No more Chloe

Liam,
Last week, I took Chloe, our cat, to the animal shelter. I adopted Chloe in the August of 2003, so I'd had her for 6.5 years. When I adopted her, I knew that the prevoius owner had given her up for something hading to do with having a baby... I guess that I should have known that something would go wrong sooner or later if I had a baby...

Even before you were born, Chloe peed on things. Within just a few weeks of getting her, she peed on my brand new couch. Later, she actually peed in/on my purse, a pair of my shoes, and repeatedly on one chair in the living room. These were not accidents; she definitely did it on purpose. Still, she was a well-behaved cat, so we kept her.

After you were born, the peeing continued. She peed on the chair more, until we threw it away. When we got a new chair (that looked just like the old one) she peed on the new one within minutes of it being assembled. We had to get rid of the recliner after she peed on it too. For awhile, the only piece of furniture to sit on in the living room was the couch. She peed on your activity mat and a pile of your little toys (that you played with when you very little- like less than 3 months old).

As you got older and became more mobile, Chloe went into hiding. She definitely didn't like being chased by you. I know you never meant to hurt her. You just wanted to touch her and be her friend. But, she didn't like this. She would bat at you with her (thankfully) clawless front paws, and hiss. Then, generally, she'd run upstairs to hide where you couldn't get her.

The final straw was when she peed on Mommy and Daddy's bed. I decided I just couldn't do it anymore. She wasn't living a good life in our house. She was living in fear. It wasn't fair for her to be in our house anymore. She needed to be in a house where she would be the center of attention. So, I took her to the shelter. I cried all the way there, and cried the entire time I was filling out the forms. I cried all the way home. I cried, even though I know that this was the best thing to do.

I have no idea what will happen to her. Because of her history of peeing, they may not have put her up for adoption at all. But, I'm hopeful that they did, and that some lucky person will take her home and give her the attention she needs. It's not your fault that she's gone. I knew that this was coming for a long time. Like your daddy said, lots of other people would have gotten rid of her long before I did; I really have her SO many chances.

The thing that made me the saddest happened later the day I took her to the shelter. When you and I got home at the end of the day, I was carrying you upstairs. As we walked up the stairs, you began to wave, assuming that Chloe would be sitting at the top of the stairs, like she was every other day before that. Obviously, she wasn't there. You did it again the next day. I guess then that you forgot about her, because you didn't wave for her again.

You're my sweet boy, Liam. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else. Maybe someday when you're older, we'll get a different pet. I don't know. We'll see.

Love,
Mommy