...Tippy update,final...

Tippy died early this morning...
she had eaten well last night...
and drank a lot of water...
and then the rattle, and attempts to cough, began...

I heard my clock chime 2 AM...then 3...
as she struggled, coughed and struggled again...
her breathing eventually settled into a rattling, almost purr-like "pop'...
interspersed with whistling wheezing...

a little after 7 AM...
I awoke to the sounds of very labored gasping...
I got up and went to her nest...
where she was struggling to breathe...

I pushed up on her diaphragm to try and help
her cough up the phlegm choking her...
it didn't do much good...
I took her to the water, but she was too out of breath to drink...

I turned my back, and she got onto the floor...
crawling under my bed...
as I pulled her back out... in her paw was my ring...
[my diamond ring I'd lost back in December...
and could never find...]

I lay her, gasping, on my bed...
wiping away the under-the-bed dust bunnies...
since a bit of water had helped before...
I gave her a dropper full...

there was a small cough...
then she had a very small convulsion...
and went limp in my arms...
she was gone...

I have been "there" at the passing of many kitties...
it is, after all, the last thing that you can do
for a creature that has loved you faithfully...
it could have been so much harder on her...

I'll bury her in the garden she loved...
yesterday, before she ate lunch, she looked out, longingly...
I told her that she'd have to wait until she was better...
I guess she was tired of waiting....

sweet dreams, Tippy...
may all your gardens be warm and sunny...