how do you say goodbye?

This is the saddest weekend ever. There are things in life that stink and this is one of them. I've lost many loved pets before but this one is ripping my heart in half. The waiting is the worst. She became sick on Saturday and have had to just stand by and wait until Monday. We love our Emma girl so much. It's the girl's first real experience with death. To them they are losing not just a pet but a friend. I will spare the words that they have said, but it's been pretty horrible. The "why does she have to go?" questions are too much to bear. It's just so so sad.

When I was pregnant with Bailey I lost my college cat. I was heart broken. I was moving in with Kip and his cat didn't like me. I'm not really sure how it happened but one day at work a friend said that she knew someone with kittens. I drove there after work and brought this tiny meowing kitty back with me. Kip didn't really want another cat, but with my pregnant hormones raging he agreed. It wasn't long before he was just as smitten with her as I was.

We will miss the lump that is always under our covers. She would snuggle in underneath and sleep all day. Around 7pm she would come wandering about. At bed time she would walk around and meow for a few minutes before coming back to our bed with us. I will miss Megan's little voice saying "heyyyy girl" and kissing her head. I will miss Bailey chasing her around and trying to carry her. I will miss hearing Kip say "there's no room for you cat!" as she snuggles up on his lap no matter if there is room or not (he always made room). I will miss hearing "you're her cat" and pointing to me because there was a time when it was quite clear Emma preferred Kip over me. She LOVED to be scratched by her tail and would sit for hours and let you do that. She also tolerated the dog. They never really played together but she made it clear that she was in charge and he obeyed. We would come home and the dog would be on the back of the couch and she would be on the seat. They had a friendship and I'm sure he will be sad without her.

She was grouchy but in a funny way. She was very sweet when she wanted to be but for the most part she kept to herself. She used to bite Megan all the time when she was little :). She was not a "kid" cat by any means but I think she loved them just the same. For never being an outdoor cat she had hunter instincts and killed the few mice that had snuck into our home. When she was a kitten she would make a nest in my very long hair and knead her little kitten claws into my head.

Nine years just isn't fair. She should have much more life to spend with us. We will miss her dearly and think of her with fondness. We love you Emma.