RIP Lucky the Cat

Our shelter mascot, Lucky, has crossed that rainbow bridge.

Lucky was one of the oldest cats we had ever taken in, and also the ugliest. He came to us when an elderly person was entering hospice care herself, and that was all we could really offer him, as he was never up for adoption due to age and medical condition. We just kept him comfortable until the end came.

He never weighed more than 6 pounds his whole life, though he was as tall and long as a normal sized cat. His extremely hyperactive thyroid was to blame for that.

We gave him thyroid medication twice a day. He was the easiest cat in the world to pill, as he would eat anything at all if you put it in a Greenie's Pill Pocket.

Spoiling him with eats and treats was a habit everyone there got into. In return, he gifted us with his morning "offering" on the floor in front of the sink, not far from the litter box he used at other times.

Loving, affectionate, and allowed to roam at will, he was everyone's friend.

When we went to clean the shelter yesterday, i was distressed to see him in a cage. As it turned out, he had put himself in the cage, and when they would pull him out, he would stay for a while, then wander back in.

It took him three tries to get his Pill Pocket down, and he turned up his nose to Fancy Feast. That's when i knew it was time.

Later i called Miss W. so i could tell her what i thought. She said they had watched him closely for a week, hoping for improvement, and she agreed with my assessment. His body had quit, although his brain didn't quite realize it yet, and he was still up for affection.

That, as my vet says, is just the right time. Don't let them get to where they don't react to you at all, that's too long.

The decision was made, and Miss W. took him to the vet and held him.

Good-bye, Old Man, i'm going to miss you.


Today is:

Adai Caddo Indian Nation Pow Wow -- Robeline, LA, US

Cayenne Festival -- French Guiana

Equirria -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Egremont Crab-Apple Fair -- Egremont, Cumbria, England (dating back to the 13th century, the most fun part is the gurning [face making] contest)

Evacuation Day -- Tunisia (celebrates the day all foreign military finally and fully left)

Feast of the Hunters' Moon -- West Lafayette, IN, US (through tomorrow; come help recreate French and Native American life at a mid-1700's fur-trading outpost)

Feast of the Three Noble Ladies -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (female pharaohs)

Global Handwashing Day -- International (scrub up! prevent the spread of germs)

Guangzhou Autumn Trade Fair -- Guangzhou, China (through Nov. 15)

International Day of Rural Women -- UN

London Bridge Days -- Lake Havasu City, AZ, US (through tomorrow)

Ludi Capitolini -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Makahki -- Hawai'ian New Year

Mertz of All Possible Mertzes -- internet generated and on the day "I Love Lucy" premiered; i guess Fred and Ethel were the definition of what a Mertz should be!

Nagoya Festival -- Nagoya, Japan (biggest festival in the city)

National Chicken Cacciatore Day

National Grouch Day -- in honor of Oscar the Grouch

National Roast Pheasant Day

National Tree Planting Day -- Sri Lanka

Newspaper Week -- Japan

Old Farmers Day -- Loranger, LA, US (through tomorrow; learn how farmers used to live)

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day -- Canada; US

Rectification Day -- Burkina Faso

Rainbow Pickling Day -- Fairy Calendar

Sewing Lovers' Day -- internet generated, as those who love to sew deserve a day to celebrate

St. Teresa of Avila's Day (Patron of Spain, lace makers; against headaches, heart attacks)

Sweetest Day -- autumn version of Valentine's Day, but i suggest not bothering, they try to guilt us into too many "buy something holidays" each year already!

Teacher's Day -- Brazil

White Cane Safety Day -- US (celebrating the achievements of the blind/visually impared, and recognizing the white cane as the symbol of their independence)

Wishbones for Pets begins -- US program asking professional pet sitters to gather pet supplies and donations for homeless pets through Thanksgiving

Woolly Worm Festival -- Banner Elk, NC, US (woolly bear caterpillars race up 3-ft pieces of string, winner gets to predict the severity of the upcoming winter; through tomorrow)



Birthdays Today:

Sarah Ferguson, 1959
Emeril Lagasse,1959
Tanya Roberts, 1955
Richard Carpenter, 1946
Jim Palmer, 1945
Penny Marshall, 1942
Linda Lavin, 1937
Lee Iacocca, 1924
Mario Puzo, 1920
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., 1917
John Kenneth Galbraith, 1908
Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844


Today in History:

Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals, 533
Commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the 1st ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine," is staged in Paris, 1581
Asser Levy is granted a butcher's license for kosher meat in New Amsterdam, 1660
The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon marks the first human ascent, by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, (tethered balloon), 1783
George Washington takes the first formal presidential tour, of New England, 1789
Napoleon Bonaparte is exiled to the Island of St. Helena, 1815
Child labor law takes 12-year-olds out of the work force, 1874
Edison Electric Light Company is incorporated, 1878
Koln cathedral is completed, 633 years after it was begun, 1880
The German dirigible "Graf Zeppelin' lands in Lakehurst, NJ, 1928
LaGuardia Airport opens, 1939
Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time, 1946
The start of the 2500-year celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia, 1971
The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England, 1987
Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL, 1989
Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 1990
The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ThrustSSC (United Kingdom), exactly 50 years and 1 day after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Earth's atmosphere, 1997
The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn, 1997
NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io, 2001
China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission, 2003