In Loving Memory: Venus (1992-2008)

After 16 years of being one of the world's most loving and loved cats, Venus passed away today. Venus has been in my life since I was 9 years old. She was a gift from my mom when she gave away Patches (my loveable beagle/bassett hound that felt a need to use the bathroom under my mom's piano on a frequent basis). Mom was surprised at how hard I took it when she gave away Patches, so a few days later she took me out to adopt a kitty. Venus was the "comfort gift" we came home with, and she's been my "comfort cat" ever since.

When I was learning to roller skate at age 10 and fell down and scraped my knew on the back patio, Venus would glide on over and rub all over me until I was happy again. When my best friend Ande moved away when I was a sophomore in high school Venus curled up on my lap and let me hug her and cry all over her till I felt better. When I was heartbroken after goodbyes with David after high school and throughout my college years and even earlier this summer when he left for military training, Venus knew it was her call to duty and sat on me and cuddled with me to help me through. For anyone who knew Venus, you've experienced how friendly and welcoming she was. She loved visitors and would often slip into their laps without them even knowing it. She was always calm and had a calming effect on everyone else. Dad used to joke that having her sit in his lap lowered his blood pressure.

Venus started getting sick at the beginning of this year. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in January. (The thyroid produces hormones that control basic metabolic rate of the body. In the case of hyperthyroidism, too much thyroid hormone is produced and the heart, digestive tract, and other organs begin to work overtime.) She's been on thyroid medication ever since, but the medication couldn't quite keep up with her overactive thyroid. She was burning more calories than she ever consumed and it was hard to get her to eat anything in the first place. During our vet visit a few weeks ago we found out that she had multiple ear infections and sinus infections on top of her thyroid problem, which also helped explain why she wasn't eating. Even after dosing her up on antibiotics to get rid of the infections she wasn't fairing well. Her kidneys started failing and she was so weak that she could barely move and it became a struggle for her to even hold her head up. Mom took her in to the vet this morning (I'm out of town again, but I probably wouldn't have been strong enough to do it myself) and he agreed that it would be best to put her down. Mom had the feeling that she probably wouldn't have lived another 3 or 4 hours anyway.

Mom called me this morning about 11:00 to let me know that Venus was in a better place. I'm just glad she doesn't have to suffer anymore. She has truly been in a miserable state for the past month or so as her body has been shutting down, and this was the least we could do for such a loving pet. She will be missed and always remembered.