A Death In The Family: Buttons, 1995 - 2011

Above, Buttons in 2007.

There's one thing that many of pet owners have to face sooner or later, and that is losing that pet. As pet lovers know, losing a pet is having a death in the family.

I had to face that reality today. Buttons, our 16 1/2 year old grey tiger tabby, died today as we were on our way to the veterinarian to have her euthanized. She had been rapidly declining for the past two weeks. Her breathing became laborous and she lost a lot of weight. She had be pretty fat all her life. She started shedding weight about a year or so ago.

We had taken her to the vet last Saturday and the vet said it was "old age." He gave us some Nutri-Cal goop that is loaded with nutrients and calories. We were hoping that she would get her old energy back. But it was to no avail.

I was in Gardena this morning when my roommate Jessica called to tell me that Buttons was extremely weak and seemed that she could die any minute.

I got home and found that Buttons barely had enough strength to crawl on the floor. I called my daughter Amber and told her of the situation and we need to end her suffering. She got to the house and we debated on whether we should have her euthanized or let her die at home. We decided that she could linger in misery for days and it would be more humane to have her "put to sleep." So we headed off to the vet for the sad task.

Buttons had other plans, however.

At about 2:35-2:40 today, Amber, Jessica and I were on our way to the vet. Amber held Buttons in her arms as we drove. Buttons squirmed a bit, seemingly to get more comfortable, and suddenly just went limp. We were hardly a block away from home when Amber said, "I think Buttons just died." We continued on to the vet, all the while Amber kept stroking Buttons' fur. We got to the vet and they confirmed that Buttons did pass away.

Amber took Buttons' passing hard (well, we all did, including Jessica), since Buttons was her cat since Amber was eight.

Buttons was born in our downstairs neighbor's apartment in 1995 when I lived in North Hills, California. Amber chose her within days of her birth. We waited a few weeks for Buttons to be weaned off her mother's milk and ready to join our household. Amber named our new kitten Buttons after my cousin Maria's cat Buttons.

She was not particularly a lap cat. She only wanted attention on her own terms. She liked to lie on top of my sofa's backrest and allowed me to use her as a pillow to rest my head. She also had a fetish about people's hair, especially hair just washed. She loved to stick her nose in it. She also had a loud meow and used it frequently.

It stuck the three of us that it was as if Buttons timed her passing for Amber's arrival and to die in Amber's arms instead of on a cold, stainless steel examination table. Before we left the house, one of us noted that Buttons was purring.

Needless to say, the ride home from the vet was very quiet. No one said a word.

It won't be the same without Buttons at home. She'll be missed.