Jean(ne) Grey, 2003-2019
9/25/2003 - 1/3/2019
After taking the cat to three vets, I agreed it was time to euthanize Jean Grey. She was 15. A probable brain tumor took away her ability to move and eat, and she was probably in pain, even with a painkiller. Originally spelled Jeanne (I changed the spelling after looking up the superhero on the Internet), she grew up with my sister’s family in the St. Cloud area. I agreed to take her for five weeks in the spring of 2015, and by the end of that time, I had bonded with her. She was a wonderful companion, hopping into my lap, resting on Kori’s stomach, playing with a plastic string, and navigating the obstacle course I set up for her. Her sixth life was after I almost gave her fatty liver syndrome adjusting her diet. Her seventh life was after we took her down from the balcony railing. Her eighth life was pill and powder for her kidneys and eyedrops for uveitis. Her ninth life was palliative care after the onset of brain tumor symptoms. In cat years she was about 77. RIP Jean Grey, may your cat spirit find a good place.
posted by Tom Cleland @ 1/06/2019 10:11:00 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
My sister and niece filled me in on some of JG’s family folklore.
Jeanne’s mother Susen and Susen’s sister Lucy (named after the Narnia characters) were expert mousers. They were heroes after solving the neighborhood mouse problem over the course of about a year.
Jeanne’s father was named Goose because he sounded like a goose as he circled the property. He was a very large feral cat, could have been the Maine Coon breed, with tabby coloration like Jeanne.
My sister thought the cat’s heat cycle was 6 months, like a dog, not relatively continuous, and so one day Goose emerged from the swamp and quickly mated Susen.
Goose was later live-trapped, bit three people at the Humane Society, and was euthanized.
Jeanne’s siblings were Moxie, Houdini, Aslan, and Lupe. Jeanne was originally named Tubbs, and later nicknamed Fatty McTavish. My sister found homes for all the kittens, but the Nanny of the family for Jeanne was allergic and so Jeanne was returned to my sister.
After the kittens were born, Lucy died suddenly of pneumonia.
Susen tried to teach the kittens to hunt, but most were not interested. Jeanne was a partial hunter, and would sometimes toy with her prey by the front door. Sometimes she would carry living frogs or toads in her mouth, sneak them into the house, and release them.
After the kids flung hair bands at Jeanne, she ate one, putting a stop to that annoyance.
Susen had seizures and was euthanized around 2014.
Jeanne lived in different places around that time and was stressed out by other cats. I took her in 2015, and while I never saw her hunt, I was impressed with her jumping ability, and her quick reflexes in grabbing a clear nylon string.
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