Saying Goodbye to "An Old Friend"

Our Sweet Buca Kitty 

For the past almost 18 years, this beautiful gray kitty has been such a sweet part of my life. In fact, I often would call him "my little shadow". Buca loved to follow me around wherever I would go. From the first night I took him home and he slept curled up in the crook of my neck, he made his way into my heart.

As the years went by, I would always say a little prayer of thanks to the Lord for such a wonderful cat and prayed that when it was his time to pass, it would be peaceful. This cat was truly the sweetest and most mellow cat I have ever known. He didn't have a mean bone in his body. He was always such a gentleman and loved cuddling and craved affection.

The day came almost 6 months ago after he'd become so skinny, that the vet diagnosed him with an inoperable mouth cancer and I knew we had little time left. Amazingly, he endured these last months true to his nature. No matter how much pain he was in, he would still follow me around everywhere, always seek affection, always jump into your lap for some cuddles and maintained his sleeping spot tucked in bed with me. We knew how fortunate we'd been to spend so many years with this sweet companion pet.

This picture below was taken on our last day with him. He would often sit on the back of my chair as I worked on the computer and would drape a paw over my shoulder. On this day, he actually crawled right down onto my chest and I just cradled him in my arms. We also spent some family time all of us sitting on the bed cuddling him and talking with our son about what was happening.

When it was obvious our cat was suffering greatly, we told our son that our vet was going to help him go to heaven. This really seemed to help him accept that our pet would soon be gone. That day, we said our goodbyes and a friend watched my son while I went on to the vet. They swaddled him up in warm blankets and placed him in my arms and I was overwhelmed by how peacefully little Buca left this world. My prayers had been answered and my heart, although so heavy, was at peace knowing he no longer suffered.

As we bury him today and have a time of reflection on his little life, I'm so thankful how the Lord has enriched our lives with these animals we love.

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