Goodbye Little Guy

I am overwhelmingly sad to tell you that Gage died yesterday.



A Big Void
Gage took up a very large space in our house and in our hearts, and his abrupt absence is already very noticeable. I am still going through waves of grief...more than I expected I would have if you had asked me last week. We adopted Gage through our local ASPCA when he was about 2 years old, and he was about 9 years old when he died.

About a year ago, he was diagnosed with a heart condition called feline HCM. Unfortunately, one of the side-effects of this disease is the possibility of blood clots, and yesterday a blood clot went into his femoral artery, blocking off all blood flow to his back legs. Knowing that Gage's life was about to end, Thaddeus said a loving goodbye, and brought him to the vet, and with more strength than I could have mustered, petted Gage's head while the vet anethsitized him and then put him to sleep. I was working in Massachusetts at the time, and in many ways I'm grateful that I didn't have to participate in the decision or the actual procedure.

Gage was well-loved in this house and had a very good life. I can only believe that the universe needed a bit more Gage, and required us to give him up to share his special qualities.