Good-Bye, Emily!!

I've been putting off writing about this, but here goes:  I had to say good-bye to my very special friend, my cat Emily, two days ago.  Yes, Emily was almost 14 years old and she'd had a good life, but the two of us had been together for a VERY long time & we'd become quite attached to each other (almost literally)--and she was also VERY fond of her dad, Noah.  Emily slept beside me on the bed every night, she lay on my lap when I watched TV, and she sat patiently (often for hours) on my desk while I worked or played on the computer.  Anytime I called her, day or night, she'd come running immediately, meowing all the way.  She liked to lay on Noah's chest when I wasn't home. And she's the one who gave Noah the stamp of approval when we first started dating.  The first time he asked to come to my place I told him, "OK, but my cat won't like you!"  She'd always hated my dates, but she was in his lap purring before I knew what had happened, and the rest, as they say, is history.  Emily started showing signs of not feeling well very suddenly on Thanksgiving Day, and it was all downhill fast from there.  We took her to the vet last Friday and he said either kidney failure, end-stage diabetes or cancer &  he didn't hold out much hope in any case.  We brought her back home, hoping to let her go in her own time, but she couldn't eat, and by Tuesday it had been over a week with no food, she was skin and bones and could barely croak out a meow--though she still tried--she'd always been a talkative gal.  But she could still put out a pretty good purr right up to the end.  She spent her last night at home sleeping between Noah & I under the covers, then on Tuesday morning, I wrapped her up in a blanket and Noah drove us to the vet's. I was with her when she was put down--the vet sedated her first, so she didn't know or feel a thing--it was all very peaceful.  So...another good friend gone to heaven.  At least she's got good company up there: all her big brothers:  Ernie, Zeke, Easy, Bear, Odie and Bo.  Good-bye, Emily.  I love you &  miss you very much!!!