Yesterday, we lost Jezebel. One very cold night, Frank was smoking a pork shoulder for Thanksgiving. To stay awake, he walked about to the front of the house where he saw something moving under his car. As he got closer, he saw ears and eyes with a little nose. He reached out and the small kitty backed away. So he waited and it came out a bit again. When he held his hand out this time, it leapt and attached to his chest where it started to purr. Frank smelled of BBQ and the cat was starving as well as freezing. She had been eating leaves. He brought her to the patio where it was warmer and fed her. Long story short, she charmed her way into both of our hearts. She knew we had another kitty but did not care if she wrecked its home, so: Jezebel. We also shortly discovered that Jez only liked men. It did not matter if they were 8 or 80. She liked men and tolerated me when none were around.
Jez was a fighter in the area of survival. She survived Nikita (our other cat) and she survived MinaBean (who passed in September. She beat cancer twice when vets told us they had never seen another animal beat that type of cancer. She was always feisty and bold. We would tell her, "There are old kitties and bold kitties, but there are NO old, bold kitties." She ignored this and years passed.
Earlier this year, we had to take her to the cat ER for a huge abscess. It started small but nearly covered the bottom of her chin when the vet went in to drain it. She had experienced abscesses before so we were not terribly worried. She started to heal. We went to Alaska and left her in the care of good friends. A few days after we left, she stopped eating. Our friends took her to the vet who found she had a growth on her cheek which ended up a tumor that was in her bone.
She was not in pain, so we dd steroids and brought her home. It is a fast growing cancer. She remained feisty and bold. On Friday, she only ate half her food and was slurping down water. By Sunday, she showed little interest in food - including her favorite treats, but still drank water. We knew that she was hungry and we were unwilling to let her suffer. We took her to the vet on Monday and he noted the growth was pressing into her mouth. She was also developing some breathing issues. We made the decision that we had to let her go.
At 12:30 on Monday, our 18 year old kitty was sedated. As in keeping with her old, bold reputation, she laid like a ragdoll and hissed as best she could at the vet while he injected her so she could cross the Rainbow Bridge. I've never known anything or anyone who fought so hard to survive and we miss her so much. For the first time in over 20 years, we have no pets. I really hope the thoughts written in the poem
Rainbow Bridge are true.
A few photos of Jezebel who sincerely used all nine lives and may have borrowed one or two.
Jezebel enjoying the views in Chicago.
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Jezebel when she was admiring her favorite human (Frank.)
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Jezebel on Sunday in her favorite place to judge us.
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