Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Rest in Peace, Jeremy Girard Dorsey a.k.a. "Jay" a.k.a. "Jason" a.k.a. "Lil' Head".. September 1996- November 29, 2005




I fell asleep on the sofa last night. I'd been working on Chapter 24 of my manuscript (after being threatened by one of my bootleg editors), watching Monday night football, and listening to the sounds of Miki Howard and Cherelle playing softly on my laptop computer...

I don't even remember going to sleep.

I woke up around 5:13 a.m., and felt like I had to go to the bathroom...

I tried to go in the bathroom from the hallway door but couldn't open it. I forgot that Jeremy, my 9-year-old orange tomcat, had taken to laying in the middle of the bathroom floor for the past couple of days.

"Jeremy, would you move?" I said with a sigh.

He usually growls loudly as a protest, but he usually gets up and moves out of the way.

This time, he didn't move.

I walked into my master bedroom to enter my bathroom through the spacesaver door that leads from the bedroom to the bathroom...

I turned on the light, but I didn't go in. Jeremy was laid out on the floor. He's about 2 and 1/2 feet long, so he was completely stretched out, mouth open with a yellow liquid coming out.

"Jeremy?" I called. I leaned down and looked at him.

No response. He wasn't moving.

"Jeremy, get up!" I yelled. "Please get up, boy!"

He didn't move.

I realized that he had died.

I looked at him and all around me for a few minutes not realizing what to do.

I went upstairs to my sister Kay's bedroom and lightly knocked on her door.

"Kay, Jeremy died sometime last night," I said quietly.

And then came the tears. "At least he's not suffering anymore, Lisa," she consoled.

It hurt so bad. She hugged me and told me that it was going to be alright.

"Do me a favor," I said. "Call Auntie for me." My Auntie has roughly nine cats, and has had to bury some over the years. (She'd just buried a brown tabby, Tigee, on Saturday-- Sorry for your loss, Auntie). I have never had to clean up a deceased animal, and I knew she would know what to do.

I walked back downstairs while Kay called Auntie. Kay gave me her cell phone. Auntie told me to find a box, line it with a towel, and put him in there. Then tape up the box and bury it in the backyard. I nodded and said "okay" through my tears, and gave the phone back to Kay.

I'd recently moved, so we had a few boxes out in the garage. I got one, line it with a big plastic bag, and then Kay and I picked Jeremy up and put him in the box. We wrapped him in the towels, and placed the box in a plastic bag. I put the box in the garage.

I think I will try to bury him before the weekend.

Jeremy had been sick for awhile. I took him to the vet back in September. Blood tests and X-rays showed that, although he was overweight (Jeremy weighed a hefty 21 pounds), he was pretty healthy (no diabetes, etc.). They kept in a hospital for a few days. Since they couldn't find anything wrong with him, I decided to bring him home so if he did die, he would die at home.

Once we moved, he seem alright for the month of October and part of November. He was running around the house, playing and fighting as usual with my other cat, Oscar Tyrone. I figured since he could run up and down the steps with ease, he must've been alright.

But he wasn't...

Approximately two to three weeks ago, he became lethargic and stopped eating. He would only sleep, and began vomiting a little. Then he stopped grooming himself, and began to smell a little. So I would dilute a little alcohol with water every few days and rub him down to freshen him up.

I didn't think Jeremy would be around much longer. He wasn't his usual grumpy self. He was just very very quiet.

On Sunday, he started acting real strange... Doing weird stuff like laying on the floor in the middle of the bathroom, or just sitting in a corner with his face to the wall. I knew he hadn't eaten much all week, but for some reason he would eat a little chopped up Thanksgiving turkey or macaroni and cheese. But he wouldn't eat anything on Monday morning. As a matter of fact, I hadn't seen him since then.

I didn't see him again until this morning... laid out on the bathroom floor.

So this post is a farewell to my beloved Jeremy Girard Dorsey, a.k.a. "Jay", a.k.a., "Jason", a.k.a. "Lil' Head"...

I had him for 9 years, every since I was in graduate school, living in Grant Park. I got him from my lil' brother Da'Kari, who was nine years old at the time. He thought that Jeremy could help with a mice problem I was having. Jeremy has lived all over Atlanta with me, and has even lived with me in New Orleans for a couple of years...

Jeremy is even the reason I stopped smoking weed. (Thank goodness for that!)

I've always looked at Jeremy and said "Damn boy... if you could talk, you would have a WHOLE lot of stories to tell about Oldgirl Ladylee :)"

So rest in peace "Lil' Head"! I will always remember you!

Ladylee

17 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:25:00 AM

    I am sorry for your lost. I remember the first time I saw Jeremy when you lived in Grant Park. I remember that joker being a cute,young, long, lanky kitty who scratched me when I tried to rub on him. Remember how he used to curl up on the top of the door of apartment? or How he would run with you to the phone? Those were the days. I will miss him and his grumpy attitude when I visit you.

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  2. *dee~dee wiping her tears away*
    Sorry for your loss:(

    I so feel this post ma! I too lost my beloved Cat Nee~Nee about 6 months ago...I had her since 1999...*dee~dee thinking about the good times she had with Nikki a.k.a Nee~Nee cause it rhymed with Dee~Dee* I feel your pain ma!

