Our little Tia joined our family when our daughter was only 3. Della, our daughter, has recently married and turned 24. So you know how long she was with us! Never had any health problems except getting bonked on the head which sent us into the Vet convinced that she was breathing her last! She was only 5 years old at that time, we never realized she would stay with us for so long! All of 4 lbs, she held her own with a Lhasa and various cats thru the years...out-living them all!
There were times we thought we'd lost her in the woods of Oregon, but she would come out from under some fern when she had routed out whatever she had spooked out of the underbrush! Another time she had her head out the back window, unknown to daddy Dennis, and he rolled it up until he heard her squeak. He quickly rolled it down, taking away one of her "nine lives" that cats were supposed to have but I think she had twice as many.
We work with Hospice and were determined to allow her to live out her life with dignity. She became more unsettled and it was clear that she needed to have help making the transition from this life. Our vet was so gentle with us and her...and she quietly and quickly ended her long, good life leaving us with an empty place...her place in our family will never be filled quite the way it was with Tia.