Ijit Lamendola Obituary

She was 15 and a half and had been with me since about age two. Her final days were full of visits, phone calls, and Skypes from the many friends she had made over the years. During her life, people often made comments like, "That is the smartest cat I have ever met." Over the years, I had written about her quite a bit and she was featured in my annual letter to friends and family.

What I valued most in her was how much love she had for me and others in her life. It seemed like Ijit's life's work was to be a happy little person who made others happy.

Not long after her passing, I wrote: "Since her passing, I am unanchored and disoriented. We had our routine and interacted all day long. Now, I wake up to total silence and go to bed the same way. Even unloading the dishwasher in the morning is surreal now. All of the tea saucers and bowls she ate off of during the day aren't in there anymore. Nor are all the spoons used to dish out whatever servings she wanted. It's like this with every task, whether mundane or not. And no more getting a nose kiss before heading off to the store and then being greeted at the door when I return."

"She taught me a lot about meeting her emotional and physical needs, so our home was well-suited for a cat. A cat door in front and another in back, each coded to her chip so only she could operate them. Big cat tree. Great litter box set-up complete with night lights. Motion-sensored lighting for her (high-end) kibble that was always restocked before we went to bed so she could eat during the night. Motion-sensor cat fountain, and various other amenities. Special nooks, including her favorite perch in our bedroom; this was a corner nook with a wardrobe canted at an angle to provide a sense of privacy for her while she was able to look out a west window and a north window from the second story."

There is so much I can say about her. I wrote and said so much about her during our life together that my friends and family already know quite a bit about her. So just some highlights here. I have picked these items not so much to describe her but to show her uniqueness.

Ijit came to me as primarily an outdoor cat. She gradually became an indoor cat who went outside. The average life expectancy for an outdoor cat is 5.6 years. Indoor cats typically live 10 to 15 years, the difference being due to factors such as diet and their social life. By the age of 14, 85% of cats have died from renal failure. Of the other 15%, most died from something else and only a tiny fraction make it to 15. There are a few exotic breeds, such as Siamese, that live into their 20s. Ijit was a American Short Hair, with a typical lifespan of 12 years.

Origin Story

Ijit had been left in an apartment when the residents moved out. A neighbor heard her plaintiff cries through the door, and had the Super let her in. She brought this abandoned no name cat into her apartment for a temporary rescue. Then she asked her coworkers if anyone needed a cat because as cute as this one was, she didn't want a cat. My neighbor Terri had lost her Pom two months earlier and just lost her cat. So she was delighted to adopt Ijit (whom she named "Salem" because she was jet black).

But the delight wasn't mutual. Terri was a smoker and her house was filthy. It was so bad, the Health Department condemned the home and evicted her. The new owners who rehabbed the house showed me how they had taken the walls down to the studs and talked about the mold and other problems.

While Ijit was living there, she would every morning beg to be let out. Terri would let her out. Ijit checked out other homes on the block, and frequently was in my back yard within sight of my back door (which was then a sliding glass door, later replaced by one that could accommodate a cat door). I began a friendship with Ijit in the summer of 2011, thinking she was a stray cat. I didn't want a pet, so didn't take things further. But her arrival every day always made me feel good because she seemed so happy to see me.

In September of 2011 my friend Patrice had been visiting from Springfield, MO (about 3 hrs away) and convinced me to let her inside. We made a little pallet on the couch for her to sleep on, and I set up a litter box for her, too. Patrice and I came up with the name "Ijit".

She began spending the night at my house most nights, and periodically retuning to Terri's. So there would be nights when she wouldn't show up at my back door and I would worry about her. After a couple weeks of this, I discovered she was actually Terri's cat. It wasn't much later that I offered to adopt "Salem". Terri reluctantly agreed, and then filled me in on as much as she knew about this wonderful little girl.

Once Ijit moved in, things progressed from there. We were bound for life, she had found her forever home and she would mold both it and me to make it a better place for both of us.

She Saved Me

At about this time, my 17 year illegal ordeal with the IRS was really heating up (this was year 13 of the ordeal). It would end 4 years later, but I had gone on the attack against individual agents and they did not like being on the receiving end of what an engineer could do to them. Their response was to break even more laws and violate even more of my basic human rights. This created a lot of stress for me, the goal of which was to drive me to suicide, something they had successfully done to several other victims of crimes that Kevin Brown was committing against victims of his $103 million fraud.

