Another passing

Our little old cat Schnee passed away this morning. We had always referred to her as our "slightly dented" cat because she was a starving stray with all sorts of medical problems when we adopted her almost four years ago. She had abcesses, ear mites, a thyroid imbalance, half her teeth missing and was deaf. My friend Val told me the first time she saw Schnee that the cat was not long for this world.

She was an "expensive date," requiring medication, vet visits for blood tests and injections of fluid for dehydration, different food (with no teeth, kibble wasn't working for her), special litter and a separate box, wee wee pads for her frequent accidents, etc.

She was worth every penny.

From the first day we brought her home (Thanksgiving, in fact), she was the most affectionate lap cat imaginable. She would follow me around, waiting for me to sit down. In a flash she would claw her way up and stand on my chest, yelling at me, then curl into a little ball and go to sleep.

She had the distinction of having several nicknames, so many that I'm sure people thought we had eight or ten cats instead of three:

Ariel - this was the name we gave to the vet the first time we brought her in; her official medical "handle"
Schnee/Schneekatz - this was her "real" name, which Scott gave her after coming home from her first vet visit. We never bothered to change it with the vet. I always add "Katz" to the end of their names.
Schneebles - Scott liked calling her this
Yodels/Lulu - the first year she was with us, she was always hungry, first due to malnutrition, later due to overactive thyroid. She would croon for food or attention "Loooolooolooo". It sounded like yodeling to me.
Myodels/Myo/Myodely-Myo - I figure since cats say "meow" if they could talk, they would say "Myes". By extension, I add the m in front of her other nickname, then shortened it.
The Old Lady - we have no idea how old she was, but she had a lot of miles on her.
Ladykatz - Despite being pretty beaten-up, she was a fluffy little white kitty who loved to be in someone's lap. The sound of her nails clicking across the kitchen floor sounded like little high heels, and I never saw her run.