(Please Indulge My) Ode To Scrapper

Our 4 year-old cat, Scrapper, died tonight. She has been in "hospice" for the past 6 or so weeks due to a mysterious illness that was most likely some form of lymphatic cancer. I really, really liked Scrapper. She was such a funny cat.

Scrapper. (She is white on her underside. Her back and sides had this mysterious swirly tan tortoise shell over black and grey specks. When she put her arms and legs together, the patterns matched and continued on the other side. Her left eye was cloudy, but fairly normal looking. Her right eye was always closed more and did not look like it had a normal pupil.)

In 2003, I was home to Kansas for a visit with my terminally ill mother when a neighbor came to the door. They knew that we had a cat in the house (my sister's cat) and wondered if she had had a litter of kittens (no HE hadn't) because there was a litter up in the crawl space under their house. My sister and I and another neighbor went over to see this cute litter of kittens. Several of which had closed or deformed and gunky eyes. Seriously, when you are home stuck in the house of your dying mother...even when you are trying to make the best of it...everything feels like dread. Finding the litter of kittens was just the only bright point of the visit. They brought me a little dose of happiness.

Me and Scrap getting reacquainted on her first night in Oregon.

I had to leave, and my sister and the neighbor, Cindy, launched into a project of saving all these cats, and controlling the feral cat population by trapping the ferals, spaying/neutering and vaccinating them, and then releasing them. The mothers who had kittens were trapped and stayed on the back screen porch of Cindy's house until the litters could be weaned and the kittens could be adopted out. Cindy had three litters of kittens and their accompanying mama cats on her porch for months.

Scrapper getting lovey-doveys from Kai.

I went back to Kansas a few more times that year. My mother died and I went back after her death for three weeks. The only thing even remotely good about that time was that I got to go over to Cindy's back porch and visit the cats. Scrapper was an unusual looking cat. She was sort of tortoise shell swirly and she had one deformed eye. Cindy and my sister had really gone the extra mile for Scrapper and a couple of other sickly kittens. She had ring worm and lost all of her hair at some point. She had feline respiratory disease, and she had herpes of the eye. Scrapper was so good natured during all of her treatments that Cindy gave her the name "Scrapper."

Scrappers life overlapped my guide dog, Mara's life by a few months. They got along, but were not best friends.

In February of the next year, all of the cats were gone off the back porch except for Scrapper and one other cat that Cindy was keeping for herself. Scrapper came to Oregon. My father brought her out here on a plane. But he had put her in the dog, Abbey's, soft carry-on bag. Big mistake. When my dad walked in to our apartment with Scrapper, the carry-on had silver duct tape wrapped all around it where Scrapper had ripped into it. Scrapper's head was sticking out of a hole in the bag and my dad had wrapped his coat around it trying to keep her contained. He had bandages all over his hands that the flight attendants had put on all the scratches she inflicted on him. It was rather hilarious. My dad still hasn't completely recovered from that flight.

Scrapper and Aaron copying each other, spread eagle on the floor.

Scrapper was a little goofy. A little off. My sister strongly suspects that her father was also her grandfather. So there was a bit of in breading going on. And part of it was her poor eyesight. She would just get into these hilarious predicaments. She would jump up on the TV and promptly walk right off the back of it. Then she would be stuck down behind the TV. She could have just walked out the side, but she couldn't figure that out. She would meow until we came to save her.

Scrapper sharing the gymini with the babies.

Sometimes our other cat, Kai would come save her. Kai would help her out a lot. If Scrapper got stuck somewhere and meowed, sometimes D couldn't reach her and he would send Kai back to get her. Kai would go back and poke on her a bit and lead her out of wherever she was stuck.

When we moved into separate households, we tried to separate Scrapper and Kai. D took Kai and I took Scrapper. Scrapper was having none of that. She had such trouble at my house without Kai to give her the confidence she needed to get around. Or maybe it was just kitty companionship. In any case, I was on bed-rest and weeks away from delivery, so we all moved to D's house. After the kids were born, D had gotten so attached to her, and I was overwhelmed with kid duty, that she and Kai stayed at his place (except during the long hospitalizations, in which they both came to live with us.)

