on being impersonal

Chicky picked up a voice message from his parents Sunday afternoon. They wanted to tell him that they had put Elmo to sleep that morning. We were having lunch at the White Spots in West Vancouver. What a horrible way to find out about something like that. He quickly called his parents to find out why they had done that. Elmo was apparently sick and they thought it would be better for him to be put to sleep. When he told me what happened afterwards, I couldn't help but think about Mui Mui. I think we've invested moocho mula on her (as her last surgery was more than a couple of thousand). I think KA and I would be extremely upset if my parents put her down without consulting with us first. As long as Mui Mui avoids being another midnight snack for a coyote - the less we'll have to pay in medical fees. Mui Mui should live a long time, she's quite spoiled at home.

Elmo was technically Chicky's pet and they should have asked him what he thought about the procedure before doing it. That or at least told him in advance what was going to happen. No one wants to hear about it after the fact. Elmo was nearly 10 years old, he could have lived longer but would he have been happy?

So at lunch we mourned Elmo for a bit. Talked about his good kitty days. Though Chicky may not have directly taken care of Elmo since moving back from Victoria - he still loves that chubby kitty. I didn't really know Elmo. He was a bit of an unsocial creature when I met him. Elmo never lived with us - we had white furniture back then and I wasn't so keen on his shedding. When Mui Mui came into our lives, Elmo was over shadowed by her playful/needy ways. I remember Mui Mui as a puppy and wanting to play with Elmo (she thought he was a bigger version of her toy bunny). He wasn't into playing and enjoyed slapping Mui Mui on the head with his claws. Soon after that I didn't let Mui Mui have play dates with him.

I think Elmo was lonely. I don't think many people played with him. Chicky's parents have tried to give him away twice in the last couple of years. That can be damaging to a cat's self esteem. I think it's best that he went onto his next cat life peacefully.