The Loss of a Special Friend.....

My dear friend Karen is grieving the loss of her cat, Grady. Grady had special meaning to me because I had a gray, Maine Coone cat named Grady, short for Graystoke's Blue Mood. Grady left me after only 4 1/2 years. He had an uncurable blood disease and it broke my heart.

Nearly 15 years ago, Karen's young son David, brought home a gray kitten he found wobbling across a busy roadway and begged to keep him. Karen being an animal lover and unable to say no to her little boy said OK and the kitten became part of the family. When Karen asked David what he was going to name his new pet, David answered "Grady", because I really loved Banana's Grady.

Karen was sensitive to the fact that I had just lost my Grady and told David it would be OK with her, but David would have to ask me if it was OK with me. So one sunny afternoon my phone rang and this little 10 year old voice said to me "Banana? This is David and I want to ask you a question". Of course I said yes. I told David that I was honored that he would want his cat named after my Grady.

Yesterday Karen called me to tell me she had taken Grady to the vet because he had lost the use of his hind legs and he was screaming in pain. It appears he had had a blood clot for sometime. In hindsight she recalls that he had difficulty jumping on the bed or couch. She thought it was just old age setting in.

The vet said they could administer blood thinners but it was unlikely he would regain use of his hind legs. They could make him comfortable but she could not guarantee that this would not happen again. He might produce another clot, causing the same problem.

Karen was torn but knew what she had to do. It broke her heart because he had been a part of her family for a long time. She has buried him in a little clearing with her other two family members - Furry Face (a Maine Coon) and Persephany (a black barn cat. I may have messed up the spelling of her name.)

Losing a beloved pet is a very hard thing but I believe Grady is chasing rabbits with my Grady, Jake #1 and Susie#1. There they know no pain and will never grow old again.

Rest in peace sweet friend.