Zena_Gener

I adopted Zena in 1996, 3 months after I adopted Tigger(RIP 2008). I thought it would be nice if Tigger had a playmate. I remember taking Zena home in "pet taxi" which was essentially a box with holes. She was only a few weeks old and was so tiny. On the drive home she wanted out of the box so, I let her. She sat on my lap and napped on the way home. I named her Zena after the "Warrior Princess" tv character that was popular in the 90's. As soon as Zena got home she immediately wanted to play with Tigger. Of course Tigger hissed at her the whole time. Zena loved playing with Tigger's tail. Occasionally Tigger would tussle with her. Tigger was 3 years older and 10 times bigger than Zena. I was worried that Tigger would crush Zena during their tussling. It was interesting to see Zena go through different phases like chasing her tail as she was growing.I especially liked the phase where she would play all night and keep me up. Zena was an indoor cat but, she love getting out and playing in the backyard. She loved scratching herself on the concrete and napping under the back stairs. She also had a penchant for eating grass. I know she didn't like me cutting our grass 'cause she wouldn't have anything to play with. Zena also love going into the tub after I finished taking a shower. She loved chasing the water droplet cascading down the shower curtain. She would paw at it and then shake and fling it all over. One thing about Zena was she found mundane things interesting. She always had that curious look on her face. Zena was also slightly overweight which made her even more cuddly and adoring. People would always ask me if she was pregnant to which I would reply "no she's just big boned". As with any pets, Zena became a big part of my daily life routine. She gave me comfort and made me laugh when I was down. You could always count on her meowing and so excited whenever I came home. I enjoyed the simple pleasure of watching tv and having her cuddle up with me and napping. Earlier this year Zena started having health problems. At 14 years of age this was common and somewhat normal. An occasional trip to the vet usually would alleviate the issues. About 3 months ago, she started drastically losing weight and she practically stop eating much. I just thought maybe she was being finicky about her food so I tried a different brand. I also then noticed that she was not using her litter box as much. This was the thing that scared me because, Tigger (RIP 2008) did the same thing. From past experience not using the litter box is a sign that usually there's something wrong internally with the pet like renal failure.This usually points to some kind of cancer. If a pet cannot process waste this could lead to a lot of complications. Zena's condition and behaviour was eerily similar to Tigger who passed away at the same age as Zena. A trip to the vet and some blood test confirmed my fears. Her conditions deteriorated soon after. Zena was suffering from cancer. It was really devastating and it feels like it was only yesterday that I went through the same thing with Tigger. Sadly, there's was nothing much that I can do. Once again I found myself at the proverbial "crossroad". On Sept 11, 2011 Zena "crossed the rainbow bridge" to join Tigger. Goodbye Zena and thanks for 14 years of unconditional love, companionship and friendship. I hope you enjoyed living your life with me as I have with you. You kept me company after Tigger passed away and I'm forever grateful for that. I'm glad that you're not suffering anymore. Go find and play with Tigger and hope to see both of you someday. I'll miss you dearly. Luv Dad.

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