Memorial of Fiona

Fiona, my best friend, passed away yesterday, after fighting a liver ailment that left her very weak. She and I had only been together two short years, even though it felt like we had known each other forever.

We first knew she wasn't feeling well when she stopped eating about a week or so before it happened. With a vet visit, she was rehydrated and given an IV cast to help keep her from dehydrating. She still didn't eat, but seemed happy enough: on the Wednesday night before she was put down, she came and visited me for attention, rolling around as she did before any of this started happening, purring and kneading. However, her condition deteriorated very quickly the next night: she started hiding, which was out of character for her. According to my mother, she even tried to escape when taken outside, to go hide somewhere and die. Even so, she remained alive until the fateful day, hiding in the bonus room beside mine quietly. While she wasn't very animated, she still meowed to me when I talked to her.

On the last day, she was still hiding in the bonus room when we pulled her out. She struggled to get away when she saw the cat carrier, but not with as much force as she had in the past. She didn't even cry much in there, despite how much she hated what would normally come next. At the vet's office, we pulled her out and I held her one last time, crying like I never had before; she clung to my shoulder, hoping I'd protect her. Even my mother started crying at that point. The vet was able to clear an injection area, and I said some of my last words to her as she injected the anesthesia, in both her hind and fore legs. I'll never forget the look on Fiona's face as she lies there lifeless, and I'll never forget the memories we shared together.

She had many behaviors I won't forget, but it's still a good idea to list them:

• When I came home after work or school, she would come up to me and nestle into my lap for attention, where I pet her and she kneaded and purred with a big smile. She even tolerated being partially covered by the drawing board I used, as long as she still got attention.
• In general, she loved getting attention, and would roll around on the floor at my feet for a good foot petting.
• She loved her toy, which was similar to a fishing rod, but had a small collection of feathers on the end of the line. I wish I would've spent more time playing with her, though.
• She managed to play with herself, batting mice around and chasing after them.
• Catnip didn't always have an effect on her, but when it did she acted very wild.
• In the morning, she joined the other two cats for wet cat food down in the kitchen. It was fun watching them as my mother fed them, and funny when she dropped food on Fiona's head because she stood on the wax paper. Fiona would sometimes lick the can clean.
• At night, she would come into my room just after I closed the door, then either run up to the bed or the window sill. She'd always eventually make it to the bed, but was often distracted by the pull cords on my blinds. She even broke one of them off eventually. Once on my bed, she'd walk atop me, then lay down on her stomach to get more attention. She often would later go eat, then either leave the room or come back and lay upon or beside me for even more attention.
• She really didn't like the fan or the air conditioner.
• When I had the television on, she sometimes watched it with me.
• Her pupils were almost always fairly small, sometimes three or four millimeters the narrow dimension.
• Sometimes she would sit on my shoulder or back, or on the back of the chair, when on my old chair or couch.
• In my old chair, she would nestle into my lap when I had my legs spread. Sometimes, she would also sit beside me. She didn't much like my replacement chair.
• Her meows were always high-pitched, with a very slight upward inflection at the end. When confused, bewildered, or scared, they became quieter and ended with a question-like inflection. When happy, they sounded very dry. She would rarely howl unless alone somewhere at night.
• She rarely hid, choosing to be in plain sight much of the time downstairs. We knew there was a problem when she did hide.
• She ate a lot.
• She and Sylvie would try to play together every now and then, but their wild times weren't synchronized well; someone almost always ended up offended.
• She, Sylvie, and Meg would often randomly attack each other, supposedly to only uphold the social hierarchy.
• She always loved a good belly rub.
• When not given attention, she would often take the "rabbit stance" and sit nearby.
• She had the cutest smile, and would almost always knead for a few minutes after laying down while pet.
• Fiona had really bad breath.
• Fiona's previous owners thought she was too demanding for attention.
• Fiona really liked eel and rice, and for a while liked green beans and corn.

There may be more of these coming in the future, but I really don't want to continue this particular entry.