We had a very sad weekend. We had to have our cat, Bailey, put to sleep. He was suffering for the past year from cancer and his eye and face were being eaten away. He was gradually getting worse to the point where it was causing him a lot of pain and discomfort. We had tried all the possible cures for it, but nothing worked. So after 14 years on this earthly plane, Bailey is now chasing mice in heaven.
It’s amazing how big a part of one’s life a cat can become. There are so many reminders around the house of him. His bed, toys, dishes, favorite places to sit and look out the window… The house feels so different without him.
We first found Bailey at a cat shelter in Oxford, PA. We had picked up a cat there earlier which we named Spencer, after Spencer F. Katt from PC Week because he looked just like the image of Spencer’s son Cal. I sent the column’s author an email and he wrote about it in the December 7th, 1992 column which I’ve inlcuded below.
Terri thought that Spencer was lonely and needed a friend, so we picked up another cat from the shelter named Bailey. Unfortunately, Spencer wasn’t long for the world and he died only about 6 months after we had him, but Bailey kept us company for the next 13 years. He was a very friendly cat, willing to jump up on a stranger’s lap, cuddle up and begin to purr so loudly, you could hear him in the next room. He loved to chase after birds and kept mice away from the house, which was the only job he had beside being cute and cuddling up in Terri’s lap. We’re really going to miss him now that he’s gone.
Bailey cuddling with my mom, while she nods off on our couch.
“Chasing mice in heaven” is such a lovely way to put it — 14 years is a long, full life together, and it’s clear from everything here how much he meant to your family. The little details are what get me most, the bed, the toys, the favorite window spot still sitting there as reminders. That photo of him cuddled up with your mom while she dozed off says everything about the kind of cat he was. So glad he found his way to you both after Spencer, and that he had so many good years of chasing birds and purring loud enough to hear from another room. Sending condolences to you and Terri.