loss of a family pet

About a month ago we had to make the hard decision to have our cat Annabelle put down.  We had her for almost 7 years,  from the time she was a little puff ball.  

This summer she had pawed at the screen door to get outside and when she ran out, the door slammed on her tail and she kept on going.  We took her to the vet and they said she had pulled a spot in the vertebrae of her tail about 1/2 inch apart.  Her tail would now only drag on the ground and she had no feeling in it.  We waited to see if the problem would heal over time, but it didn't, it only got worse.  The tail accident also caused her to lose bladder control, so she had to become a permanent outdoor cat.  The bladder problem caused her kidneys to start failing and she was getting to be a hunched over all the time.  She was in pain and miserable, so we made the decision to let her go.

Annabelle was the best cat ever, she was more like a dog.  She followed us everywhere, and had to be apart of everything we did.  Sam would go fishing down at the lake, she would follow him and sit next to him while he fished.  The kids would go outside to play and she would want to be a part of it.  She also loved having her picture taken.  She always knew when I was getting ready for a session, I would pull out the lights and the backgrounds and she would just plop down on the background and wait for me to take her picture. In this photo, I was taking Shelby's pictures and Annabelle had to follow us and be in at least one of them.

 At Christmas time the kids would be unwrapping presents, she would be there right in the middle of it.  

 Here she is watching Sienna in the right hand corner.

 Anyone that would come over, Annabelle would come and greet them right away, and of course they would always comment on what a beautiful cat she was.  Even people who weren't fond of cats liked Annabelle.

My oldest daughter, Shelby took it the hardest.  She was 4 years old when we got Annabelle.  Shelby would dress her up in doll clothes and push her in the doll stroller.  

Annabelle was also Shelby's first patient when she would dress up as a Veterinarian.  Shelby would pretend to give her shots and Annabelle would just lay there, happy to be playing along.  I have a video of Shelby and Sawyer doing a little skit as Mary and Joseph and they wrapped up Annabelle in a blanket as baby Jesus. 
We have lots of good memories of Annabelle as well as photos being she loved the camera.  She will definitely be a cat we will never forget.

We do have another cat.  Her name is Lily, she's a good cat, but she's no Annabelle.  A few days after Annabelle died, we found out Lily was pregnant.  That helped to ease the sadness, and the kids were excited about having kittens.  Lily had two kittens a little over a week ago now.  I'll post some pictures in a day or two.