Goodbye Cooper, we will always remember you...

Today was a VERY sad day for Josh and I. Our day started by relaxing on the couch, watching the cats sleep (Cooper cuddled on top of Striker), patiently waiting the arrival of Josh's mom, Lynn who was visiting for the day.
When Lynn arrived, she had brought down lots of goodies! There was a great "Lavender" kit for me to use in the hospital ! So many of my friends on facebook recommended we use lavender to help create a calming environment, so she has fully supplied me with it :) She also bought Josh a great book on "What to do in the delivery room".

We have some friends that are opening a coffee shop in Austin called, "Gymocha", and today they had a trial run for their friends. We brought Lynn there with us and BOY WAS THAT PLACE AWESOME! The environment on the inside is so great ! I can't wait to go back :) McBaby and I will be going there to do work when I am on maternity leave :)

We then ventured over to Target to purchase some more last minute things we will be needing in the hospital and at home. We had some gift cards and coupons, so we went all out :) Then the three of us went out to Applebees for dinner! Thank you so much Lynn, it was so nice to spend the afternoon with you :) We're getting closer!!!
So now I am to the part that makes me so sad...and is so hard to write about :(
In October, 2007, Josh and I got Cooper from a friend as a kitten. He was such a cute little kitty :) Very playful and active! He was pretty skittish, but we loved him anyway!

As Cooper got a little bigger, he started chewing on things. We figured it was his age, so we let it slide. When we moved into our house, Cooper started getting into all heaps of trouble. He chewed on our air conditioning wire, phone cord wires, iron wire, etc...you name it - he probably chewed on it.

We were going to get rid of him in the summer of 2008, but decided that we should try "cat proofing" our house and give him another shot. So we did. Throughout the time, Cooper would still find things to chew on. At one point, Striker was really sick with a bad U.T.I., and we had to lock all three of our cats up in the laundry room to make sure Striker wouldn't pee all over the house...well, Cooper didn't like being confined and chewed on our washing machine tube...so we had some water on the floor. Not a lot, but enough to be annoying.

Eventually, Cooper started coming around! He would hang out by us, cuddle a little bit, allow others to pet him, and he wasn't chewing! YEAH :) We figured we had everything all fixed.

Then we got pregnant...

One night I locked Cooper, on accident, in the nursery. When I realized what I had done, it was too late - he had already peed in the crib. Now he had marked his territory.

There were two other times he had done this, and one of these times was when the bedding was in the crib. So this was it - last straw...we can't have a cat peeing, or even laying, in the crib that our child is going to be in.

So we started researching Humane Societies and what kind of options we had for Cooper. We asked TONS of people if they wanted him, but nobody did...we knew that we had to get rid of him before our baby arrived, but it was SO HARD for us to do. We do love Cooper, and he really is a good cat - just needs more attention than we are able to give him.

Then there was this morning's events...
I was going to curl my hair, so I plugged in my curling iron, but it wouldn't turn on. So I clicked the "test" button - nothing...Tried Josh's plug in - nothing. I did this for a couple minutes then finally plugged it back into Josh's plug and hit the on button...

It was at that moment that I was well aware of the fact that Cooper chewed through the curling iron cord as well...
I was shocked. Yes - when I clicked the on button, a spark came flying out of the "chewed" part of the cord and shocked me. It burned a hold in my pants (the shock hit my leg) and I screamed very loudly. I was totally, 100% okay, but it scared me more than anything.

Josh ran into the bathroom right away to make sure I was okay...then he researched about pregnant women getting shocked...I'm totally okay! Apparently there have been pregnant women who have been shocked before by an electric fence - much more voltage - and were fine.

It was then that I realized, maybe Cooper is out to get me. Maybe he is trying to kill me...
Ridiculous, I know...

So when the three of us (Josh, Lynn and myself) were at Gymocha, Josh and his mom were researching places to bring Cooper. They found a very nice Humane Society in Burnsville, and Lynn told us that she would bring him there for us. She knew how hard it would be on us, and figured it'd be best if we said goodbye in our own home :(


So tonight, when Lynn left, through many tears and extreme sadness, Josh and I said goodbye to our beautiful orange cat, Cooper. We sent along his favorite food, toy and even the laser light for him.

I felt bad that I could barely say goodbye to Lynn, but I think she totally understood...So now we just sit back and remember our fun times with him :) Having him constantly run in circles, chasing the laser light! Watching him curl up with Striker like he is a little baby! Having him pester us constantly for "people" food! Watching him sit by his water bowl, patiently waiting for you to give him fresh water. Having him paw at you when you are eating! Watching him sneak around trying not to get caught doing something. Having him curl up next to you on his own terms, but being so excited that he is allowing you to pet him!

Oh Cooper, we are really going to miss you! We hope you find a good home...one without kids! We will always love you, and please know, Cooper, we had to do this...