When you leave two 19 year old cats behind to travel for a year, odds are pretty good at least one might not be there when you return. We placed Johann and Sebastian at our dear friend Deb’s house and she and her partner Ken have cared for them, loved them, and spoiled them in our absence.
We would never have believed last June that we would lose Sebastian before Johann. When we left, Johann seemed to be the weaker of the two, with noticeable weight loss and some fairly major unsteadiness after at least one stroke.
Sebastian was the demented, curmudgeonly one. He always wanted outside and would lay on your lap only when you settled in for some good TV watching, if you moved around too much he was out! In his younger days he routinely had a wound drain from some fight he had gotten into with other cats in the neighborhood. Although the last five years were more about laying in the sun than seeking out adventure in the neighborhood, outdoors in our backyard was his happy place. Physically he was generally in much better shape than Johann throughout his time with us.
We grew concerned about Sebastian when we saw the boys in January. His weight was down about a 1/2 pound and he was becoming increasingly needy for no apparent reason. Eating seemed to be painful and he slept more and more, only coming out from under the bed to croak loudly in Deb’s ear for some cuddle time or water before going back under the bed to his comfort zone.
Both Sebastian and Johann made it to their 20th birthday, March 5th.
After March 5th, things started to go downhill for Sebastian. He stopped eating and seemed to get confused as he was drinking, sometimes standing with one foot in the water bowl but not actually drinking. He lost about 2 pounds–a lot when you only weigh 9 pounds to start with. Deb tried every trick she could think of to get him to eat. Some days he would eat a little, but most days he ate nothing. When he stopped drinking water altogether it was clear that he was done.
We are grateful for our last visit with him. We were each lucky to have some cuddle time on that cold mid-January day. He lay with Marla for a bit in his favorite position ~ on her chest, purring in her ear as they lay together in a bit of sunshine. Erin gave him a long snuggle that day as well, and he seemed to recognize her and enjoy hanging out with her for awhile.
On April 18th, over cruise ship wifi somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we said goodbye to our sweet boy Sebastian one last time. We are grateful for the time we had with him and will miss his presence in the back garden when we return home.
Goodbye Sebastian. We love you so very much.
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