Our First cat: Hannah
UPDATE 8/31/19 about halfway down
Hannah is our 19+ year old cat, still in her body, still here in the tiny home with us. She was our “firstborn” so to speak, the one who started us with all the animals…
Hannah moved in with us a few months after we had arrived in Oregon, in the spring of 2001. It’s a very funny story, because it was as if she picked us. We were living in a gorgeous house right on the river in Portland. The house had a huge tree right next to the outside of the house, it was literally inches from the wall. There was a window… it was open… Of course we were not allowed to have pets….but then Hannah arrived.
The tree Hannah climbed
One day we heard meowing and as we looked outside, there was this cute young cat crying on the tree. Oh dear, she’s stuck on the tree and can’t get down, quick, let’s do something! Can you see the eye roll? It was a set up. Hannah knew exactly how to get into our core, and she got into mine right away.
Hannah in the early days on her favorite window.
We later found out she had been found a week prior by a neighbor, who thought she was either dumped at the nearby park, or ran away, as she was in heat. The neighbor had her fixed and named her Hannah. Over the next 2 weeks, it was apparent that Hannah really liked us and wanted to be with us (maybe it was the tuna I gave her, the gorgeous climbing tree, the fact that we were home a lot, and the neighbor wasn’t?), so she would run over to our home every morning, and the neighbor had to come and get her every night. Finally it was established that Hannah had chosen us, and we formally adopted her. Yay!
Hannah had the run of the house, the tree, the stairs, and the beach in front! She was in heaven!
The house had an amazing upstairs room with windows all the way down, and views of the tree and the river. It was a beautiful place for humans and cats alike
Hannah was very friendly with all creatures at first (even when she caught a mouse or vole, she would bring them in the house alive to see them run around the hardwood floors! and we had to escort them out).
We saw her with neighbor cats, being friendly and polite (like putting her hand out “Hi, my name is Hannah, what’s your name?”) but the other cats slapped her around a bit. So she learned. Still, she was friendly with humans and I found out much later she would crawl into parked cars if there was a window open and go to sleep inside. I am so glad no one ever took off with her!
After about a year we moved, and later that summer, we adopted Maia, thinking that Hannah needed a friend. Well, then Dobby came along… I realized later than Hannah was really happy on her own and I know many pets really love to be the only ones in a household. She put up with each addition, and the addition of our dogs about 9 years later….but I do feel she would have been just fine being the only one.
The new home was smaller, but we had a triple lot all to ourselves, and Hannah, and later Maia and Dobby, loved the space. It was also on a dead end street, and so safe for all to wander. Little did I realize years later that we had coyotes in that area, and at the time, the cats did go out at nights too (we had a small window in the laundry room always open). We’ve since always asked the cats to sleep inside at nights (and keep the windows closed) ….
Hannah made herself comfortable, and started making the rounds of the houses nearby. We found out later that she’d go say hi to our neighbors, and sit on their porches, visit with them, and then come home!
She made sure her belly got a lot of air every day
Yes, it was a favorite place…
First time in the snow! Shocking!
With Maia, in the winter on the way to the roof.
After three years, we finally bought a home, and moved again. This was a good move for us humans, but not so great for the animals, who had to downsize from their park like place and zero car danger, to a lovely home with lots of garden space, but not nearly as much as the prior home. The new house was situated on a corner lot, with the bus going down the main road! It was a little shocking for all 3 cats to say the least. Nevertheless, they adapted, as all animals do.
Hannah was a great help in the garden…
She spent a lot of time on her yoga mat, practicing her favorite pose, savasana.
One of the reasons for buying this particular home was that it had a separate entrance and a totally separate room, connected by a hallway to the main house. We turned that into a yoga studio, and ran that for 4 years. Hannah loved to come say hi to the students and even sleep on their mats. She also had her own mat :) . She really enjoyed the companionship and connection with all the students, and was always first in class waiting for everyone to show up!
Belly up was a favorite way to hang out. Why not?
