My sweet little Sophie Kitty has passed on. She was brave and feisty girl until the end. Sophie's had a rough year. In October, she had oral surgery for an abcessed tooth, and in December, she had a radioactive iodine treatment for her overactive thyroid.

She was already down to one kidney, so we knew it was just a matter of time before she developed chronic renal failure. In April, her BUN and creatine levels were still normal, so her rapid decline over the last week or so came as a bit of a surprise. She got really sick on Thursday all over the house. She was sick again on Friday and was very weak and unsteady. I took her to the vet and they admitted her to get her rehydrated.

Her blood work revealed renal failure. Knowing that we could still potentially manage it for a time, she stayed at the vet all weekend for IV fluids to get her stable. By Sunday, afternoon, however, she really hadn't improved by much and she refused to eat. She was already very thin, so there was little margin there.

We went to the vet's office at that point to evaluate her condition in person. Even upon seeing us, she seemed in distress, and immediately got sick again, throwing up a substantial amount of bile. At that point, I knew that it was time. Yes, I could throw a bevy of drugs and treatments at her, but her comfort level in the meantime seemed highly questionable.

So, we spent some time loving on her before finally saying goodbye. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I miss her so.

I got Sophie right after graduating from law school 14 years ago. She has been my faithful and loving friend through every moment of my adult life. She was a big sister to Henry, my other furbaby (the lil guy in my avatar). I don't have a very loving family, so to have these creatures in my life has saved me from so much loneliness and provided me with more joy than I can describe. I pray to God I did right by her.

I'm so grateful that she got to spend the better part of the last year with my husband in our home together. He came to love her as much as I do. While I'm sad he's hurting, too, I'm glad he understands my grief and that we have shared memories of her at her best.