Time keeps on slippin'

It was during this hour four years ago that I said goodbye to my best friend in the world. It may seem strange that one would consider a cat to be their best friend, but Spot was with me for over fifteen years. He had been with me almost as long as I had been in my house. He greeted me when I came home, cuddled in my lap when the mood struck him, and trusted me to take care of him. I feel he chose me, not the other way 'round.

Spot was picked up by my family as a scared kitten stranded in the middle of a busy road in Grand Prairie. My first real memory of him was his first night here. He had been hiding under my bed for most of the day (as most scared kitties are likely to do in a strange place). Someone (I can't remember who) wanted to see Spot, so I started to crawl under the bed to get him. I couldn't find him and soon someone told me to look on top of the bed. There was Spot, curled up ON the bed. He was mine and I was his from the moment on. After sweating out a week of trying to find if he had other owners looking for him, Spot became my buddy for good.

Not everyone had the best relationship with him. He was a terror at the vets and my sister had more than a couple of run-ins with his claws. But he was always the sweetest, most loyal feline companion this lonely guy could have ever asked for.

So, Spotty, thank you for taking me in. I hope I did right by you, even at the end.

I miss you.

Goodbye, Chelsea

Today, my parent's beautiful cat Chelsea went to join her brothers Elliot and Marvin. Even at 16 years old, it seems too soon. I will miss her.

Spot - Three years gone (8/1/2006)

Three years ago today I lost Spot.



You will always have a place in my heart, buddy.

Elliot - One Year

I haven't posted here in a while, but I did want to make note that this past Wednesday was one year since we lost Elliot. I find it hard to believe that a year has already gone by.

RIP, buddy.

The Three Amigos

Here is a picture of Spot, Ferrari and Cymbah (who can be partially seen in the upper left).


(on loan from the pettygirl collection)

Midnight?

I was going through a box from parents' old house and I came across a picture. I am not sure, but I think it is my first cat Midnight.

Sadly, I don't remember a whole lot about him. He didn't live as long as any of us would have liked, but he did sire MJ (Midnight Junior) with the beautiful Tiffany.

However, I still remember getting him. My sister Susan was going to get a new kitten and picked Tiffy. For some reason, her little gray littermate caught my eye and we ended up with two kittens that day.

I'm sure my sisters will chime on whether or not the picture is of Midnight. I suppose it may be MJ, but I don't think so. But I think you will agree that's a beautiful cat.

In Memorium (8-1-06)

The pain is mostly gone....but the ache will always linger.

I still miss you Spotty.

Goodbye

Elliot lost his battle this afternoon. Thanks for any kind thoughts that all of you have sent our way. We're really going to miss him.

Elliot

Anyone that has read my blog knows that cats are important to me. And losing one of them usually hits me pretty hard.

Tonight, it looks like one of my parents' cats, Elliot, is about to move on. He's in his twenties and has lived a good life, but that really doesn't make it easier.

Although he has lived with my parents for most of his life, our paths did intersect for a while. When my cat MJ died (while I was still living at home), we adopted each other. He's been special to me ever since (as he has been to all the members of my family).

He has gotten progressively weaker (especially in the last few months) and I doubt he will be with us much longer. Although it will probably be for the best, it will still hurt when he's gone. Shoot...it's hurting already.

There's not much that can be done. But I just wanted anyone who passes this way to know that there was once a great cat named Elliot.

And he is loved.

And he will be missed.

One Year...

One year...

12 months...

365 days...

8,760 hours...

525,600 minutes...

31,536,000 seconds...

No matter how large the number, it still seems like it was only yesterday that I lost Spot.

I miss you, buddy.

Tiffy and Midnight

The only good thing about being an OCD-infested packrat is that eventually you come across something you forgot you had. For instance, early last year I put up a picture of some of our cats from years gone by.

Well, here is another picture of Tiffy (Tiffany) and Midnight (my first cat). You can see Midnight much better in this picture. It's not the best quality, but I like it. I hope you do, too.

More Maggie

Another picture of you-know-who.

...and Mickey Ignores

It looks like Mickey has heard it all before from Maggie...

Maggie Says....

I like this picture of Maggie. It looks like she's telling it like it is.

Testify!



This is my first attempt at using Flickr on this blog. If you click on the picture you will be transported to the picture's Flickr page where you can see Maggie in even more pixels! How cool is that?

A Rare Moment

A rare moment of peace from Mickey and Maggie.

Enjoy!

From the Archives

This picture was taken on June 11. I hadn't posted it before now because it was really washed out by the flash. But I really liked the pose so I tried a little Photoshop magic on it. I hope it's not too noticable.

I still miss Spot an incredible amount, but I'm sure glad I finally bought a digital camera last year. I have many pictures of the old boy that I probably won't ever share with anyone (especially the ones from his last days), but I have them. They both comfort me and make me sad all over again. I guess that's to be expected, though...

Maggie's confused by this "mouse" thing...

Rest in peace, buddy...

he's gone

6:10PM, August 1, 2006

Another update

Well, I suppose some of you may be wondering what's going on with my dear old cat, Spot. In short, he's still with me. He's still mobile and seems to be able to go where he wants.

I took the problem of his lack of eating into my own hands by feeding him with a syringe. He doesn't enjoy it much, but he's eaten more in the past three days than he had the entire week before. Perhaps because of this, he doesn't seem to have declined as quickly as I expected.

Before any of you say anything, I'm not fooling myself. I know that he will be gone soon, but I take whatever little victories (and time with him) that I can. If he wants to lay on a pillow and purr as I pet him, I'm taking it as a bonus.

As I read that last paragraph, I feel I must admit that I do take a few moments several times a day to believe that healing is possible. I know that may seem weird, but I believe that with God, anything is possible, even this. I don't think it's probable (and most of the time I prepare myself for the inevitable), but, as I said, for a few minutes...for as long as I can muster...I believe he will get better.

Please don't think less of me.

"What a crappy week"

I said that this evening to my Dad at supper. But as I look back, obviously the situation with Spot has been front and center on my mind most of the time. However, I have had more time with him than I expected (and it has been mostly quality time), so that's not so bad. In addition, my two kittens, Mickey and Maggie, went to the vet to be "Barker-ized" and came through their surgeries in fine shape. Even a project at work (for which I am responsible) was successful. In other words, my feeble management skills didn't screw up the people doing the real work.

So, there have been some successes amongst the extreme heartache.

And that, my dear friends, is the last I am going to write about this until the situation changes. There are some other subjects that I feel lead to write about that I plan to start soon.

Life must go on, after all. Even if it seems a little bit emptier.