Rest in Peace, Neighbor Kitty

I had this post all ready before I got a sad text message from my neighbor last night. In these photos, my calico girl Tonks was nestled in a cube of the cat tree, but then she saw the neighbor kitty outside the window and so had to crane her neck to watch him.

This neighbor kitty was indoor-outdoor and visited us often, sometimes daily, coming over for treats, pettings, and all the attention. His name was Tickey, and my neighbor texted me that last night they said goodbye to him. He had been struggling with an illness that his vet could not quite pinpoint, and so they were starting to think he had cancer hidden somewhere. My neighbor had warned me a month or two ago that they might have to say goodbye to him soon, and that she'd try to let me know ahead of time if the time came so that we could say goodbye to him, as she knew that he spent a lot of time in my yard keeping us company. Unfortunately, when my neighbor and her husband got home from work last night, they found their kitty really struggling, and so they rushed him to the vet, where he was set free from his suffering.

I recently shared the below photo, which was already a flashback taken a year or two ago. Even so, there's the neighbor kitty Tickey having a snack on our front porch, completely oblivious to Thimble's flirting.

I'm grateful that sweet neighbor kitty Tickey visited me yesterday morning, and though I wish I'd spent more time with him before I went to work, I did give him his usual dose of treats, pettings, and cooing. My sister currently lives me with and also spent a lot of time with this kitty, and he also visited her before she headed off to work yesterday a bit after I did. We're both very grateful that we got to see him yesterday, even if, in hindsight, the visits were much shorter than we would have liked.

I've actually known kitty Tickey longer than I've known any of my own furbabies, as he was somewhere around 15 years old and has been an indoor-outdoor kitty who patrolled the neighborhood since his youth. He was like the neighborhood mascot, and like so many others, I'm really going to miss him. For many, many years, I've been so used to him running over to see me at all times of the day and sometimes even the night.

Rest in peace and fly high, Tickey. The neighborhood just won't be the same without you, but we'll meet again someday. My thoughts and prayers are also with my neighbor, as in the past couple of years she has lost her dog and now also her kitty.

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Flashback Christmas in July Doodle of the Day

We shared a flashback Christmas in July doodle yesterday, and we'll be doing the same for most of this week. Today's is from a few years ago, and I honestly had completely forgotten about this one.

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Tip of the Day

Today's pet parenting tip is one that relates to that dreaded vet's office. As you all certainly know, it is recommended that your furbaby be seen by a veterinarian at least once a year. But, if you're anything like me, all throughout the year you find yourself questioning this or that about your furbaby. Of course, if you notice any abnormalities that are a concern or that are in need of immediate attention, do not hesitate to contact your veterinarian. Otherwise, sometimes we find ourselves with questions that we know are not emergencies and that are not truly in need of immediate attention, but that do pique our interest. That's why today's tip is to, if needed, keep a little notebook or note sheet handy, such as on a counter or on the refrigerator, where you can write down questions to ask your veterinarian at your furbaby's next exam. Whether it be a general question about food, exercise, grooming, behavior, or anything else, write it down when you think of it. That way, you can take your notes with you to your furbaby's next exam and sort out any questions you have in one fell swoop.