I met Guzzie at the Lawrence, KS humane society shelter. They had gotten a whole litter of adorable black cats, I can’t remember if they said from where. They were all together in one big cage. Some of them were playing and jumping around like crazy, others were laying there napping, not very interested in us at all. But one little cat came right up to where we were standing, calmly put her little paw up on the bars, and said “Mew.” I fell in love right then and there. She was so little that they had to keep her for a few more days, and I was very adamant that I want exactly THIS cat. They all looked a lot alike and I didn’t want any of the others by mistake. She was so little, in fact, that they didn’t know her sex and thought she was a boy. They named her Alex.
We kept the name Alex for a while, as it could be a girl’s name, too. She really loved having her chin scratched, and I would scratch under her chin and say “scratch scratch scratch scratch.” When said repeatedly and quickly, “scratch scratch scratch” devolves into “gush gush gush”, which became “Guz Guz Guz.” She had a new name! To incorporate her original name, I sometimes gave her the grandiose title of “Lady Alexis Guzzlethwaite.” She was also known as Guzzifer and later Guz Marie. Robin came up with that one, I’m not sure from whence came the Marie, but it suited her. But mostly she was just my Guzzie.
When her brother Dorian died suddenly, she got an ultrasound that detected a problem with her kidney. She went up to CSU and they determined that one kidney was completely non-functional, and the other one was only at half capacity. They operated on her and removed the bad kidney, put her on a kidney friendly diet, and said to hope for the best. That was nine years ago. God bless the vets at VCA Alameda East and at CSU for granting me all of that extra time with my best friend.
We were together for 18 years. She saw me through 6 moves, 2 jobs, a divorce, and a very happy second marriage. The first time my now husband visited my house and met Guz, he leaned down and tried to pet her. I told him not to bother; while Guzzie was the sweetest most loving cat in the world to me, she pretty much hated everyone else. Most people got a hiss and sometimes a swipe for their trouble. But, lo and behold, she was sitting patiently, letting him stroke her. That was when I knew this guy was worth a second look. If Guzzie approves, he must be something special! She was right, too, he’s the best. I hate to think of having to cope with her loss without him. Bless her, she made sure I was sorted out before giving up the ghost.
Letting her go was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I miss her every single day. I want to thank Home to Heaven for letting her go in our home, with dignity, surrounded by love, and for letting me take my time with her and mourn her loss.