Cosmo, my eldest cat, is a little over 15 years old now. Stephanie and I picked her up at a Walmart where the SPCA or some similar organization was having an adoption drive. She was so tiny and furry and talkative, and I remember the first thing I did was bury my face in her fur to see if I was allergic to her. Obviously, you know how that turned out.
She's sitting beside me right now, "making bread" in a blanket and purring. Thinking about her age, I looked up the life expectancy of cats, to find that by some accounts she should be dead by now. As my former girlfriend and veteranarian was fond of saying, "She's too evil to ever die... she'll live to be 20."
She's not actually evil, and she has always been good to me, Steph, and it didn't take her long to warm up to Diana. As she has with me when I'm upset, she now goes to investigate Simon when he's upset or crying. When I had to put her little sister Luna down, she wandered the house for days looking for her, even though she acted like she hated Luna when she was alive. The cat has a good heart. I've seen her lick Oliver on the forehead when she thought no one was looking, too.
And apparently, her health is pretty solid overall. I took her to the vet just before we moved back to Cleveland because she had bloody urine leaking out. She had a UTI, and the meds over the next few days (including those on the road) seemed to clear it up. Other than that, she can't keep up with her fur, and trying to keep up with the mattedness is damn near impossible. She still gets nutty when something interests her, and of course the boys (unfortunately) tend to chase her a bit. She's still very quick. Unlike most old cats I've seen, she doesn't really exhibit any signs of being old yet.
But I'm realistic, too. I know her clock is ticking. The doctor visit did reveal that her urine is slightly diluted, which is an indicator of decline in kidney function. I just hope that when her time comes, she can go peacefully in her sleep. Seems like that's never the case with pets, and I still have nightmares about Luna's demise.
Cosmo has been through a lot with me. I try not to take her for granted, and I'm glad that she gets to hang out and nap near me during the day now.
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