I had a lot of help during those final four years, including from inside the IRS itself. But without Ijit, the "push to suicide" plan may have worked because Brown's band of psychopaths were experts at it. Ijit kept me anchored and I found my "stressometer" typically resting at zero. This alone left me deeply indebted to her. In 2015, the persecution ended. One of my IRS helpers altered my file to show the "debt" (which didn't actually exist) had been paid in full--so there was only a 90 day effect on my credit history instead of a 10 year one. And by mid-2019, my credit score stood at 849 out of 850!

Before the IRS ordeal was over I started a mutual fund for Ijit, so that she would be provided for in case she outlived me. At the time of her death, it was pretty substantial. A few years ago, I wrote up a Kansas-compliant will which named my cat-loving climbing buddy William as her caretaker in the event she outlived me.

My Constant Companion

Ijit liked to do whatever I was doing. When I would work out with weights, so would she. For example, she'd walk across the top row of dumbbells on the rack. Or get up on the bench (either by herself or on top of me). She also came up with her own workout routines, such as running up and down the stairs. Or running out the front cat door, around the house, and in through the back cat door--in almost no time.

When I was working at the computer, during her younger years she would usually be perched on top of the case and during her older years she lay on a mat placed near my feet.

In her younger years, she was less constant of a companion and more outgoing. She routinely visited  various neighbors. She would go to the door and ask to be let in. Then she'd visit for a while and ask to be let out. I wonder if she was still shopping for a forever home, because I still had not completely adapted to her. One mistake I made was to yell at her and frighten her if she got up on a countertop. Later, I would just tell her to get down. Same for the dining table. My calmer approach coincided with less neighbor-visiting from her. I even adapted to the "cat underfoot" problem that at first drove me bonkers. I learned to simply expect her at my feet. And later to embrace that, by bending down and scratching her head while saying something sweet to her.

Time Monitor

After Ijit had lived here for only a short while, she figured out my routine. She assigned specific exact times to each activity. And then she let me know when it was time to get up, when it was time to eat, when it was time to read before bed, and when it was time to go to bed. She also had a regular Beauty Shop time, something I started on her 10th birthday. After a few sessions of this, she let me know when it was Beauty Shop time. She was accurate within the minute. For this reason, I decided to stop changing my clock twice a year. Prior to Ijit, I gradually adapted to the "new time" by changing my schedule by 15 minutes a month out, 15 more minutes two weeks out, and so on until I was aligned with the "new time".

Favorite Foods

In her younger years, she ate rabbits, toads, chipmunks, and birds she killed outside. She brought some of her kill into the house to share with me (I thanked her then disposed of the body when she wasn't looking). Gradually, I introduced wet cat food, melted butter, and raw eggs into her diet. She gradually hunted less and then not at all. In her later years, I added canned fish such as sardines and mackerel.

Out of ignorance, I had originally fed her kibble only. Then I upgraded to better kibble and then I began adding "wet food". I would say that kibble made up maybe 15% of her diet in any given year. Where I messed up early on, she just got her own food. Once I did things right, she enjoyed a variety of real, whole food that I fed her.

Friends

She had many friends. Here are five notable ones:

• I had known Cathy for years and she eventually took a job working for my company. After Ijit moved in here, she would notice I was talking to Cathy on the phone, and she would start chattering. So I designated one handset to be hers and presented that to her so she could talk to Cathy. Typically, this meant rubbing the phone and saying "Ma-a-a-a" a few times. Cathy sent Ijit a birthday present every year and sometimes sent her something at a random time. That pillow in the photo is one of Cathy's gifts to Ijit.
• Janet entered my life in 2015, which meant she also entered Ijit's life. Ijit made a point of making Janet feel honored and welcome. During Ijit's last few months, Janet was often at her vet appointments or her chiropractic appointments with me.
• My next door neighbor Ingrid always babysat Ijit when I was away on a trip. Ijit used to meander over to Ingrid's house and visit when Ingrid was working in the front yard on her flower beds.
• She took a special liking to our neighbor Ed, and often walked down to his house for a visit.
• Lucas, an 8 year old boy who lives in a house between ours and Ed's, had a special bond with Ijit. He used to come over and ask if she could come outside and play. His mom brought him over on New Year's Day to say goodbye to Ijit.