UPDATE 8/31/19
Hannah left her body yesterday, after a long time issue with back/back leg problems, compounded by her limited activity in our tiny home. I am completely and utterly devastated to say the least. The void she left is just huge. As much as we think we are prepared, we just aren’t. Hannah had gone downhill in the past few months, and when I look at the videos I took periodically, I can see that by spring this year, 4 months ago, she had become more challenged with her back legs, and had started having problems moving even to and from the litter box. But let me backtrack a bit, and pick up a few years back when I had left off.
Around 2010, Hannah had started having issues with her back and legs, probably when she was 10-11 years old. You could just tell that she couldn’t jump as well, and she had issues moving certain ways. We tried different treatments, and one which worked well for her for a long time was acupuncture. Thanks to Dr Isabel Wyss in Portland, she got monthly treatments which helped her in so many ways, even benefited her liver, kidneys, and all the organs. Hannah always felt better for at least a few weeks after a treatment. I think she got those for over a year…..Dr Wyss eventually recommended Adequan for Hannah, which made a HUGE difference in her life (and later Maia also was started on it and it changed her life). Adequan is an injectable form of glucosamine-chondroitin which has to be given with a special protocol, then an injection every 3 wks approx, which she got all the way till the end of her life.
Hannah getting acupuncture
Hannah continued to be the matriarch of our household, even after adopting Masai and Bodhi, our two pitties. She hated dogs with a passion, and never let them get closer than 6 ft to her. Lucky for us, when outside, the dogs had the backyard and the cats had the side and front yard, so we co-existed pretty easily in our multiple pet household, even in a small home. It was always obvious that she had agreed on a deep level to be with us no matter what, even though our focus shifted every time a new animal came to our home. I wonder now how good it is to have so many pets at any one time in one household. I know some animals, dogs especially, love to be together, but sometimes cats really prefer just their humans. I think Hannah accepted her life but truly her favorite time was when she came to bed and snuggled between us and it was just the 3 of us (the other cats took turns occasionally). She purred loudly and just loved these times, and so did we.
Hannah on flannel sheets. She loved natural fabrics and especially linen :)
Hannah had a morning ritual to come and wake me up AFTER she’s had her first breakfast (Todd got up very early, 4:30 am or so, and by 7 or so, it was MY turn to get up and feed her again), and she would come and jump up on the bench next to me, and true to the cat cartoons you’ve surely seen, she’d start with a soft meow, and then keep turning it up. If I did not move, she would start pawing at my face (unlike her sister Maia, Hannah did not use her claws) gently, and let me tell you, she was RELENTLESS. She could go on for one hour straight. Sometimes I made space for her next to me, and she’d come and sleep a little longer with me. One day, our of desperation, I decided that I would bother her and start “rubbing” her nose & face with my hands… well, wouldn’t you know, she loved it! Anything I did to her in the mornings she loved, as she was such a “morning” cat and was always up bright and early with tons of energy.
Dobby, Maia and Hannah enjoying a little window seating. Not common for all 3 to be sitting inside together.
They did spend time together in the afternoons as the cement heated up outside in the garden. Go figure, the hotter it was, the more they laid on it. I called them “pancakes” as they all laid so flat on the surface.
Hannah was very patient and did not mind me dressing her up. It was always very short lived though. Besides, she was so stylish. And she always sat on the edge of tables.
We had been planning a move to the country for years. When it finally happened, it wasn’t going to be to a home, with a garden, plants, green grass….but on bare land, where we’d be living in a tiny home, for a while anyway. At first we had no running water, and no electricity, and we knew it was going to be a tough one for the cats, all over 16… Maia was already ill. We did it anyway, and all the animals did amazing.
Before our departure from this well known home, where the cats had lived for 15 years, I took lots of photos of them in their favorite places. Hannah loved to sit on the deck and observe life go by.
Another of Hannah’s favorite places was the table in the living room where she could watch the street and could keep an eye on the front garden.
Once we arrived in the tiny home, Hannah took position in the hallway, away from the dogs who had only one place to be, by the front door. Lucky for them, living on 20 acres away from cars and other distractions meant they could be out a lot and even though they did chase deer occasionally at first, they stopped pretty quickly, and never roamed away.
We know that moving to the tiny home was not the best decision for 3 older cats, and had to live with that awareness. They did surprisingly well, it’s amazing how adaptable we all are.
