Buster

This is how he ate his last few meals.

He did not move much from this spot.

I gave him this pillow which I think my momm made.

Bundling up for a vet visit.

This is how he sits when we go on scooter rides. I zip it up a little more, so it gives his head a bit of support. I was not afraid that he would jump out.

From above.

There's a Korean saying, probably not very well-known, that when a cat turns 20, they go to university. It's not a euphemism, just a literal statement, as it's age 20 when Koreans typically go to university (albeit according to Korean age, not solar age like Buster has reached).

Today, we made that statement literal, unintentionally. I thought I would have to write his obituary, but instead I have this tale from the road to share.

Buster hasn't been doing well lately. Actually since November the vet has been saying he's in the final stage of chronic kidney disease, only for him to pull back from the bring over and over. Lately, he has been suffering a buildup of fluid in his lungs, and to treat that he's been taking a drug that is bad for his kidneys. On Monday, he began reacting badly. His limbs have all weakened, and he is basically bedridden. I have been feeding him food and water with a spoon, and his appetite for both is still strong. Sometimes he tries to sit up, seeming like he wants to come over and comfort me.

We had an appointment at the animal hospital on Friday, but I took him in today. I was prepared to make the humane choice, as hard as it would be. The alternative seemed worse.

He was completely unable to resist as I put him in the carrier. I left the flap open so he could see out as we drove; I knew he wouldn't be able to climb out. His head faces to the right, away from traffic, and a little bit looking ahead, so he gets a good view of the side of the road.

Sometimes it seems like he enjoys going on scooter rides, with the only problem being the destination.

I've found several detours that enable me to go almost all the way from Huam-dong to the hospital in Sinchon without spending much time at all on major roads.

While going through the Ahyeon furniture market, I stopped when I saw two pigeons eating big white pieces of bread. We pulled up close so Buster could watch the birds from less than a meter away. At some point, they became cautious and flew off.

There's one alley near Sinchon where we always pass this quaint old 곰탕 (literally but not really "bear soup") restaurant, and I always make the same joke, that we'll stop by after.

We got to the animal hospital, but I wasn't ready, and it seemed like Buster didn't have anything else to do. So we took a left when we should have taken a right.

I drove him through an area full of closed love motels. Buster has some history as an urban explorer, and maybe he would have enjoyed exploring one of the motels with me if he was in better condition. On previous vet visits when I had time, I have gone over to this area and looked around inside a couple of the motels.

We drove over to Yeonhui-dong, where we used to live from 2009 to 2014, a quarter of his life. We passed by our old apartment, and drove up a steep road onto the hill behind it. A political campaign truck was coming down toward us, and a guy was standing on the back, possibly the candidate, but nobody else was around but us.

Up in the higher alleys on the slope of the hill, the alleys were lined with greenery, and it smelled like honeysuckle. I'm not sure what that would smell like to a cat, who seems to favour things that smell terrible to me.

We drove around the corner of the hill, where there's heavy redevelopment. I wanted to take him up over a mountain road, but it looked too uneven so I decided against it. The only time on this voyage that Buster ever showed discomfort was when he coughed three times after going over a bumpy road.

We found another way around, and drove past TJ Kim's bookstore, Book Map Art. I pointed it out to Buster, mentioning that his book is sold there. I thought about going in, but it could be too stressful for him, and I wasn't in good shape either.

So we entered the north gate of Yonsei University. There are roads back there that take you through a lot of heavy mountain wilderness, so I wanted Buster to see nature up close. He continued gazing out from his carrier, so he seemed to be doing OK. We left through the east gate. At some point around then, I remembered the saying about going to university.

From there, the way back to the hospital would be down a very wide, very busy road, so I took another route that would bring us us through the northern uphill tip of Ewha Womans University.

On the overpass crossing over the road between the two universities, all the photos of the mayoral candidates were on display. I pointed out to Buster that not a single one of them was a cat, and if there was a cat running, I probably would have voted for that candidate. It also seemed unfair that I get to vote in Korean elections, but Buster who has lived his whole life here doesn't.

The road brought us past Ewha, down the other side into Ahyeon-dong, just a few small roads away from Sinchon. It was a maze of highrise apartment complexes back there, and at one point along the sidewalk, I saw a landscaped little waterfall. I pulled the bike right up to it, looking to see if there were koi. There weren't, but Buster seemed especially interested in the waterfall.

Ahead, I saw what looked like a security vehicle coming down toward us, so I pulled off the sidewalk and sped away.

Soon we found ourselves in front of Ewha Womans University's front gate. As I made a right turn, I nearly had a collision with a university student who was about to cross the street. I stopped to let her pass, and she looked down at Buster and made it clear that we could go first. As we passed the crosswalk, I remarked to Buster, "I think she likes you." I also pointed out that she was about his age, maybe even younger.

We got back into the alley near the animal hospital, and passed by the bear soup place again. It was closed and I didn't promise Buster that we'd ever go back here.

Finally, inevitably, we were back to the starting point of this weird little adventure. When I brought him into the animal hospital, they quickly took him away from me, something I expressed I didn't want. They also put an IV in his arm, and pumped him full of drugs. The vet I saw acknowledged that his condition was bad, and told me to come back tomorrow.

I brought him home, a place I imagine he always likes to see after a hospital visit, although maybe he still remembers before when his older sister would be waiting to ambush him. I put him in bed, and although he doesn't seem any more active, he took an interest when a pizza I ordered showed up. He continues to enjoy food and water.

He doesn't have much time left, but they gave him one more day at least.

After the vet.

We went home and I let him watch his stories.

Yes, there are Korea Times towels.

I took him over to HBC to say goodbye to people there.

Back home.

Spoonfeeding.

His left eye was constantly leaking gunk.

A paw.

Another vet trip.

He raised his head a bit.

I took him by the waterfall.

From Ewha Womans University, we could almost see our home. I realised that he wouldn't go back there again.

Looking toward Sinchon.

This is the last picture I'm sharing.