We lost Pita last week, rather suddenly and without much closure - dear sweet Pita. She was the gentlest soul, and was always there to comfort the other cats in their time of need.
She was born on our property in May 2011, one of three Nugs that have known no other place but this. She used to sleep in a pile with her two brothers, a trait they kept up into adulthood, especially in the colder weather.
She may have had a bit of a daddy complex, owing to her absentee father - she always seemed to gravitate towards elder male figures - first Poots, then Jebus, and finally Pennywise. She was extremely sensitive and caring to Pennywise in particular in his final days.
She alone has accomplished what few cats can - keeping their actual name. While most other cats end up being called something completely different, she was Pita to the end - a Pain In The A$$ that earned her name each and every day, but in a very sweet way.
She was likely our hardest cat to photograph, so we don't have a ton of great shots - but at least we have a few. She also seemed to carry about 90% of her weight in her hind end, which made it challenging to pick her up.....and also made for some dramatic "jumps" from time to time!
She also liked to wake us up by dragging her considerable paunch across our faces.
She was very social, and liked to stand on people's feet - usually me, while I was trying to hang laundry or work in the garden - but she also did the same thing to total strangers who would come to do work on the property or customers to the studio. She actually drooled all over the insulation guy's boots!
We got home from a weekend away, and she seemed to be having a little trouble breathing - not really obvious, especially in the warm weather, but her sides were heaving a bit abnormally when she breathed. We dropped her off at the vet, and they thought at first she had a respiratory infection but wanted to do some more tests.....then we got a call telling us we should get there as fast as possible. Unfortunately, we didn't get there fast enough.
Apparently she had fluid (blood, as it turned out) on her lungs, from an unknown bleeding mass. She crashed so fast. We never got to say a proper goodbye, and we were devastated that we weren't there to comfort her in her final moments.
As the first of the Nug Family to pass, even before her mom, we laid her to rest on the west lawn under some beautiful trees. Mama and the brothers attended and said their goodbyes as well.
Farewell sweet Pita - aka Pete, Petey, Pit, Pita-Pit, Pitomsky, Petema, Pit-Pass, Pit-Chunk, Footstander, Chunkers and Chunky Butt.
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