In the heat of summer, without electricity, we resorted to ice for Hannah to stay cool (we’d switch the ice containers from our neighbor’s freezer!). A friend had gifted us with a battery operated fan, which really helped!
At first Hannah did get up on the “couch” in the tiny, but then she realized the dogs were too close, so moved to the hallway….
Hannah adjusted to her new limited life. We brought her outside for short outings, but she never got comfortable with the new terrain and the dry environment. She was a Pacific Northwest gal! Nevertheless, she adapted to the outings, even went underneath the tiny home to pee, but mostly stayed inside.
Dobby spent time with Hannah whenever she came out on the deck.
UPDATE cont 9/1/19
In the last few months, Hannah declined, and her back legs worked less and less. We tried to bring her out, but even though occasionally she would sleep on the deck for an hour or more, mostly she wanted to go back inside. I had hopes that she would stick around till we built our home (hopefully in 2020) and then she could walk more and start to feel better. But that is not how it went.
Spending time on the deck by the tiny. When she was younger she loved sticking her paws in tight spots, maybe thinking there was a mouse underneath. Here she still has the habit….
Her last few months were more challenging. She cried more, she cried often at nights, and sometimes I would come down to feed her, give her water….but then she cried again shortly after. We think she felt alone and confused and needed to reach out constantly. We also needed to sleep though. Todd sometimes came down from the loft (which she could not manage, as the stairs were very steep) to be with her 4-5 times each night. She had also become completely deaf by now, and her cries became louder and louder! Nevertheless, as sad as this may seem, almost to the end she looked cheerful, hungry, and eager to continue her life. Only in the last few days I felt that she was really fading and her eyes had lost the glow, and she just seemed uncomfortable more of the time.
Hannah in our old house before we moved to Washington, early 2018. She still loved to get into all kinds of places!
The decision to put a pet to sleep is heartbreaking. Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes it isn’t, but it’s never easy. Todd was in Portland for an extended stay, recovering from surgery, so it was just going to be me, and that was also sad, but we had prepared for such an eventuality.
It was devastating for me to have to call the vet, and have him come out. I spent the morning with her and when the vet came, Hannah had been purring for an hour. At this point I had regrets… I hoped the vet would call to tell me his car broke down and he could not come. I need more time with her, please!!!
But the vet arrived. I moved Hannah out on the deck where we have a table, which was easier for the vet. She had fallen asleep finally, and was now resting.
When the first injection was given, the vet explained to me it’s like anesthesia, so she is not feeling anything. It took a couple of minutes for her to relax very deeply, and I got very close to her, held her face in my hands, I looked deeply into her eyes, smiled, and told her “I’ll see you on the other side”. I felt her confusion, but she was relaxed and it only took two seconds for her heart to stop.
After this I totally lost my awareness of things. Vet left, and I called Todd. The next few hours were excruciatingly painful. I felt so much pain and regretted having done it! I cried and cried and I was almost hoping she would come back to life. Maybe the drugs didn’t work! I know those things happened, I had read about it!! But she was gone. I spent several hours with her body before burying her later when the sun was lower on the horizon. I found out later it was a new moon. For some reason that felt really good, like it was a good time for her to move on.
Oh Hannah!
Today, only 48 hours after her death, I feel her released back to Source, to All That Is, and when I think of her, I feel like giggling. She’s free, happy and back to her cheerful self. Is this wishful thinking on my part? No, because the shift happened totally unexpectedly. I fully expected to be grieving for days, weeks, months. I had no idea this was coming. When I think of Hannah now, I feel so joyful inside, how can I grieve? I CAN say I really wanted to feel HER, and not keep sitting in MY pain. I wanted to help her release out of the limitations of the earthly life, as beautiful and gorgeous as this planet is, once we are done, let’s go! But I did not expect this low, and the high so soon after. I did not feel this when Maia left last year.
Of course I miss her. When I walk into the tiny home, I am still wanting to say “Hi Hannah” or check to make sure she’s not crying or needing something. The nights are very quiet, and the days are much less busy without tending to her needs.
How amazing she must feel! I am truly excited for her next adventure, and for getting to know her more outside of her body and feel her energy in a new way.