Cat Kwon Do

I have black belts in five different styles of martial arts, and before I got intensely into climbing I practiced spinning kicks and other difficult techniques three or four days a week. Ijit would watch, and then show me her version. I decided to go with that, and actually train her. She became unbeatable in cat fights, quickly defeating much larger cats.

One incident in particular shows her skill. We had taken a walk to our neighbor Ed's house and were inside visiting. A purely outdoor cat, George, resided under Ed's porch and came out periodically to munch on kibble and drink water that Ed had left for him. He was elderly and Ijit liked him; he was one of the few cats she tolerated. Some other cat had been coming around and stealing George's food, leaving George seriously underweight. Ed had been bringing George inside to feed him, but George hated being inside so missed out on food too often.

We heard howling and growling from the front porch. We opened the inner door to look out through the glass storm door and saw a huge cat was on the porch in a "hiss off" with George. And George was backing away from him, ceding his food dish. Ijit demanded to be let out, so I opened the door. She rushed at the other cat, and delivered a flurry of spinning kicks. The first one knocked him clean off the porch onto the steps, and she kicked him from there to the driveway. Then she chased him down the street for a ways, kicking him backwards every time he got back up trying to get away from her. He never came back. Ijit watched him run off, then returned to stand guard next to George so he could eat. This was amazing, to say the least.

She had a dental exam when she was 10. No tartar and no cavities, but she had a broken tooth, a "wisdom tooth" that was almost completely reabsorbed, and a "wisdom tooth" on the other side of it. Dr. Tutemacher removed the three teeth and gave Ijit a clean bill of health. We did not expect to see Dr. Tutemacher again any time soon.

But a few months later, a monster cat (larger than our neighbor's Main  Coon) lay in wait under a car for her as she was walking home from Ed's house and crossing Grandma Ingrid's driveway. Our neighbor David saw the attack and several days later told me what happened. This huge cat came out from under the car and ambushed Ijit from behind. It took her some time to twist out from under him and then spin to slash him. David was under the impression she had won. That was not the case.

I did not know about the attack until days later, but that evening she seemed "out of it" and during her Beauty Shop time I found this massive swelling on her back. I called her vet the next morning, they said it was a serious abscess and to bring her in. They gave her an antibiotic and we scheduled her for surgery two days hence in case the abscess did not recede on its own. It did not. This monster cat had bitten her back deeply, five times. I think she got some kidney damage as a result, because she never again had the same strength as before the attack. Dr. Tutemacher saved Ijit's life by thoroughly treating the wounds. But Ijit's recovery would take over a year.

Monster Cat was a serious danger to every cat in the neighborhood. He even killed our neighbor's rooster, and I have never heard of a house cat being able to do such a thing.

During Ijit's long recovery, I changed her martial arts training to be less Cat Kwon Do and more Cat Kung Fu. It took some doing, but I taught her to bite the forearm.

One morning we were in the kitchen doing our normal pre-breakfast routine when she moved toward the cat door in our backdoor and began hissing and spitting. Monster Cat was on the other side. I chased him away. A couple of hours later, I was working in my basement office when I heard a terrible racket that I knew was the mother of all cat fights. I rushed up the stairs to rescue Ijit, but just as I entered the kitchen (where the back door is), she came through her cat door strutting her stuff. Her fur was ruffled but she seemed elated rather than injured. I think she made a three-legged cat out of Monster Cat because we never saw him again. She had not only defeated her opponent in a rematch, she had once again reclaimed her territory. She allowed other cats free passage, and under her protection nobody had to fear the deadly bully anymore.

Her Final Days

She had been noticeably declining in health for well over a year, but she still was able to enjoy life. She barely survived a hawk attack in July, after which she had problems walking. Still, she was able to enjoy life. She had the CKD diagnosis in July, and her blood panels showed we were managing the disease OK.

But just before Christmas 2024, she took a pronounced turn for the worse. We had always had happy Christmas days because I didn't have to work and could spend most of the day playing with her. She loved "kill the mouse", a game we played with her tube and a toy mouse. Her last Christmas wasn't like that. She was clearly sick. I called the vet the next day, and got her in on Friday the 27th. I was sure she had a UTI. She got an antibiotic and the vet said to call Monday if she had not improved. She had not.

