Last Sunday afternoon Zeldie started crying. I thought at first she was simply upset with me as I shut her out of our bedroom so she couldn't bite holes in my new quilt, but she persisted and her cries changed. When I put her down she was wobbly on her legs and acted very frightened. We now know that these are neurological signs. We called our vet and later when her condition worsened we called the local emergency vet. We had an appointment with our vet in the morning and the emergency vet concurred that we wait until morning for her to be seen by her.
It was a very long night. She went into seizures of different forms. I am a nurse and there is no mistaking clonic movements as neurological seizures. We worked hard to keep her safe through the night. She wanted to hide, as that is apparently how cats act when they are not OK.
She was put to sleep by our vet, the following morning. We were prepared by her bad night, to let her go, not because we wanted to but because we didn't want her to suffer, especially as there was no fixing her according to our vet, who was as supportive to us as to Zeldie and we soon saw her relax in our arms and go to sleep.
Returning home, we found it so empty and realized that there was no where for us to hide from her absence. She was a constant companion to me and to my husband as well. We often called her The Queen of Little House for she would boss us, and we would work to meet her every command. We long to be bossed again by her, but it is not to be.
She was an integral part of my life, so much so that I am posting pictures of some of her various quilts that she took to redesigning with her teeth! She would rip and I would stitch. We made quite a team! Patchwork hearts cover both sides of one quilt, and a few butterfly patches were added to another, and still on another I added a dedication block commending Zeldie and myself on the work we both did on a wool log cabin quilt. She had bit several holes on its back side, bless her heart. Of course now that they have her mark on them, they have grown ever so much more valuable in my eyes! And did I mention that when I made a whole batch of wool doorstop hens and left them covered by a sheet on my dining room table to keep them safe from her, she chose to lay across their backs to take her nap. Perhaps she dreamt of hatching them? She also took to hiding my mini fruit pincushions while I was working on them...When ten of them were found hidden under a chair, I realized that I wasn't crazy after all! Stitching hard, I didn't seem to be making much progress in terms of my count!? I understood why when they were later found by my house cleaner!
She always took a roosting position in whatever room I was working in, to be at least at eye level, if not higher, than me. She knew how to dominate, and command, but she also knew how to love, and no matter if she was sleeping, she would answer me with a quiet little "mew", and wag her tail. She was "my mostly companion" and I will greatly miss her.
I will however seek to find another kitty to love, for that was Zeldie's greatest gift to me. She taught me that her companionship, loyalty and love bites were her gift of love to me. I know that another cat will not "replace" Zeldie, but I hope that I can give to another kitty some of the love that Zeldie bestowed upon me! It will be my tribute to her!
I have asked my mother to watch out for Zeldie in heaven. My little companion needs another quilter in her next life that she can "help", and I know that my mom and others will enjoy her as much as I did! "Know that I will miss you, my little Zeldie Pooh, but will plan to see you again some day! Meanwhile, Mom, please put the shades up so she can take her naps in the sunshine!"
