Angel came home last night. According to mom, she barely made it up the stairs. Her walking is painful to watch. They say she is weak, skinny, and unhappy.

She slept in my old room last night, with my brother sleeping right with her in the bed and my best friend Summer sleeping on the ground.

This morning, Angel hid herself in my closet and turned her back to face the wall.

The family is out at their jobs. When they get home this afternoon, they will take her back to the vet’s and put my baby to rest. They’ll call me so that I can talk to her on speakerphone as she takes her last breaths. She will then be creamated.

I have never lost a pet, but I must say that it hurts as much as the loss of any family member. Angel’s been with me since I was 9 years old and has seen us through so much.

Since I found out the news, I’ve been crying pretty much non-stop and uncontrollably. My mom and brother are inconsolable. This is a sad, horrible day for our family.

My best friend was so kind to upload a bunch of recent photos of Angel. She’s looking so adorable and happy, just as we all want to remember her. You can view the photos here.

I will update later if I can.

I received a phone call tonight. Two, in fact. My mom, back-to-back calls. That’s very unusual.

So I picked up the second time. She was at the emergency vet’s office.

Angel’s kidneys are failing.

Angel hasn’t been eating the past few days, which indicated to my mom that something was very wrong. Today she decided to take Angel to the emergency room, where they did blood tests and determined that Angel’s kidneys were going out.

The doctor gave her several options. One was to leave Angel overnight with an IV and a catheter, then come back tomorrow. Another was to go through painful treatments to try to extend her life a couple of months, at most. Another was to insert a water pack under Angel’s skin, which would keep her hydrated for a couple of hours, then take Angel home and bring her back to the hospital in the morning. The final option was to euthanize her right away.

Angel’s going home tonight with a water pack under her skin. She’ll be home. We don’t know what will happen tonight– but we do know what will happen tomorrow morning because Angel will go to kitty heaven and catch all the birds she could ever dream of.

It kills me more than anything in the world that I can’t be there right now with my baby Angel. It kills me more than anything in the world. That’s my first cat, my baby, my Angel. I wish I could be there.

My baby Angel, I’m there with you and I love you so much. I love you and I’ll miss you forever and ever. You’re the best cat that ever lived.

Here’s to 19 years, my baby girl.

We may have 5 cats living in the house, but we also have an extended family of kitties living around the country.

This is little Angel. Angel is my cat out in California. She’s a young and lively 19 years old (yes, 19). She’s old enough to vote and drive, but is really looking forward to her 21st so she can out for some beers. This black & white shorthair was catching birds up until she was 16 years old– she’s a spry little angel.

Like most cats, Angel spends a lot of time sleeping– a girl has to get her beauty rest, you know.

Here’s my Angel looking curious. Isn’t she a doll?

After napping and investigating various places around the house, Angel takes care of her lean figure by practicing yoga. She’s quite agile, you know.

I haven’t seen Angel in about 2 years :( I’ll get to see her again when I go out to visit for Christmas, so I’ll get some more pictures of my adorable baby then.

Miss you so much, my baby Angel. RIP.

This is Mocha. She likes to be on top.

When Mocha takes a bath, she doesn’t mess around.

“Who the hell is this?” Mocha has attitude.

Mocha is the owner of our folks (on Chris’ side). She is quite the princess.