We had to have Shadow put to sleep this morning. He had been having trouble breathing: we took him to the vet, where we discovered that he had been born with an enlarged heart, evidently common for Maine coon cats; this problem was coupled with a hurt diaphragm--we're not quite sure what happened there. The edema was so severe that the little guy labored with every breath.
Shadow, I will miss you. I will miss how you'd be the first to greet me upon returning home from work. I will miss the way you nestle your head in the sole of my foot. I will miss the way you head-butt me when I'm meditating, and I will miss the way you come along when I'm doing ritual and drink out of the water bowl located in the Western quarter. Mostly, I will miss the friendly nose-touch and the snuggling. :cry:





