A farewell to the Chairman

[TheJudge]

Tis with great sadness that my wife and I took our 20-year-old cat, Chairman Mao, to the vet one last time. She was the first ever pet we got together and carried herself like a dictator for all her years.

Originally a scrapper from the Grahamstown SPCA she could hold her own in a fight or staring match and could transition from bush cat to house cat with an ease that made us think it was all part of a larger plan she had laid out for our lives and careers to naturally progress in a way that benefitted her.

Chairman held within her a level of resentment which allowed her to look at you like you represented a piece of shit that had been expelled by a larger piece of shit. She owned two Rottweilers as pets in her 20 years on this earth and carried herself down the road in front of the local felines in a way that impressed upon them that if her claws didn't end them the jaws of her trusty dog would deliver the coup de grace.

She also honed her life skills, learning how to masterfully collapse your windpipe with one jab in the morning to wake you for food.

She slowed down in her twilight years, preferring a couch to the eviscerated bodies of her victims and tolerated the affections of our two boys with a look somewhere between utter disgust and grudging happiness.

Chairman Mao, may the clouds be your litter box from where you can crap down on this world you left behind.

 

[Oj0]

I learnt three things from your post:

My cats need a hug, right now, all six of them
Someone's chopping onions nearby
With your wife for 20+ years = you're about 30 times older than I thought you were

 

[Areola Grande]

Sad to hear about your loss, but it seems she lived a full life, replete with sufficient disdain for mere mortals, lack of regard for your general wellbeing and a near fatal demand for noms. A true cat if ever there was one.

P.S. This doesn't have anything to do with @wurminator does it?

 

[TheJudge]

Sad to hear about your loss, but it seems she lived a full life, replete with sufficient disdain for mere mortals, lack of regard for your general wellbeing and a near fatal demand for noms. A true cat if ever there was one.

P.S. This doesn't have anything to do with @wurminator does it?

If resentment was a flavour she would have made the best biltong!

 

[Oj0]

If resentment was a flavour she would have made the best biltong!

Literally nobody wants tough pussy, thanks.

 

[Ageless_ZA]

Literally nobody wants tough pussy, thanks.

Depends on is it tough to get into, or tough by its attitude....

 

[TheJudge]

Depends on is it tough to get into, or tough by its attitude....

To be fair neither lube nor alcohol works on biltong. 🤣

 

[Gegrond]

Glad your feline companion had such a cherished home @TheJudge

 

[Areola Grande]

@TheJudge

Chairman Mao emailed me a pic of her new digs. She also said to mention she finds your emotional post embarrassing and hopes you stub your toe on a table leg.

 

[TheJudge]

@TheJudge

Chairman Mao emailed me a pic of her new digs. She also said to mention she finds your emotional post embarrassing and hopes you stub your toe on a table leg.

Having almost killed me before by tripping me down stairs this pic is more appropriate than you thought. 🤣

 

[Dr Evil]

@TheJudge really sorry for your loss meneer😢

 

[TheJudge]

My condolences.
My baby has recently turned 17. We had a rough start together (kinda a long story), but I can't imagine my life without her. My girlfriend knows that I love her way more than I love her and loves me more because of it.
She's in amazing shape though, so with any luck she'll outlast me. She's in my will after all.

We've had big dogs over the years and there's something inevitable about the fact that after 8 or 9 they have lived their lives. We've been sad of course but also it's not been completely unexpected.

Smaller dogs and cats live with us for a substantial period of our own lives, they're there so long their absence becomes very pronounced. After 10 or 15 years they're so entrenched I think it becomes hard to imagine that they're aging far faster than we want to admit.

My wife just said (she's having a tough time) that she had the Chairman in her life only 7 years less than her father (he died of an embolism).

 

[Areola Grande]

Pics of wife to verify her sadness.

 

[heinreich]

Is your wife single?

 

[TheJudge]

Pics of wife to verify her sadness.

When I originally wrote that I said she was taking it hard... then I quickly deleted. 🤣

 

[Areola Grande]

When I originally wrote that I said she was taking it hard... then I quickly deleted. 🤣

A smart move, I see you've been around the block a time or two.

 

[lowracer]

A smart move, I see you've been around the block a time or two.

or quick off the starting block...

 

[SteveIndeed]

So sorry about Mao. Despite how much you mentally prepare yourself for the eventual end, even though it gets more obvious in the last years, it's still an enormous, almost unfathomable gut punch when it actually happens.

But in my mind, some comfort comes from knowing that the animal is endlessly thankful to you for giving it one last act of grace: taking away its pain for eternity. If you think about it, that's the only time an animal really asks you to give it properly unconditional love, something it gave you over its entire life.

