On Friday 9 October 2020 I went to the grocery store. I saw my cat outside, still doing his thing. I knew he was already an old cat with 15.5 years old, but he was still very vital.
When I came back normally he always greeted me, always stood in my way when unloaded groceries but this time the cat was not there. At that point I was not worried yet. But hours went by, and it was raining, windy and cold, and even till 4:00 am in the night, "Knuffel" (Dutch word for "hugger") was still not back. I went to bed with a very uneasy thought. Next day at 10:00am, again looking, this time also asking neighbors and searching in bushes and every kind of place where he might could be, but still no Knuffel. Then, we I thought I probably never see him again, because I was convinced something had happened to him, he was suddenly there at the backdoor, completely trenched, dirty, cold and probably deep in pain. I let him in, cleaned and dried him off, and put him next to the warm heater.
The next day my mother mother and her friend came by and while we sat on the couch I noticed this big bulge in his stomach. We all thought that it was no good. He could barely walk, he hadn't eaten every since and his breathing was heavy. So it was decided the next day, on Monday 12 October to take him to a vet. An X-ray photo was made and from this photo it was clear that most of his organs in the back of his body had been shattered or ruptured. How this happened will always remain a mystery. According to the vet the cat could not be saved anymore and he would probably die within a few days because he was also dehydrated and skinny. So it was decided to save him the pain to euthanize him. We rather took the pain of missing him than causing him pain by letting him live like that.
I looked for a box, and I knew I wanted to bury him in my own garden, and make a simple makeshift grave. Digging in the clay ground was tough and the job took me hours. I covered everything up with roof tiles so no predators could get to him, not that here are predators and my terrain is locked off as well. I decided also to document this ritual and make a nice video of it, as a remembrance to this kind animal, one that never was moody and could really eat anything.
Well, Knuffel, you are in cat's heaven now. The grave will be made a little nicer with some fake flowers, solar powered leds, and a name tag with his date of death, 12 October 2020. Knuffel became 15.5 years old and he had a good life.
13 окт 2020
