Goodbye Trixie

Goodbye Trixie

We said goodbye to our girl Trixie today. 15 years ago this month I walked into the Rochester Hills, Michigan Humane Society to get a cat. They had one: a skinny, scrawny little six-month-old black cat who had a serious attitude. When I took her into the meet-and-greet room, she tried to climb the walls and howled at the top of her lungs the whole time. She wasn’t exactly the sweet  fluffy cat I’d had in mind! I still decided to take her home, and I named her after my favorite book character, Trixie Belden.

(Trixie through the years. The top left was her 5th birthday party!)

Trixie did have attitude. We joked that she was basically a goth kid who may cut you in your sleep but secretly had a heart of gold. She wasn’t mean, but she wanted things her way. If any cat would ever learn to speak it would be Trix. And she’d do it just to cuss you out. She was my best friend. She was with me through seven different houses, roommates who came and went, boyfriends who came and went, the death of both of my parents, marrying Andy, getting the puppy Ruby (who she had a love-hate relationship with) and having baby Joey. She was a constant figure and so many times when other things went wrong in my life I’d tell Trixie, “at least we always have each other.”

Trixie was diagnosed with kidney failure in February. She was at the very beginnings of the disease at that point and responded really well to her new diet. At her checkup in August she had actually put on weight (Trixie was always pleasantly plump… very pleasantly plump). But then a couple of weeks ago, actually when we returned from our weekend in Michigan, she just didn’t seem right. It may have happened gradually and it took a couple of days away to notice, but she was suddenly skinnier, scruffier and not quite herself. The vet said that she had lost two pounds since August, which is huge in someone so small. He said she could potentially have a few months left, but I told Andy that I knew it would only be a few days. I just knew her well enough to know. She declined quickly. It was very stressful, and today we knew it was time.

(Two weeks ago.)

We’re both heartbroken — and Andy didn’t even liked cats before he met Trix! — but we’re also just so thankful to have had the opportunity to know and love Trixie as much as we did. As one of my best friends said, “she was the worst, in the best possible way.” We will miss her forever, in the best possible way.

In my family when someone dies, we throw a party. We hire a band, rent out a restaurant, get a keg, share funny stories and eat lots of dessert. So I say let’s all just have a little dessert for Trixie tonight — with a big glass of milk.

(P.S. Remember when we threw a party for Trixie’s 13th birthday?!)