Saying Goodbye to Cobh

 Sept 2002 - Oct. 15, 2020

Back in Spring of 2003, we went to PetSmart in Columbia for Pet adoption day to find a cat for our family. There were 2 kittens about 8 months old in one cage, we hadn't considered getting two pets, but someone said "sisters" and I replied "You can't separate sisters" and Jim sighed in resignation. We came home with 2 kittens that day. We had just been to Ireland and loved the city of Cobh. The bigger kitten we named Cobh and the smaller one we named Pippin, after the Hobbit. They were affectionate, and Cobh especially loved to be touched and purred constantly.

They were indoor/outdoor cats and would join us on walks around the block. They came with us to the bus stop and we would see them with other neighborhood cats. The girls called these meetups Cat Club and they assumed when the cats went out with purpose that there must be a meeting. Cobh and Pippin would meow at the door to go out and would jump up and scratch at the living room window if we took too long to let them in. We had to replace the front screen with special cat proof mesh. Many summer nights were spent outside. Our neighbor told us that when they were looking at houses and pulled onto our road, Cobh and Pippin were sleeping in the middle of the road, as they did regularly, and he knew it was the neighborhood for them. Our neighbor Jim was so surprised one day to realize he had left his door open and a while later he discovered Cobh on his bed. Our cats made the rounds and were well loved on our street. Cobh and Pippin did occasionally kill a bird or mouse and once a baby bunny, so we got them bells and we added a second bell to Pippin who was the more successful hunter. Over all of those years Cobh never lost her blue collar. After 17 years the clasp broke, but by that time Cobh was a fulltime inside cat, with only the occasional visit to the porch or back patio.

Cobh always approached kids if they sat on the floor and always tolerated play time well. Each of the girls at some point covered her in blankets and snuggled up with her.  Cobh was always bigger than Pippin, we think it was because some of the neighbors fed her, and we called her Big Kitty. We had a cat door in the basement door and if the door wasn't fully closed Cobh would go through and get stuck. She would have to scramble to get through the door as it moved with her and it made us giggle. Cobh always loved sleeping in front of the heat vents and when she was at her biggest we would tease that she was hogging all of the heat. 

In the Spring of 2012 Megan's girl scout troop had a pet talent show and Megan brought Cobh. She dressed her in the blue tutu, walked her on a makeshift leash and showed her "talent". If you scratched Cobh's back she would bite her foot. Cobh didn't win a prize but she certainly deserved one for not being phased by all of the other animals and being amazingly accommodating. 

 In 2014 Pippin died and Cobh was our only cat until Rachael adopted Leia at the end of 2016. By then Cobh couldn't climb the stairs as well so we moved her litter box up to the mudroom. Cobh and Leia never really warmed up to each other, despite our efforts, so we effectively had an upstairs cat and a downstairs cat. Cobh got very round and couldn't get up and down as well from the sofa, so we made sure to give her a lift. Cobh regularly slept on Megan's bed and Megan arranged her poof at the end of her bed so Cobh could get down safely. Watching her use the poof was funny because she would go slow and it would lower with her. Cobh was a great companion, especially when someone was sad. Cobh's purr was generous and therapeutic. Cobh thinned down as she moved into her senior years, and all of the fur would puddle around her as she sat and sway back and forth as she walked. We started affectionately calling Cobh our Old Lady. 

Cobh liked drinking water in the bathroom from a bowl on the floor and would push open the door to join anyone in the hope to get fresh water. We were always happy to oblige, we also managed to kick the bowl occasionally and get water all over the floor. This spring it was obvious to all of us that we were lucky to still have Cobh and we knew she wouldn't be with us forever. We were glad that quarantine allowed us all to spend a lot of time together. That time inspired us to adopt 2 kittens, Saoirse and Tara. We brought them home in June. By that time Cobh started drinking excessively and losing weight and we discovered it was a symptom of a thyroid condition. Our previously plump kitty began to look frail. I took her back and forth to the vet (I stayed in the van due to Covid restrictions) and we got her on medication but there wasn't much else that made sense for our almost 18 year old girl. When we brought the kittens home, Cobh was a bit leery at first but her tolerance grew and Saoirse was persistent at getting near her but being submissive. It was really sweet to see Saoirse so sweet and eager. 

All of us got more protective of Cobh as the summer went on and by fall we had shifted to kitty hospice in the living room. We set up a litter box in the living room on one side of her bed and with food and water bowls on the other. We made a point to have the girls say good night to her before bed and goodbye if they were leaving the house. Bridget would scoop Cobh up and have her join us on the couch if we were watching a show. Cobh was wobbly and it took her effort to lay down, but Cobh would curl up and enjoy the pets. We would bring her into Megan's bed while Meg was recovering from her foot surgery.  Cobh was great company. 

We talked about end of life options and I talked to the vet. The girls didn't want to say goodbye earlier than necessary. Our preference was to have her at home when she died and to bury her in the back yard. The vet wouldn't let all of us in so we decided to comfort Cobh at home. It was harder than we expected. On the 15th Cobh couldn't stand and had a seizure. Hanna was still at school and Jim was getting ready to head to work for his first day of tours since the shutdown. He saw the seizure and we gathered the girls. Jim said his goodbyes. The girls and I then took turns holding Cobh and comforting her. Johanna soon came home and we also called Emma on FaceTime so she could say goodbye as well. It was a hard few hours. Megan was holding Cobh when she died. We had prepared a spot in the planting bed in the back yard and I had a sheet to wrap her in. Rachael had gathered marigolds. Each of the girls wrote Cobh a note and we buried Cobh with them and the flowers. It was good to be together. 

Emma came down that night for a sister sleepover in the basement. They watched movies and kept each other company. It was comforting. 

Cobh was a sturdy constant in our family and so unconditionally patient and accepting. We will really miss her. We will miss her purrs and the way she would regally sit with her one cream paw tucked high and the other tucked low.  I am so glad for the time we had with her. I will miss her.