5 years ago today I brought Hypatia home. The road has been very rocky... she fell very ill 6 months after I adopted her and things have been rough ever since. She has severe gingivitis, which to a human might seem like just a nuisance, but to Hypatia it's very dangerous. She gets monthly shots that suppress her immune system so that her body won't attack her gums, but as soon as the shot wears off she has to hurry back to the vet or else her health deteriorates very quickly. Virtually overnight she goes from seeming perfectly fine to not eating, drinking, bathing or using the litter box. Over the last year it's gotten a lot worse and my veterinarian doesn't have much hope that we're going to be able to keep this going much longer. There are also long term effects from the monthly shot that may start kicking in now that she's been having it for 4 years, and the healthy time between shots seems to be getting shorter and shorter.
Words can't express how much she means to me. I love all of my cats, but Hypatia and I are basically joined at the hip. She follows me around the house like a shadow and sleeps on my pillow at night. When I've been out for the day, the first thing I do is rush up to my bedroom to see her cute little face and reassure her that I'm back. But as happy as I am that she is here to celebrate her fifth anniversary, it's bittersweet because I'm not sure we'll have another one.
It breaks my heart when I think about the inevitable, and how imminent it might be. But I'm really so lucky. For my entire life I'll be able to recall these five years that I got to spend with the sweetest, prettiest, most lovable cat on the planet. She has enriched my life so much and given me so much happiness... I can only hope that her little cat brain understands just how much I love her, and how much she'll always mean to me. For the rest of my life, I'll always be Hypatia's human.
