dcseain | Jasper Is Dead, Aged 18 years 2 Months

I just found him in the kitchen. I saw ants in his eye, and he was cold and his legs stiff.

He got in my lap last night and let me groom him, removing all the mats, but he only barely looked at me from the corner of his eye. I picked him up after that, and he laid gently in my arms, but did not purr like usual, and wanted down, and was delicate and slightly unstable about getting down. Just Tuesday night i commented to

tomhundleyrn that Jasper suddenly looked really old.

I've known him since he was about 6 months old. He just come to live with me as i was moving to Boston. He rode on my left shoulder the whole way up there. He live through both the house break-ins when we lived on Capitol Hill on Maryland Ave NE. He was terrified of the lhasa-apso we lived with on G St NE, but he didn't mind the cairn terrier at that house.

He loved running around in the back yard at the house in Chantilly, where he mostly ignored the two dogs, and i rarely had to clean the litter box because he liked to do his business outside.

benhill's dog Duke, who passed earlier this year, was afraid to go into the living room because of Jasper and his seeming anxiety. Here by the end, he was the disliked old man to the other two cats. He'll never again hiss or growl at any dog, or Lorelei or

tomhundleyrn. Nor will he ever again purr just because i picked him up. He was a cuddly kitty, unless you were Lorelei or

tomhundleyrn.

LIfe goes on, and i've been expecting this for a while. Doesn't make it any easier. At least it looks like he laid down and died, or died in his sleep. I called work and told them i'll be late, though i do need to be in there in a few hours. Sigh :(