hawaii. They traveled from Hawaii to Texas with us, put up with us adopting the next door neighbor's dog June, and moved with us and the dog to our final destination here on the North Shore of Boston.

Fric outlived her sister who had to be put down on account of diabetes. She outlived June. She spent a month without us while we picked up our girls. She learned to deal and love the girls, and the girls, especially Eva, loves "KITTY!" But now, the time has come.

It is never easy to put down a pet. Especially a pet that has gone through so much with you. We knew this day was coming. Yet still, even knowing this was coming, as I held her for the last time, I could not stop my tears. The lump in my throat, and the strangle hold on my heart was excruciating. I kept thinking of how I will no longer hear her mewing at the bedroom door to be fed. I will no longer hear her soft pitter patter paws running down the hall as she hears the opening of her dinner. I will no longer feel the weight in Winter of her sleeping on me. Or, when it got really cold, her fur and the hum of her purr as she crawled under the covers between Mike and I.

Fric was almost 16 years old, 76 in human years. She had slowly been losing weight, she moved slower and slower, and she was having trouble eating and controlling her bladder. We had adjusted as best we could for her, but there comes a time when you cannot go any further and it just sucks. We are most worried about Eva. At 2, she does not understand death yet. So we intend to be quite about it. We have no plans to get another pet for a while, so we will just have to visit friends who have them.

With Fric gone, it feels like the end of a great big chapter in our old lives. Sort of like we finally closed the book on our past and put it on the shelf to come back to every now and then to remember the times we had. Our new lives are our girls. And while we will miss Fric greatly, she lived a very long, very loved, and happy life. As she and her sister were stray kittens when we got them, life could have turned out very differently for them. They were lucky, and we were lucky.

Dear Fric,

I know you cannot really understand us, but you know that the home we gave you was full of love. Yes, we yelled at you when you threw up on the bed, the floor, the couch, us. But a purr was quick to follow after we forgave you and cuddled you. You have been a brave kitty. You took on June when you first met her. You flew across the Pacific Ocean stoned out of your mind on tranqus when we moved to Texas. You endured a 2 day drive from California to San Antonio. You endured a 3 day car ride from San Antonio to Boston with your sister and the dog. You came to terms with the loss of your sister, then June, and then the addition of the scary screaming babies. You put up with Eva nearly strangling you just cause she wanted to show you her love. You put up with Rose pulling you off the couch while yelling "KITTY DOWN...DOWN KITTY!"

Thank you Fric for being such a brave kitty, a loving kitty, a funny kitty. When you're up in Kitty and Doggie Heaven, tell your sister we still miss her. Tell June we still miss her. And we will miss you greatly. Thank you for being our kitty.

Baba, Daddy, Eva, and Rose