 

[TheJudge]

So sorry about Mao. Despite how much you mentally prepare yourself for the eventual end, even though it gets more obvious in the last years, it's still an enormous, almost unfathomable gut punch when it actually happens.

But in my mind, some comfort comes from knowing that the animal is endlessly thankful to you for giving it one last act of grace: taking away its pain for eternity. If you think about it, that's the only time an animal really asks you to give it properly unconditional love, something it gave you over its entire life.

Sad but true, I've seen a few folk who keep putting it off because they can't take that step, at the expense of the animal that suffers. Even wanting to wait an extra day is not fair on them. I know that she went peacefully and gently.

 

[AinsleyHarriott]

Condolences. I recently went through the same thing with a cat with a similar attitude and passed on at 20.

If it's not too much, would you mind sharing a picture?

 

[Morne Jordaan]

F

 

[Spaffy]

My Jack Russel of nine years mauled my cat of ten years to death yesterday.

 

[TheJudge]

Condolences. I recently went through the same thing with a cat with a similar attitude and passed on at 20.

If it's not too much, would you mind sharing a picture?

This is her from a few years back, I think staring at our eldest son at the time.

https://imgur.com/TMb2Fjt

 

[StangV2_0]

Sorry for your loss dude. And at least you gave her the life she deserved.

If its any consolation, our adopted cat is settling in nicely. After keeping him confined to the house and back yard for about 8 weeks he is now officially unplugged. Windows and doors are now left open for him. He loves climbing on the roof and checking out his competition in the complex. The neighbors Ginger cat often takes him on, but he doesn't seem to fazed. Even when the Ginger cat attacks him full on he just moves to another place.

I think its just a matter of time till the Ginger Ninja gets a proper lesson.

He is everything we wanted from a cat. Playful and loving. Have had many cats in the past but dont recall ever having one as playful and loving as him.

 

[Crouchinglee]

So sorry for your loss! General Mao sounds like she had a great life with you guys.

I lost Poopies 2 weeks ago and It still hurts like hellfire. I shall keep you and your family in my thoughts, and send good vibes!

 

[Areola Grande]

@TheJudge

I previously requested a thread of your legal antics.

I have a better idea.

Please give us an anecdote of your adventures from the viewpoint of how Chairman Mao may or may not have acted in the case.

 

[RumMum]

Tis with great sadness that my wife and I took our 20-year-old cat, Chairman Mao, to the vet one last time. She was the first ever pet we got together and carried herself like a dictator for all her years.

Originally a scrapper from the Grahamstown SPCA she could hold her own in a fight or staring match and could transition from bush cat to house cat with an ease that made us think it was all part of a larger plan she had laid out for our lives and careers to naturally progress in a way that benefitted her.

Chairman held within her a level of resentment which allowed her to look at you like you represented a piece of shit that had been expelled by a larger piece of shit. She owned two Rottweilers as pets in her 20 years on this earth and carried herself down the road in front of the local felines in a way that impressed upon them that if her claws didn't end them the jaws of her trusty dog would deliver the coup de grace.

She also honed her life skills, learning how to masterfully collapse your windpipe with one jab in the morning to wake you for food.

She slowed down in her twilight years, preferring a couch to the eviscerated bodies of her victims and tolerated the affections of our two boys with a look somewhere between utter disgust and grudging happiness.

Chairman Mao, may the clouds be your litter box from where you can crap down on this world you left behind.

Shit man. Strongs. Googling specials on tissues as I type.

 

[RumMum]

@TheJudge

Chairman Mao emailed me a pic of her new digs. She also said to mention she finds your emotional post embarrassing and hopes you stub your toe on a table leg.

I was feeling sorry for you, but going through the comments, this is just a "feeling sorry for you cause you are corny and probably a bit f,d up" image. Horizon not straight, no pearly gates, cats don,t have angel wings, stairs is paved but gold looks rough, and that one wave is just nothing a surfer can enjoy. Just a overall shitty image.
(Is that un emotional enough?)

 

[RumMum]

My Jack Russel of nine years mauled my cat of ten years to death yesterday.

Ah, sibling rivalry gone a step to far.

 

[Areola Grande]

I was feeling sorry for you, but going through the comments, this is just a "feeling sorry for you cause you are corny and probably a bit f,d up" image. Horizon not straight, no pearly gates, cats don,t have angel wings, stairs is paved but gold looks rough, and that one wave is just nothing a surfer can enjoy. Just a overall shitty image.
(Is that un emotional enough?)

Cats can't use cameras, of course the image isn't the best. The main point is Chairman Mao is upstairs feeling love and disdain for @TheJudge, much as she did in life.