Dreary day.....

Well, I was hoping that Rusty's last day with us would be like yesterday...... sunny and bright. Not going to happen. It's been cloudy since this morning, and we've had a little bit of rain now and then, and it looks like this is how it's going to be for the rest of the day.

Sad to think that this will be Rusty's last day with us. We've had this cat since January of 1994, and he's been a good cat, for the most part. I say that with a smile, because Rusty was always a "real" cat..... not a "puppy" cat, as our others tend to be. Rusty was always the old man cat, even when he was younger. I would guess that living on the street for the first year or two of his life hardened him a little bit. All our other cats have been with us since they were tiny kittens, so they never knew what it was to not have a meal or a place to hide from the rain.

I can remember the day we brought Gracie home from the SPCA... she was just a tiny puppy, no bigger than Rusty was at the time. We had Gracie out in the backyard with Rusty, and that cat just sat there looking at Gracie as she pranced all around him. The look on Rusty's face was just priceless, as if he were saying "That four-legged thing is not a cat, you know...... you need to bring her right back where you got her and tell them they gave you the wrong thing."

For the longest time, Rusty wouldn't stay in the same room with Gracie, and would hiss at her if she got too close. Slowly but surely, Rusty and Gracie made peace with one another...... Gracie is wonderful with all of our cats, and they all play with her like puppies. Except, of course, for Rusty. He's a cat, and that's that, and he has to desire to play with a dog. Beneath his cat-dignity, I guess.

Speaking of dignity, I hope this afternoon goes easy and quickly for Rusty. I'm sure this will be harder on us than on Rusty. He's going to be in his crate again, and in the car, and I'll be telling him we're going on a little adventure, as I say to all of them when we have to take them in the car.

So far, it's not hitting me hard, and I don't feel as sad as I thought I would. I have no regrets about our decision because I know it's the right thing to do. And I know we've taken good care of Rusty since the day we found him, so I have no guilty feelings about what we need to do today.

Our young Miss C was here after school yesterday, and she said her goodbyes to Rusty. She was out on the deck with Rusty, whispering in his ear. Poor Rusty couldn't even get up to walk over to her, as he usually does when C comes to our house. C got down on her hands and knees and crawled behind the little table on the deck where Rusty was curled up. Whatever she whispered into his ear will forever be a secret between C and Rusty.