RIP, Audrey

A week ago today, we lost our 21-year-old cat, Audrey. Will and I were married in 1998 and Audrey came into our life in 1999 when she was 4 years old, meaning that she has been with us almost the entire time we were married. She is the first real pet I have ever had and hence the first time I have gone through losing a beloved pet. I wanted to capture some memories about Audrey and reflect on what she meant to us.

When we first adopted Audrey, her owners had named "Chiquita Chiquita Banana Bacardi." She was usually called "Shitty Kitty." We decided that she needed a new name and a new start, and named her Audrey Allison Hageman, her first name after Audrey Hepburn and her middle name Allison because I loved the name (and she was clearly my first pet, as evidenced by the fact that I thought she needed a middle name ;) ).

Audrey was not a nice cat for many years. She bit my friend Denise once, and usually attacked my friend Karen. Audrey would chase her tail and growl, and when she caught it, would bite it repeatedly and make loud growling signs that made her sound like a loud, possessed demon. She weighed 18 pounds and looked and sounded like a bobcat. But as Will put it, if Audrey was a pain in the rear - she was our pain in the rear.

Audrey followed us through so many moves - from our apartment in Manhattan, to an apartment in KC, to a house in Olathe, all the way to an apartment in Orlando, a house in Orlando, and both of our houses in Manhattan. Along the way, as she grew older, she mellowed more and more. She used to growl and run away if you tried to pet her. By the time that Annika was born in 2004, Audrey was much more tolerant and would voluntarily come up and sit on your lap.

Annika's first word was "kitty" (pronoucned "keeeey!") and Audrey positively delighted her. Annika has always had a special connection with cats and Audrey was her primary bond for many years. "Kitty" was one of the first five words that Daniel spoke and he, too, delighted in running after Audrey and loved to proclaim that she was "so adorable."

Four years ago, in 2012, we adopted two kittens, and it seemed like Audrey was starting to go downhill. She developed kidney disease and was peeing all over the house. At the time, we thought we were going to lose her - Audrey was 17 years old at this point - but she rallied and with lots of treatment from our awesome vet, recovered.

Four years passed by, and Audrey did well for a cat her age, but then went downhill recently. She was in acute kidney failure and could not even move at all by the end. It was absolutely awful to watch. Audrey had been over 18 pounds and weighed close to 5 pounds by the end of her life. She quit eating, quit drinking, and stayed paralyzed in one position all day. I am tearing up just writing about how absolutely awful she was at the end and I wouldn't wish having to watch your pet suffer like that on anyone.

Our house hasn't been the same the past week with Audrey absent. We still have our two other cats, but Audrey has been with us for so long that it just seems wrong that she isn't there to jump up and snuggle up on my lap. But I feel so fortunate that she was able to be a part of our lives for so many years, and that our children are old enough that both will remember her.

Rest in peace, Audrey. We love you and miss you very much.