Leaving the house for a job interview, I found her lying on her side in the driveway, unable to move. The vet explained that she was near-comatose from hypogycemia, the result of an inoperable abdominal tumor. So I put her down. Showed up late for the interview and didn’t get the job.

Chose not to cremate her and couldn’t afford a perpetual care plot. So we decided to bury McBean in our yard. It’s not so easy, finding a place that will “never” be disturbed, digging a 3’ deep hole, getting the shrunken, frozen body of your pet from the vet. My 9-y.o. son wrote a poem which he read, then placed in the ground. We tossed in handfuls of cat litter. The whole absurd ritual took two hours. And there she lies, my first pet, the only cat we’re likely ever to own now that it’s clear the kids are dog people. RIP, McBean.