Around a decade ago we were looking for another cat to add to our family, and Tracey found Madeline's picture on the Chilliwack SPCA website. We were hooked before we even met her. After work we went to get her, and while Tracey was in the office doing some paperwork, I went into the huge communal cage to spend a few minutes with her and try to bond a bit. It wasn't tough to bond with this cat. She had been in the cage for a few months and had already become one of their favorites. What a sweetheart.
In addition to the decade of wonderful companionship she brought us, she also brought us something just as valuable: Jackie Chiles.
Jackie and Madeline were close in the cage and he made it pretty clear that we weren't taking Maddy without taking him too.....at one point I'm pretty sure he reached into my pocket and took my car keys.....so our family of three became five. In a way, Maddie has brought us more than a decade of companionship, as we expect many more years of wonderful from Jackie, who has turned into the sweetest boy imaginable.....and he's about 6 years younger than Maddie.
At some point we decided that Jackie was French, and Maddie was a proper British lady. Both Tracey and I can do a pretty decent French accent, but neither of us can do British at all....so about the only thing Maddie ever said was "tally ho". Not sure why, it's just the only British phrase we knew, I guess.
Madeline left us today at the generous age of 16. We had her for 10 of those years and although we don't know much about what her life was like before she came to us, we did all we could to make it wonderful once she arrived in our clan. We were mostly successful, we think, although MY GOD did she ever get fat. And sick. The most sickly cat we've ever had. Mostly minor things; chronic congestion, polyps on her throat, nothing that would do more than cause her some discomfort. But around a year ago, she developed a thyroid problem and started losing weight at a concerning rate. Our vet put her on a medicine that is known to help that problem, and it actually did....but it came at quite a cost. You see, the medicine causes liver failure in 1.5% of cats. ONE POINT FIVE PERCENT. We always knew Maddie was extraordinary.
So not much to do but take her off the medication to fix the liver failure, which would have killed her long ago, and take her home for as long as she could live with the thyroid problem. That came to a head recently, when we decided that she had wasted away to the point where she HAD to be suffering, even though she would never show it. The happiest cat you could imagine, even as her body betrayed her positive spirit. You've never heard a cat purr as loud as this one. It was actually quite distracting at times.
So this morning we gave her the only thing we had to give her, which was rest. Freedom from the nagging problems, and freedom from suffering any further.
It's always odd to see how the dynamic of a house changes when a new cat comes or one leaves. It's been a few hours since we came home without Maddie and it's already noticeable. Sidra, who I would have described as being by FAR the least close to Maddie, has been wandering around the house looking for her. She's been standing at the top of the stairs, where Maddie used to lay, as if she's expecting Maddie to come through the door and take her rightful spot as head of the household.
Jackie and Ashley both seem confused and are extra affectionate today. I expect this to be really hard on Jackie as time goes on and he realizes that his longtime buddy is gone; but you never know with cats. Maybe he will really thrive in her absence. Cats are weird like that.
So life goes on, as it always does, and we are still blessed with three wonderful fur babies who we love to death. Our daily routine won't likely change much, except that every day I get home from work there will be nobody at the top of the stairs to greet me, as Maddie has been doing every day for weeks. Walking in the door after work on Monday is going to be tough.
Rest well, Madeline, and say hello to all of your siblings who have gone to The Farm before you. And try to keep Newman in line, if you can.
Tally ho, Maddie Mad. Tally ho.
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