Elegy for Luka

Luka, our elder states cat, died today at the age of 14 1/2. He probably had cancer. The vet who euthanized him also euthanized his predecessor, Jasper, years ago. Julian and I were able to be with him when he died.

Luka came to us from a breeder in Ohio in August 2007. I picked him up from the airport by myself, as Julian wasn’t feeling well that night. Not much noise came from the carrier on the way home; however, Luka tore out of the carrier eager to explore. His wanderlust led him to escape outdoors a few times. He was out for 24 hours once when we took friends to Mount Rainier. Luckily, he didn’t become coyote chow.

Luka never read the paragraph in the Russian Blue Code of Conduct that he should be shy and aloof. He was often center stage at our Friday Night Follies gatherings, showing off his tricks and snuggling with our guests. Our friend Bruce was a particular favorite. The one houseguest he didn’t like was the Welsh corgi who came to visit last summer and chased him upstairs.

Luka was bonded tightly to Phoebe, our first Russian Blue. After she died, we acquired Neli. She’s Luka’s half sister (same father). While not tightly bonded, the two would chase each other up and down the stairs and fight over the catnip bag. There was one time when I had them both on my lap while I was working on the computer.

Luka took COVID-19 seriously. He loved that I worked from home rather than commuting to work. Here he is demonstrating social distancing while I was on a Zoom happy hour with my classmates.

We noticed that Luka was losing weight around the time the above picture was taken in 2020. The vet thought it was either lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease. He prescribed prednisolone to increase Luka’s appetite and famotidine to reduce vomiting. His weight was reasonably stable until the last few weeks, when he went off his feed and got progressively weaker. We took him to a local vet emergency center last Saturday. The x-ray images were inconclusive. We opted for palliative care. This morning when he could barely stagger to his food, I figured it was time.

Luka was a great companion and a charming clown. He will be missed.