Aw, Slinky.

She had been sleeping in the bathroom for the past 2-3 weeks (we opened the window for her and put a fleece blanket in there so she could recline in comfort, but at night we closed the window and tossed the fleece on the floor...and she just curled up on the fleece instead of going to her bed), and now we think maybe she knew Toke was sick and was avoiding her.

I know we can't know, and we don't feel guilty, because we take the pets to the vet whenever anything is wrong. But it's hard not to look back at certain behaviors and wonder.

And I'm grimly amused that the 19-year-old renal failure kitty who gets SQ fluids a few times a week and liquid meds every night is the last cat standing. For real, when I left for Chicago last week, I told Slinky very seriously not to die while I was gone. If we get up one morning and she's gone peacefully in her sleep, it'll be sad, but not surprising. But Toke was the only resident of Stately Beckmeyer Manor who wasn't taking daily meds for something. She was the one who seemed like she'd be trucking along after we were all using walkers and portable oxygen. Fooled us.

Slinky is eternal. After the heat death of the universe, there will be Twinkies, roaches, and Slinky.

Perhaps Slinky is a lich-cat, just decided to skip the whole dying thing.

Aw, Steph. And yeah, interpreting cat signals is tough. (Way harder than Bat signals.)

When I visited my brother two years ago one of his cats was taking on that sort of frail aspect and I pretty sure he wasn't long for this world. Fast forward to a month or so ago and the other, apparently healthy cat suddenly developed renal failure and died in a matter of weeks. Meanwhile skeletal older cat carries on.

apparently healthy cat suddenly developed renal failure and died in a matter of weeks. Meanwhile skeletal older cat carries on.

When I said I thought Toke would be around for a long time, Tim said, "I didn't, because she was so fat." I said "Hey!" and pointed to my belly, and he said "You exercise! Toke slept 22 hours a day and spent the other 2 eating!" So, fair point.

I feel like the skeletal older cats (Slinky is *barely* 4 pounds, which is an increase from last year) are just too stubborn to die.

That was Gracie, for sure. She made it to 22.

Okay, THAT is an eternal cat.

I think the longest a domestic cat has been recorded to live was 24 or 25? I knew a cat named Daughter who lived to be 22. She'd been owned by the same woman since she was a kitten so there was no doubt how old she was. She was a furious kitty in her old age, we used to say Death was just too scared of her to get close enough.

Slinky may have deflected the grim reaper towards Toke. I would believe that 100%. Slinky is wily.

And yeah, interpreting cat signals is tough.

So true. They instinctively hide weakness, even from us who just want to help.

Yeah, we worked out Gracie's age from my sister's - H was just starting in middle school when we got Gracie, and she's 36 now.