The H-Man

I am sad to report that our lovely little cat Henry died last night (also known as The H-Man, Little Man, Skinny, Silly, Little Cat, Henry Cat, Henry Boy and most recently, Professor Time Bomb). As you may remember, Henry was diagnosed with a heart condition in mid-December (click here and here) and the vets were worried he would die that day. We got almost two more months with him and for that we are certainly grateful.

His last night was a fun one. We had some friends over and he was playing and annoying us as usual. He tried to eat the eclairs I bought and the spicy rice cracker mix! He also found a toy mouse that we hadn't seen in a while and was showing off with it. When his girlfriend L got ready to leave he ran over to say goodbye to her. We are grateful for that, as is she.

Around 1am we all went to bed together as usual, Henry, Mae, SMS and me. Some time between 3am and 4am we heard Henry coughing at the foot of the bed. SMS reached down to pet him and it seemed he calmed down. Henry had been coughing more than normal recently (we were supposed to take him to the vet today to adjust his medication levels) and while we were concerned, we figured adjusting his meds would take care of everything for a little while longer. When I woke at 8am I found him stiff at the foot of the bed. We realize now that he must have had a heart attack in the middle of the night.

We were so lucky to have had him for the last 5 and half years. We learned so much from him and he always made us laugh. It is unbelievably sad to know that he won't be trying to eat my dinner anymore or trying to run out of the door every time we open it. I'm not sure that the loss has set in yet as it really seems he is just in the other room sleeping.

Mae, for her part, is having a rough day. She keeps going to one spot in the office and crying....we didn't really expect this because when we took Henry to the animal hospital overnight in December she did not seem bothered by his absence, but today she must know something else is going on.

We are having him cremated and will spread some of his ashes on Henry Street in Brooklyn when we visit in April.

Apologies to those of you I wasn't able to contact directly if it is jarring to read about this in this way. I know many of you loved him, helped us care for him and were a great support to us at the time of his diagnosis. We appreciate it all; especially Y&E who fostered Henry and Mae and helped them become amazing creatures.

**UPDATE**
Please click here for SMS' moving tribute to our furry friend.