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Goodbye Little Mouse

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~Mûske~

2002 — 2019

Seventeen years ago, we brought this scrappy little thing home from the local shelter. She was eight weeks old:

This photo does not do her cuteness and kitten energy justice.

We named her Mûske, which means little mouse in Frisian, because she was so little. She grew into a robust, but still small, indoor/outdoor cat who spent most of her time outside roaming our couple of acres and the woods across the road. She was quick to establish her vast territory, and sported a nick in her left ear most of her life to prove it. Hate to see what the other cats looked like when she was finished.

Mûske started to show signs of age about a year ago, but she kept up her in and out routine, opting mostly for the garden when she wanted to nap.

A few months ago, her health started to decline at a heart-breaking rate. She could get up on things, but not down, she stopped roaming the property, and then stopped going outside all together. Then she quit trying to hop up on the bed or the couch, opting instead for blankets on the floor near the fire. Her appetite diminished, and my once meticulously groomed cat lost her ability to groom and developed horrible mats that most likely added to her discomfort. We tried to help, but she didn’t like that. Feisty until almost the end — her file at the animal clinic has a warning on it.

Late last night she had several stroke-like episodes. By the time we were ready to put her in her carrier and get her to the vet, she could no longer use her limbs and was stuck prone on the floor. Sadly, we decided, in consultation with the vet, that it was time to let her go.

Mûske has been part of my morning routine for so many years, spending enough time on my lap to warm up, get in my way, and get enough scritches before she headed out on her rounds or hanging out with me while I worked in the garden...this morning has been particularly tough. She’s everywhere and nowhere.

We’ve been irregular regulars in the PWB diaries for about eight years, so I wanted to share a few memories with all of you:

Storm (also now gone) was her buddy and her nemesis. She won all the battles because Storm always gave up.

The garden was her domain, and she kept a close watch on every little thing

She had marvelous feet, which she enjoyed contemplating...

...and which took very good care of (we must not go out with things stuck between our toze).

Mûske often pondered the wonders of the universe. Or recited Shakespeare in her head. Not sure which.

Halloween was her favorite holiday and autumn her favorite season because of the colors, of course

She reckoned she made a good home office assistant

She knew she was sooo cute when she was sleeping, so she slept a lot so I could get a kazillion pictures of her snoozing

Near her final days, when she started going out less often, she would sometimes settle on the door mat to have a snooze and show off her jelly bean toes (h/t to Horsefeathers for the jelly bean toes — love that)

Happy Hollydaze all. And thanks for joining me in saying goodbye to my best bud ever.

Prrrrrr, prrrrrr, prrrrr


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