In a sudden, shocking turn of events, Belle is no longer with us.

A relapse of the stroke she suffered in June this year left her paralyzed on the living room carpet this morning. We took her to Dr Casey for treatment immediately. He advised us that her condition was much worse than before and that the treatment would have to be more aggressive.

We had to leave her to go to work, but later in the afternoon, Dr Casey called to say that Belle's condition was cascading downwards. She was already gone by the time we rushed down to the clinic.

Today, we lost the most patient, sweet-tempered, gentle cat we've ever known.

We can't help but blame ourselves for not continuing her treatment after the last time, but her condition appeared to us like she had made a complete recovery. She was her old, normal self with unhampered mobility. She could walk and run, and jump up to places where she may not exactly have been welcome, but we indulged her anyway.

For more info about the cat that was, well, there's a little bio here, if you haven't already seen it. Meantime, the household's a little sad right now, thanks for asking.