    RIP Jeremy/Jay/Jason/Lil Head:)

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  3. Sorry to hear about your kitty.

    I'll be sure to pour out a lil catnip on the pavement for the pussies who aren't here. ;o)

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  4. Thank ya'll for your condolences...

    @Cowgirl Cre... Yeah he did scratch you a few times, Cre... It took him years to figure out that a ringing phone DID NOT mean get up and run like hell!!! (My phone was located in the back room... I would get up and run when it rang... So did Jeremy).
    You bringing back some old memories!!

    @ Dee-Dee...
    Thanks Dee-Dee... And belated condolences for the lost of your beloved Nee-Nee...

    @Serial_Dater

    Thanks, nasty man ;-) The funeral is scheduled for 10 am Saturday morning and we do plan to pour out a little catnip for the kitty!!!

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  5. Oh I'm sorry, Lady. I hope you are doing okay with this. I hope you can still enjoy your Christmas.

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  6. OH NO...Not your pussy!!!!

    Oh girl I feel for you...When my baby Simba died after leaping to his death...I cried at work, on the train...all over for a week! I still look at his pictures and remember how he loved me...It tooke me 10 years to commit to another cat...

    The love he gave you while he was here fulfilled his purpose for life...and the love from u enriched his...

    Goodbye pretty boy...I hope you find plenty of space at Heaven's Gate...for you to lay out to your heart's content!

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  7. I can only relate to your experience based on my own as I am a dog-lover (the four-legged kind), not cats. However, having had my cherished Shih Tzu puppy Rascal die a few years back, I can say I definitely feel your pain. She was not an old dog, and she died as the result of a seizure.

    I now have a new puppy, a Shih Tzu named Onyx who is my heart though not a replacement for Rascal. I'm glad you still have your other cat to love.

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  8. Thanks ya'll...

    @Stacey-D... Thanks girl, I'm cool. I'm just glad he's not in pain anymore. I only wish there was more I could do to help him get better.

    @DJ DIVA...

    Thanks DJ... I found myself still expecting oldboy to be laying at the foot of the bed. And I kept calling my cat Oscar by Jeremy's name this morning. Now I have to watch the other cat to see how he reacts to Jeremy's absence...

    He had a long life, and he was a good pussycat, although mean as hell! But I'm glad he's out of his misery...

    @Sharon...

    I had a dog name Keesie-Anne who I had from the age of 9 to 23 years old. Tore me up when she died of cancer... Thought I would never get another pet... I am sad, but glad that Jay isn't suffering anymore. I have no idea how Oscar Tyrone is going to take all of this... I expect him to start wailing tonight since he's been alone all day.

    Again...Thanks for the condolences, ladies!

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  9. I'm sorry to hear about your loss to. Today is my grandmother's b-day and she is no longer here to celebrate with us, so reading this just made me emotional. I've never had a cat, but I do feel ya!!

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  10. @ NSO Ecstasy...

    Thanks, NSOE...But Didn't mean to get you all emotional, hon! Jeremy's death also reminded me of the deaths of some of my relatives in the past.

    Thanks for stopping by again.

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  11. i am so very sorry for your loss, ladylee. i can still remember the pain i felt when my cat died, and that was over twenty years ago. they really are family, aren't they?

    i'm glad he was your companion and there for you when you needed his comfort.

    i've already shed a tear for jay, now i'm gonna make a toast in tribute to his life.

    take care, luv.

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  12. i am so very sorry for your loss, ladylee. i can still remember the pain i felt when my cat died, and that was over twenty years ago. they really are family, aren't they?

    i'm glad he was your companion and there for you when you needed his comfort.

    i've already shed a tear for jay, now i'm gonna make a toast in tribute to his life.

    take care, luv.

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  13. @ Nikki...

    Thanks ATL homie...

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  14. Anonymous1:56:00 AM

    So sorry about Jeremy, It really hurts. I always know that they are out of their pain, but it is hard to absorb during the time. As you know Ty had been sick for a few years but he was very strong. With medicine and treatment it could help him only so far. He remembered Silky and Bunny Man Pfiefer when ever I called thier names. Today Kasper has been crying for him.
    It has been so sad for me and I continue to hug and love my others. Your Oscar misses Jeremy too, talk to him and it will help. So sorry for your lost. Love Auntie

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  15. Thanks Auntie, and I'm sorry about Tygee... Oscar has been relatively calm. He wails for a few minutes at night, but seems to calm down... I am trying to give him a little extra TLC...

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  16. awe...sorry to hear about your cat, Lady. My parents have had a dog (Coco) for years, and even though I didn't want any pets, when I found out my parents may have to lay her down, I got a bit misty eyed. She's a part of the family, even though she gets on my nerves when I visit. :-) She has a bad hip, and there isn't anything the doctors can do about it. She has her good days and bad days...

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  17. @Kayla and Sista K...

    Thanks for your condolences, ladies... and Jeremy will be sorely missed. Pets are like part of the family, so it's still sad... Looking back, I could tell he was trying to go off and be alone and die for at least a couple of days, so that was sad too...

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