Dr. Sally, the owner of Stateline Animal Hospital, said to bring Ijit in on Tuesday at 7:30 when they opened and leave her in the feline center. They would be closing at noon due to New Year's Eve, so I would just need to pick her up before then. Dr. Sally asked, "Do I have permission to run a blood panel?" She really zeroed in on this, I think she already knew what to expect.

Dr. Sally called me at about 10:00 and said Ijit was dying from late stage renal failure and recommended that I come get her after they euthanize her unless I wanted to be there for the procedure. I said I would instead bring her home to say her goodbyes. Dr. Sally emphasized that Ijit would soon be suffering greatly, and to get it taken care of rather than let it run its course. I had called Janet on the way there, and she met us as we were leaving. She and Ijit exchanged kisses and crying, at this point Ijit clearly knew she was not going to make it. I think Ijit knew that before I came to get her.

Janet came over the next day (Wednesday) and spent a lot of time with Ijit, petting her and saying sweet things while lying on a comforter pallet on the floor in front of my desk. Ijit was on a heated pad under my desk, she could barely stay warm and this brought her comfort. But it wasn't comfortable being on that pallet, yet Janet never complained.

Various others came over, some people called, and her cat buddy Rizik wanted one last Skype session with her. Wednesday night, I made a pallet of two comforters and lay with Ijit most of the night. She moved herself from her heated pad onto the comforters. She laid her head on my cheek several times. She went into great distress that night, and mewled for me to help her. I told her to hang on for a few more hours and I would take her to the doctor to end her pain. But if she wanted to slip away now, that would be fine.

I called Stateline at 7:30 when they opened. But I had not made an appointment on Tuesday as I should have. So they were not expecting me and could not get Ijit in until 11:30. After a quick search for local vets, I found Mill Creek Animal Hospital and it was open. It was also a lot closer to us than Stateline. I called them at 7:45, they said they could see us at 8:00. When we got there, they already had a form prefilled with Ijit's information from Stateline, someone had taken the time to call there and get the info over the phone.

They were very compassionate. The doctor explained the process and asked if I wanted to hold Ijit and how much involvement I wanted. I was there for the full Monte. There were two shots, one to put her asleep and one to stop her heart. The vet said the first shot usually takes about 10 seconds to work. Ijit was so weak, that her head flopped onto my wrist almost as soon as the doctor administered the drug through her IV.

They wrapped her in a towel I had brought for the occasion, then put her in a burial bag they provided, then zipped it up and put her in the stout cardboard box I provided.

Final Arrangements
I dug the hole on New Year's Day, the day before she died. Less than an hour after her euthanasia the next day, I buried her in the back yard. Ijit's Grandma Ingrid and Ijit's friend Ed were in attendance and spoke as part of our burial ceremony.

Some Health Facts

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is the main cause of death among cats. It kills 85% of cats by age 14. Of the remaining 15%, very few make it to 15 because most of the 15% have died from other causes by age 14. Those include other illnesses, accidental poisoning, trauma (such as being hit by a car), poor nutrition, and just an individual's shorter life span.

Aside from a few exotic breeds (e.g., Siamese), domestic cats live on 10 to 15 years with 12 being the average. Outdoor cats live an average of 5.6 years. She was an indoor/outdoor cat. Another health fact: cats subsisting on kibble typically have dental disease by the age of 3 and very few cats don't have it by age 5. Ijit never had a cavity, never had periodontitis, and didn't even have plaque.

Why is CKD so prevalent that nearly all cats die from it? I think it is not a stretch to point to the vaccines. Our faith in these experimental medications was shattered by what we discovered when the C*O*V*I*D scam began to unravel. And this is the one human-introduced common factor among all of these cats. It simply cannot be the case that every cat is born with defective kidneys.

Is vaccination worth the risk? We don't know. One thing you can do is get the three year rabies vaccine instead of the one-year. They are the same thing, just different paperwork. And once your cat has had an optional vaccine for a particular virus, don't get it a second time (it either works or does not work, but repeats will actually desensitize the immune system to that virus). If your cat is in poor health, most jurisdictions will accept a letter from the vet exempting your pet from the rabies vaccine.