Yesterday, May 24th, we said goodbye to our beloved elderly cat, Savannah. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings swirling around in my head right now and since I re-discovered my love for writing through creating this blog, I’ve found that this is the way I best express myself and order my thoughts. If you’re a fellow animal lover I understand this might be a tough read, so if that’s the case feel free to skip this one… But otherwise, let me tell you about my best friend.

I adopted Savannah from a work friend of mine. This friend had four cats and the apartment she was moving to would only allow two, so she was looking to re-home half of them — fortunately, I was considering adopting a cat already. “I think Savannah would be perfect for you, why not come over and meet her this week?” she said to me during one shift. She showed me a very funny picture that encapsulated her personality: it was three of her cats side-by-side eating from a row of dishes at mealtime and then there was Savvy, munching reluctantly off to the side and perpendicular from the others. She was always a bit of a diva and my friend thought she’d probably do really well in a household with no other cats and no children. Later that week I would follow through on my promise to visit and meet her. When she immediately climbed onto my lap, sniffed my face, and then put herself in a tight loaf between the two of us I knew I had to take this sweet girl.

I had finished college a few years prior and had been working in my small hometown, but had designs on moving to an actual city (Pittsburgh) and getting a job as a social worker there. Once my job and living situations were figured out and my car was packed to go, my last stop was to pick up Savannah. My friend already had her in a carrier for me, set me up with some bare necessities for her, and then we immediately hit the road. I remember her heartbreaking meows of confusion throughout the trip but I did my best to reassure her that she was going to be just fine with me. After we arrived and got my car mostly unpacked, I watched as she explored with some trepidation, sniffing around and wandering the perimeter of the apartment. I recall her being very shy at first, I would constantly find her hiding just around a corner and observing me from afar. I also remember that in the first week of having her she peed on a big stack of my nice work clothes. I was of course upset with her but recognized it was probably anxious behavior and tried to be as patient as possible.

Before long, Sav came out of her shell and showed just how sweet she really was. She became my constant companion, following me around the apartment and hopping up onto my lap (or in front of my monitor if she was in a mood) whenever possible. She showed this affection to others as well — my various roommates and visiting friends throughout the years loved her, and there’s practically an entire category of my camera roll where she’s sitting on yet another new person’s lap 5 minutes after meeting them. It was funny though, she was always super friendly until suddenly she decided she was done and retired to a quiet place in the house to recharge. I guess I never thought of it this way, but we were definitely both introverts.

I will forever remember all the little quirks of her personality, from the way she would trill when jumping up onto countertops like a launch signal, or how she’d try to climb into cabinets and stuff herself into a little outward-facing loaf if you left them a bit open. Before she got very old she loved to drink out of the bathroom faucet and would follow me into the bathroom expecting me to open the tap for her. A little hydro homie til the end. She could be a troublemaker too; one time when my partner was cooking dinner she had some garlic butter out on the countertop, she turned around to face the stove for 10 seconds and when she turned back there was Savvy, making direct eye contact with her while licking the butter (she didn’t get much, fortunately). She had a funny habit of hopping into a bin in my closet that I kept socks in; when we would go looking for her and found her curled up in there we would always call out “Savvy is socks.”

Savannah was 17 when we made the agonizing decision to say goodbye to her. She had gone blind from high blood pressure, had chronic kidney disease, arthritis, and likely had lung and/or heart trouble at the end as well. We made our home as comfortable and accommodating as possible for her in her golden years and I like to think she saw and appreciated that. Savvy had been my loyal companion for almost 15 years; I counted it up and figured out that she’d been with me through 10 moves, 4 jobs, and even a second stint in college. She’d been with me through it all, from being a flat broke student in a studio apartment all the way through buying a home, making a career, moving in with my partner and her dog, and adopting a little cat sister. All the while she was a constant source of love, companionship, and comfort. I remember in my time as a county social worker I’d often come home from a really shitty day and I swear she could recognize it; she’d immediately hop onto the couch with me, curl up on my chest, and purr up a storm while rubbing her face against mine. She helped me get through some very tough times and I’m not sure I’d be where I am today without her. She showed this kind of love and affection to anyone who walked through our door.

The sad thing about our beloved pets is that they can’t really advocate for themselves, and cats are particularly so good at hiding their pain as a survival behavior that it’s hard to gauge their pain day to day. The least we can do for them is to recognize when they’re suffering and have the strength to let them go when their quality of life has reached its nadir. In the end she passed peacefully in her own home, flanked by the people who loved her. All the while our dog anxiously stayed next to her, giving her a little affectionate nuzzle and lick on the ears as she entered her final sleep. Thank you for all the wonderful years together, my furry little friend. Rest well. I love you and will cherish the time we spent together forever and always.

Thank you for reading.