Fiscal Failure

Heart failure is one of the most common causes of a person's sudden death. 

This might have happened to our dear Fiscal, the street cat (nicknamed in Filipino as pusakal—short for pusang kalye) who abandoned the streets one day in 2017 and made our home hers, too. 

We lost her today, January 6, to what I would rather call Fiscal failure, six days after refusing to drink or eat.

On New Year's day she was hiding in dark places and wouldn't ingest anything. Before we knew it, she disappeared, her food and drink untouched.  

F-I-I-I-S-C-A-A-A-L! 

Our voices competed with the firecrackers. We posted a LOST SIGN at the guard house. On January 3,  we knew we lost our unfailing stress reliever for good. My research on why cats disappear gave me distressing data, "So they can die in peace." 

Fourth day: son #1 heard faint noises up our ceiling. Son #3 and our househelper, Mother Teresa, with flashlights, searched the cramped area, and sure enough, she was there but refused to come out. Mother Teresa brought up food and water instead.  

Finally, after much coaxing on the 5th day, her food and drink ignored, Fiscal came close enough to be taken down. We gave her a private room with four "beds" (two baskets, a box, and a drawer) and one "bathroom" (a large basin with sand). 

That was when we discovered she had two big wounds. Meanwhile the Veterinary clinic was already closed.  

All through the night, son #3 (Fiscal's self-appointed boss) and Mother Teresa, who fed her using a dropper, kept vigil. With the little energy she had left, Fiscal tried to get out of the room. 

Early this morning, Tony called the Vet. Before he could reply, our dearest pusakal had a Fiscal failure—beside the door, perhaps still trying to get out "to die in peace." 

Now Fiscal rests in peace in our garden, beneath the flowers. 

Over the tears, Father, we thank You for Your grace of four, fun-filled Fiscal years.