It's been a while since I was here; but after the events that took place Wednesday evening, I need to be someplace where I am understood. This time, the loss was not my own fur baby (although the pain and the sorrow are still as fresh as that day), but my friend/neighbor/partner in crime's beloved Fred. Fred was a sweet kitty; my neighbor rescued him from a no-kill shelter, and he was so happy in his furr-ever home. He was an older kitty, but he loved to snuggle, play, and be loved. Fred would come over when his Mama went out of town, and he and Bailey were buddies (until my beloved Bailey left us in June of 2013). I was his aunt, and my fur babies were his cousins. We knew Fred was starting to show signs of getting older, but he was still full of life and happy. Wednesday morning he was loving on us, purring away, and everything was normal...
Wednesday evening, my son, Nick (19), and I went to Wednesday evening service at church. Our neighbor was at choir rehearsal, and I was expecting to hear from her to figure out what time we were getting together Thursday morning for coffee before I took Fred to the vet for his pedicure. Nick and I had been home about 15 minutes when the phone rang. It was my friend, and I answered the phone with a funny greeting. She was on the phone telling me something that I couldn't understand because she was crying so hard (she is one of the strongest women I know, so this was not normal for her at all). I asked her to repeat what she said..."I think Fred is dead." I headed out the door and was barging through her door in less than a minute. I asked where he was. She was sobbing. She led me back to where her son's room was (he had moved out a couple years ago after college), and knelt down by the bed, just crying. I got down on the floor, looked under the bed, and knew. Sweet Fred was gone. I heard my son, and looked at my friend, whose eyes were pleading with me to tell her something different. I got out "I'm so sorry." It was awful. I had my son take his "Aunt" to the living room while I got my sweet furry nephew out from under the bed. He had been there for a little bit; he was starting to get stiff. I asked for a blanket, and my friend brought me Fred's favorite blanket. After I wrapped him up, I carried him out of the room. She held out her arms, and I placed him in his Mama's arms. She cradled him to her chest and just sobbed. My heart broke. I tried to stay strong but I couldn't. I know that pain; I know that sorrow. She looked at me with tears streaming down her cheeks and asked me if it looked like anything was wrong. I told her no. He was on his side. We think he had a stroke or a heart attack. He would've been 11 this October.
Seeing my friend so broken, knowing that pain all too well, ripped open the wound from losing my Bailey. Fred was also a part of our family, and my heart hurts for my friend. Can someone tell me what to do; how to help my friend; how to be strong for her, and how to close my eyes and not see his little body under the bed and hearing my friend's sobs as she knows her beloved kitty has moved on to the Rainbow Bridge?