We Had to Put Lavi to Sleep Today

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Lavi, June 2003 - November 5, 2010
You will be missed

As I mentioned a month ago, we took her in for what looked like a bad tooth, and it turned out to be an aggressive malignant tumor.

She had stopped eating, is in pain, and is exhibiting difficulty moving, so we had to put her to sleep today.

In the pictures, you can notice the swelling on the side of her head, and the unequal pupils from the effect of the tumor on her right eye.

We buried her in the back yard, in the corner where the hill starts.

I found her in July of 1993.

I was driving from Orrville, OH, to Akron, and was sick and tired of the bottle of windshield washer fluid banging around in my trunk, so I pulled over to the side of the road, and grabbed the bottle, and popped the hood.

Under the hood, I saw something furry, and moving.

At first, I thought that it was a rat, but then I saw the ears and whiskers, so I picked her up, she fit in the palm of my hand, and she proceeded to puff herself up and hiss and spit in an attempt to intimidate me.

I took her home, and gave her a saucer of milk, and went and got some cat food.

The next day, I caught her brother, Tudza, who survives her, as they were crying to each other through the door.

She is older than my marriage, and she outlived the car under whose hood I found her so it was a good run, particularly since she survived a bout of hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) 5½ years ago.

Both she and Tudza imprinted on me, so I guess that I am their "mommy", though she was also my daughter Natalie's cat.

Tudza is still alive and active, having never left his 1^st kitten hood.