We took Ben to the vet's this afternoon, and the kind serious look on her face said it all really, even though she said the decision to have further treatment was ours if we wished. An eye operation on a seventeen year old cat, however fit, would have a lower chance of success than with a younger cat, but was possible. I found it hard to imagine Ben surviving and not suffering further in a neighbourhood with at least one other aggressive tomcat, with one eye, slowed down by age, as he already is.
Whilst Ben is happy about the house, especially the comfy places, he's still very much an outdoor cat, even if his domain has shrunk to the garden and lane beyond, so keeping him in with a dirt tray would be not much of a life. Letting him roam would risk a repeat incident. Suddenly I see how vulnerable his damaged eye has made him.
We decided to take him home and discuss matters. Owain came over for supper, and Clare rang Rachel in Canada. The concensus, wrought with much sadness was in favour of ending his life. So we rang the vet to book another appointment, and gave Ben his favourite treat of tinned tuna, for his last supper.
I went in to the office for a couple of hours to catch up on some necessary work. As I was leaving the damp evening darkness was dominated by the sound of the Catholic Cathedral's Passing Bell. Well actually, it's a tinny recording, sounding a little like something from a Hammer horror movie. I popped in to pray for a while as clergy and congregation made preparations to celebrate the general All Souls' Requiem Mass with the new Archbishop presiding for the first time.
Can you pray for the soul of a cat condemned to die? Well, you can give thanks for the gift of companionship and loyalty, however much those things are governed by the evolutionary process whereby humans and animals have a symbiotic relationship. One thing is sure. Cat and human, by whatever path, share the same fate.
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