Bee-Dix the Cat

I'm a dog guy.

I've had cats in my life before, but my affinity for dogs is lifelong. Don't know if it's that "man's best friend" thing or not - but something about the canine satisfies.

When the day comes that a dog re-enters our family life, I will be it's calm, assertive pack leader (Guess who watches and is mesmerized by "The Dog Whisperer"?).

Having said that, though, my heart is breaking because we put our 16 year old cat down today.

Felix has been in our lives since before Andrew was born. He has endured three kids, two dogs and three relocations.

As cats go, he was sweet. Not to me, so much. There was never any question, Kristy was his. And yes, that last sentence is stated correctly.

His health has been failing the last year, and the past couple of months especially. We've pursued the usual tests and pondered courses of treatment.

"Cancer" remained out there as the likely issue.

Symptoms have been worsening, and all the while Kristy and I have wondered what to do, how far to go, when to consider ultimate issues.

Thankfully, our vet was grace-full enough to say out loud what we were scared to. It didn't make the choice any easier, but there is something validating to hear someone tell us that the best decision is often the most painful one.


Now, how to talk about this with the boys . . .

It's not like my family hasn't face death before . . . but it's never easy. It's also more difficult when you have to deal with the questions that this outcome was hastened by decisions made by us.

My older kids get it. We're trying to figure out what to tell the little one.

In the meantime - I'm thankful to have had Felix in our lives.

Oh, and the title of this post? As Christopher was learning to talk, every word had "B" sound whether one was called for or not.

Very cute. So, "Felix" was "Beedix." And it stuck.