yeah, this year sucks 150%
Feb. 5th, 2013 19:55![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
piranhayesterday, we took cal to the vet for what looked like a herniated abdomen. this morning during surgery, the vet found metastasized pancreatic cancer. we decided not to let her wake from the anesthesia.
she was one of shadow's litter of four, which shadow brought to us a few days after we took her in. she was with us for 10 and a half years, and she was such a good cat, no trouble at all, ever. i feel a bit guilty because she never got a "real" name -- usually my cats name themselves in some way, but cal didn't do so right away, and we called her "cal" for "calico" in the meantime... and that stuck, and i stopped listening for a name. for a while i pretended it stood for "calliope", but really, that didn't fit. so, cal it was. sorry, cal. i should have tried harder. you deserved a better name.
she was the least rambunctious of the litter, but she was playful as a kitten, and remained cautiously playful as she grew up. unfortunately she became quite afraid of bacchus, and he could smell her fear, and went after her every chance he could. we kept him in a big cage for a while, and zapped him with water pistols so he'd stop terrorizing her. that worked, but she remained wary of him for a long time, always kept an eye out. in the last couple of years he's slowed down, and she figured out how to read his moods, and i have a picture of them lying on the bed together with less than a foot between them. that brought a unanimous sigh of relief. and then bang! started stalking her. poor cal, she just wanted to doze in peace, but the obnoxious males in her family kept pestering her.
she never met a box she didn't like.
she was very cuddly in a mostly unobtrusive way; she liked to sleep with shadow and/or timid, and she'd curl up behind the paramour's knees on the bed and snooze whenever possible. i called her my little pit viper, because she had a major thing for suckling and kneading in arm pits, going into a total drool trance. i wasn't very fond of that, but if i were into bargaining, i'd gladly let her suck my pit every day if she could have only stayed with us longer.
sleep in peace, little cal cat. we'll miss you.
she was one of shadow's litter of four, which shadow brought to us a few days after we took her in. she was with us for 10 and a half years, and she was such a good cat, no trouble at all, ever. i feel a bit guilty because she never got a "real" name -- usually my cats name themselves in some way, but cal didn't do so right away, and we called her "cal" for "calico" in the meantime... and that stuck, and i stopped listening for a name. for a while i pretended it stood for "calliope", but really, that didn't fit. so, cal it was. sorry, cal. i should have tried harder. you deserved a better name.
she was the least rambunctious of the litter, but she was playful as a kitten, and remained cautiously playful as she grew up. unfortunately she became quite afraid of bacchus, and he could smell her fear, and went after her every chance he could. we kept him in a big cage for a while, and zapped him with water pistols so he'd stop terrorizing her. that worked, but she remained wary of him for a long time, always kept an eye out. in the last couple of years he's slowed down, and she figured out how to read his moods, and i have a picture of them lying on the bed together with less than a foot between them. that brought a unanimous sigh of relief. and then bang! started stalking her. poor cal, she just wanted to doze in peace, but the obnoxious males in her family kept pestering her.
she never met a box she didn't like.
she was very cuddly in a mostly unobtrusive way; she liked to sleep with shadow and/or timid, and she'd curl up behind the paramour's knees on the bed and snooze whenever possible. i called her my little pit viper, because she had a major thing for suckling and kneading in arm pits, going into a total drool trance. i wasn't very fond of that, but if i were into bargaining, i'd gladly let her suck my pit every day if she could have only stayed with us longer.
sleep in peace, little cal cat. we'll miss you.
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on 2013-02-06 04:59 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 05:16 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 05:42 (UTC)My favorite hen was a Calico too, also Cal for short.
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on 2013-02-06 08:04 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 08:21 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 09:02 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 09:57 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 12:15 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 13:15 (UTC)"Cal" is a fine name for someone, cat or human. "Calico" might not have been, but plenty of animals seem to live happy lives with more stereotyped names (like the many golden retrievers named "Jason").
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on 2013-02-06 13:54 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 14:40 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 16:33 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 16:36 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 18:20 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-06 22:12 (UTC)P.
no subject
on 2013-02-08 11:11 (UTC)no subject
on 2013-02-12 17:00 (UTC)