I got Normal in the summer of 2017 when she was just 5 months old and I was 15 working my first job. I had my mom drive me all the way to Houston area to get her, I even paid for a rental car because our family car wouldn’t have made it that far. I found out that first day that she loved chin & nose scratches. She slept with me on the hotel bed and had a blast in the car ride back home. When we got home, she met the rest of my family and she loved everyone – but she would always have a sweet spot for me. Over the years, I got to know her very well. When I would get home from school, she would just talk to me almost like she was filling me in on what I missed. When she was really excited to see me or wanted something she would do a part purr & part meow, one of the many things I loved about her. I started to know what her different meows meant, if she was hungry, wanted to play, or just wanted to talk. She quickly became my emotional support animal, and I became her emotional support human.
I knew Normal was a Siamese mix, but it wasn’t until recently I knew that she was specifically a Tortoise-Shell Point Siamese (meaning she wasn’t just Siamese, but also mixed with Tortoiseshell. Until I knew that, I told everyone that she was a “speckled Siamese”. Normal was snowball white when she was a baby, and over the years she lost her youthful white color and earned her beautiful & unpredictable tan coat. The only part of her coat that stayed the same were the dark parts.
She used to like the car until she got taken to the vet for a check up, shots, & then to be fixed. She knew if she was in a carrier it was not going to be fun for her. She loved sunbathing & climbing trees. She would point her nose up on windy days like she was trying to smell what the wind was carrying.
While in between living places, I kept her where we grew up together – at my parents house.
After her 8th birthday this year (while I was 2 months pregnant) , she was looking a bit worse for wear. She was weak, not wanting to eat or drink, and sluggish. I decided to try and take her in with me, but she couldn’t be outside like she wanted and it seemed to make her depressed. Her health improved, but she lost her spunk. So I took her back to my parents house where she had a quick turn around. She was the light of my visits to my parents house, every time I went over I searched for her and she would just fill me in on what I’ve missed like she did when I was at school all day. She knew my voice and would come running (or walking) to me every time as long as she wasn’t sleeping too hard.
It wasn’t until we were almost through April that I got word that she got stuck out in a rainstorm, and that caused major worry for me. Everyone knew she needed to be inside for the night, and she would wait at either door to be let inside every night like clockwork. My family said she didn’t come in that night, and was left to endure the rainstorm in its fullest. The next day I went over, called her name and she came out from underneath the back porch.
Her fur matted, her eyes tired, and her belly caved in. She was weak and cold. I took her inside to warm her up and offer her food and water and she (politely) declined. Efforts from everyone in my family were put in, feeding & watering with a pipette… Until after two days she wasn’t moving on her own anymore. She laid there just trying to rest. We called vets and they all said if we didn’t want euthanasia, to just make her as comfortable as possible. So that’s what we did. When I would pet her or kiss her or hold her, she would let out soft sweet little purrs. I told her it was okay if she needed to go and tried to make her as comfortable as possible with a soft blanket. Later that night she crossed over to be with our late loved ones & pets. It’s just as heart wrenching as losing a human loved one, but I have been so thankful to find Pet Passages because I am now able to hold onto memories of her and have her with me wherever I go. I don’t have to worry about burying her or leaving her in an unmarked grave that eventually I won’t live by anymore. It’s affordable & the people are kind.