Would you believe this cat was over 20 yrs old? We got her mom, Murphy, when we were moving back to the Mainland from Hawaii. We'd landed in California, and then were driving cross-country to Ohio, where the military had stationed my dad. We stopped in Kansas for a visit for awhile, since that's where all our family is.
Uncle Dennis had a litter of kittens on the farm - someone had dropped a pregnant cat (I forget if she was Siamese?) on the farm, and there was at least one Siamese in the litter. Murphy, or "Frown Face" as Uncle Dennis called her, came to Ohio with us, where she had three litters of kittens. There were six kittens in the first litter, which if I remember right were born in my closet? (One of her litters was birthed in a suitcase in my brother's closet) We kept Ming.
It wasn't too many years later before she got bit on the head by something - perhaps a spider? She swelled up, had an infection, and had a large leathery scab formed. It took a looong time for that scab to come off, and she was pretty bald there for the rest of her life.
Some years ago she had a seizure, but survived. She's been having kidney failure for the last few years, so every two days dad give her an injection of fluid, which sits under her skin around her shoulders at first, and then slowly works its way down and sags under her chest a little bit as her body absorbs it. Seems gross to me, but mom and dad were plenty used to it, and they had the neighbors trained in giving Ming her "juice" for when mom and dad were out of town.
Ming's been a seriously tough cat. She would have been 20 yrs and 6 months old come April 10th...but she didn't quite make it. They think she might've had a stroke yesterday - her eyes were really dilated, and she was walking around the house aimlessly, sometimes walking in circles, sometimes walking into a corner and just standing there. She got herself trapped behind the dryer at one point and mom had to rescue her. I guess Andy and Kelli were there some of yesterday and saw what she was going through as well.
Mom says she held Ming in front of the fireplace (one of her favorite spots) for a long while this morning. And then this afternoon Ming's been sleeping on dad... There were a number of times they thought Ming had passed away, but then she'd gasp and keep going. I guess she finally just drifted off to a more permanent nap...
You lived a long life Ming...Rest In Peace.
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It wasn't a pretty sight to see - yesterday Ming wasn't doing well - but also wasn't in any pain which is a good thing.
Good kitty.
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