Sweet Little Chan Passed Away Last Friday.....

My darling kitten moved on to another experience early last Friday. She was such a sparkling personality, embracing life and so full of joy, it seems impossible that she is gone. She went quickly, so unexpectedly, only 5 months old.

I think one of the hardest things is that I was out of town the entire time she was sick. I could only manage a few phone calls, mostly it was by email that I learned of her serious condition. She left before I could return home.

Perhaps it was a blessing of sorts not to have to see her so frail and thin, so very sick. I feel very lucky that my cat care person did such a great job.

So hard to be back home without that bouncy little bundle of love, she would perch on my shoulder and refuse to switch to the usual lap sitting. I think she thought she was part parrot!

Miss her miss her miss her.

Lost another dear cat friend in 2008, Molly Malone, and then Mr X in 2009. Very hard to have to go through this again.

Jan

Mr X Is Traveling Through His Last Day.........

Well, the little guy is on the road fully now, he is only with me still by a whisker. He lost weight over the weeks that he has been ailing, his appetite waned and even drinking water became very difficult. Seems odd that we know so little of the dying process and avoid it so. It is truly one of the cycles of life and nothing to fear.

But I am aching with every moment that he nears his last breath, it seems impossible to think that he will be gone after 12 years with me. So many different times that we shared, amazing the history of our friendship when I stop to consider it.

I got both him and Molly Malone in 1997. He was an 8 week old siamese kitten and she was a 6 mos old tabby. She was formerly a street kitty and used to fending for herself, very independent and feisty. One day I opened the front door a little too quickly and Mr X got too close to Molly----this was when they were still getting used to each other----and she gave him a good whack, right in the eyeball! Yow! Put me in a panic when I saw it, that's for sure.

Ended up at the vet and then a veterinary opthamologist, for Pete's sake. They told me that they might have to take his eye out as there might be some sort of infection developing. That, of course, put me through another series of concerns. It also gave me an opportunity to name him. Kitty Pirate with an eye patch? Or, perhaps a strange alien cyclops feline from the Planet Zorg! And so Mr X was christened.

So many other times he gave me joy and made me laugh. He always loved water. I had a guest visiting one day and from the bathroom I hear, "No, no, no!". There was Mr X, a little fluff of kitten fur popping in to share a shower with my friend!

He would even hop up to the edge of the tub and lap up the water when I was taking a bath! What a silly boy.

Well, these thoughts cheer me a bit, knowing that he had a good life and that he was a much loved pet.

Thanks for listening, J

My Kitty, Mr X, Is Leaving Soon......

My little boy, Mr X, is traveling home soon. He has been such a wonderful friend for 12 years I am just hating his leaving.

This spring he has some mild seizures, when I took him in to the vet it became clear that he had been experiencing weight loss. With referals and further testing (endoscopy) there was definite evidence of cancer, biopsies confirmed this. He has both lymphoma and adenocarcinoma and it is advanced. How can my little guy be going home so soon? I am heartbroken.

It was just September that I lost my other friend, Molly Malone. These two accompanied me through many of life's ups and downs, many changes and many challenges. It is really awful to have to say good-bye again so soon after Molly's passing.

I would like to upload some photos but the ones I have are too big in file size.