I remember when I first saw the cats after having the twins, the cats looked HUGE. Twelve pounds of cat was heavy after being used to five pound babies.

Kai could care less about my kids, but Scrapper always engaged with them. And also put up with a fair share of abuse. She liked to sit in their stroller. Sometimes she would let them push her around the living room in it. She would also ride around in D's wheelchair with him. She wouldn't walk to the kitchen herself to eat, she would jump on D and meow until he gave her taxi service there and dropped her off.

D has a wheelchair that he can tilt back and recline a bit in the seat. The whole seat tilts, so he is still in the 90-90 sitting position, but tilted. She would meow for him to tilt back his chair so she could sit in the crook of his lap and lay on his chest. She liked to sleep on your chest at night, too.

The date on this pic is 12/6/04. A day before my kids were born. Scrap kept me company on those long, anxiety ridden bedrest days when I couldn't see.

We gave her pain medication this past month, but she did not seem to be or show that she was in much pain. She was still her same happy self. Yesterday, she suddenly stopped eating and drinking and hid under D's bed for over 24 hours. We knew she was telling us that she was done. She had a way of letting you know what she wanted in no uncertain terms. We had thought of euthanizing her before now because we knew she was terminal, but she was so damned happy and content it didn't seem right. And when she was done being happy and content, she made her statement. So, we did take her to have her euthanized tonight. Very graciously, D's father sat with the (sleeping) kids while we took her in late this evening. And she was pretty calm and died right in D's lap where she belonged.

D holding Scrapper on his lap. This was taken a few days before she died. She went from 12 pounds to six pounds in a few weeks.

I think to myself that this cat should have been dead about a hundred times over-she would have never survived feral catdom with her 'disabilities' and would have been a tough cat to put up for adoption at a shelter- but my sister and Cindy and D and I (and even my dad) all committed to her because she was such a friendly, good-natured cat. So, she had four good years that she wouldn't have had otherwise. She had a good life, and I will miss her.

Scrap and I fought over who gets to use the computer chair a lot.

Comments

[snickollet]

Goodbye, Scrapper.

I wish that Scrapper and my cat Dinner could have met each other. They seem to have shared some quirks, or at least both were quirky.

I just love that picture of Aaron and Scrapper in the same position on the floor. Heh.

[Janice]

I am so sorry! I know you will miss him. Scrapper was fortunate to have had such a loving family.

[leslie]

delurking to say I'm sorry about Scrapper - she sounds like such a big personality - I know you'll miss her. I too have photos of a now long gone but fondly remembered cat lying on my pregnant belly.

[Laura in L.A.]

Lisa, I'm so sorry about Scrapper. I lost my 13-year-old "rescue" kitty, Lucy, to kidney failure last November, and I miss her so much. I found her in a parking lot when she was about 7 weeks old, and she was my baby. Scrapper was so lucky to have found her way to your family. Love to you all.

[Gretchen]

I'm sorry. It is so hard to loose a pet, and it never gets any easier, but I'm glad she had such a good and loving home.

[cherylc]

I'm so sorry about Scrapper. Our dog is dying, and it's almost unbearable. He's been with us for 16 years, the same amount of time we've been together. I can't imagine life without him.

Also, I like this story because it shows the softer side of you sister, and that's fun to see.

[Lantana]

Awwww. It is always so sad to see a friend lose a pet, but I am always happy to listen and provide a shoulder because I have lost beloved pets too. It isn't easy, they leave a hole in your heart!

Scrapper has crossed Rainbow Bridge, but will be in your heart forever.

Lantana

[Emmie (Better Make It A Double)]

What a beautiful tribute to a beautiful animal. I'm sorry, Lisa.

[Shannon]

What a pretty cat! I'm sorry to hear she's gone.

[Kenley]

Lovely kitty. But she's gone, its so sad.