Remembering My Little Danny Boy, about my Tuxedo cat Danny Options

[DannysMom]

I went to see Danny's grave today. It was covered a bit with mowed grass, so I brushed it off. I will be getting a nice granite plaque for his grave with his picture lasered in. I had been wanting to get that for a long time, and I think it will look so nice, especially with his picture on it. Danny was so handsome and he loved posing for pictures. It always made me smile. Sometimes I would lie down on the bed next to him and just lie there with him and have a short nap. Sundays were our "brushing" days. I would always brush him on Sunday, and get so much fur off him. He enjoyed being brushed and wanted to be petted at the same time. It was like a treat for him. Sometimes I imagine him coming into the living room again, greeting me with his cheerful voice. Oh, how I miss that sweet voice!

[Tom's Dad]

Hello DannysMom.

Thank you for sharing your memories of your precious Danny. A handsome lad indeed. The plaque sounds very nice too. I hope today is kind to you and your girls. Take care.


TTT

[moon_beam]

Hi, DannysMom, thank you so much for sharing with us how you're doing. I know the granite plaque with his picture in it will be a loving tribute to the eternal love you and your beloved Danny share. We would truly like to see a picture of it when it is finally in place - - if you would like to share it with us, and also the one you will have made for your beloved Tina.

I hope today is treating you and your precious Mindy and Shelley kindly, and that you and your precious girls will have a very peaceful, blissful, and cozy evening blessed with your beloved Danny's, and Tina's, sweet Living Spirits to comfort you. Thank you for the blessing of your friendship, DannysMom, and of your precious Mindy and Shelley. Please know you and your precious girls are in my thoughts and prayers, and that I always look forward to knowing how you're doing, and to sharing your treasured memories of your beloved Danny and Tina.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam

[xxForeverxx]

Hi DannysMom

It is lovely he loved to be brushed. I have often wondered whether I should do that with Ellie as she moults so much! Did it stop as much hair going everywhere? I bet it was like your special bonding time when you did that.

Wow thats wonderful you can get his picture engraved on the plaque. What an amazing way to remember him by. It will look lovely and I am sure he will love it.......as long as you choose a good one of him or else he might haunt you for it!

I love looking back at pictures of him as I love black cats so much. He was such a darling! and what a wonderful life he had.

xxForeverxx

[DannysMom]

moon_beam, I will definitely share Danny's plaque once it is in place. I hope to get it within another week or so.

xxForeverxx, I chose the profile picture I have as the one for Danny's plaque. That is my favorite one, where he tilts his head to the side and has this soulful look on his face. I think it would definitely be a good idea to brush Ellie if she sheds so much. They have these nice "furminator" brushes over here, and then there's also some soft rubber brushes. For Danny's fur I always used a flea comb since it was so thick and I got a lot of hair that way pretty easily. Thank your for saying you like looking at his pictures! He was indeed a handsome cat and he definitely knew it! Danny LOVED posing for the camera. I wished I had more kitten pictures of him. He was simply adorable as a kitten. And he loved to snuggle with Tina every chance he got. She grudgingly accepted him snuggling with her, but as he grew up she wanted no more snuggles with him. Go, figure!

[DannysMom]

I got a bit wistful today when I walked into Petsmart and they had a big sign that said "Kittens". Naturally I had to stop by the adoption center and look. There was a young tux sitting there with his siblings. He had cute white socks and just a tiny sliver of white on his face, big ears, and he sat there so quietly. He doesn't look anything like Danny, but sure reminded me of him the way he sat there so quietly and just looked at me. Oh, don't I wish I could do a "rewind" to May 2001 when I first met Danny and relive those happy years with him. I still remember how I sat in the playroom with him and how he meowed and was a bit scared. His brother was more outgoing and frisky. Sometimes I wished I could have taken them both. Danny was the cutest looking kitten. Tina enjoying beating him up. She would wrestle with him and jump on his tiny body and then biting the side of his neck. I would often scold Tina and tell her not to be so rough with little Danny. He was so sweet and friendly, always running around and playing with his toys. I sure do miss him today.

[moon_beam]

Hi, DannysMom, thank you so much for sharing with us how you're doing, and your treasured memories of your beloved Danny. I know from first hand experience how seeing kittens can pull at the heartstrings, and remind us of our beloved companions when they were just little babies. I know your beloved Danny is sharing these treasured memories with you, my friend - - and he knows he is blessed to have you for his Forever Mom.

I hope today is treating you and your precious Mindy and Shelley kindly, and that you and your precious girls will have a very peaceful, blissful, and cozy evening blessed with your beloved Danny's, and Tina's, sweet Living Spirits to comfort you. Thank you for the blessing of your friendship, DannysMom, and of your precious Mindy and Shelley. Please know you and your precious girls are in my thoughts and prayers, and that I always look forward to knowing how you're doing, and to sharing your treasured memories of your beloved Danny and Tina.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam

[DannysMom]

My sweet Danny boy, in just a couple of months it will be Christmas again, the second Christmas without you. Every time I look at Christmas cards or decorations my heart aches, and then I look at your picture and your eyes seem to say to me:"It's okay, mom. Please celebrate Christmas, and enjoy it, because I always enjoyed it. Think of me and of all the happy Christmases we had together." My little kitty boy, how can I ever really enjoy Christmas again wholeheartedly? Nothing is as it was. You always made Christmas so special for me. You enjoyed the pretty, bright lights, the fiber optic angel, and all the pretty decorations. I loved watching you play with the discarded wrapping paper, and you had so much fun shredding it.

[Tom's Dad]

DannysMom, thank you for sharing your precious Danny's upcoming angelversary.

I too am coming up on that. December 8 will be 3 years for my Sir Thomas. It's really hard when it happens so close to the holidays. I know nothing I can say will make it any better, but know that I understand very much what you are feeling. Take care.


TTT

[DannysMom]

This is Danny's granite plaque. Unfortunately it was very dirty and dusty and I had to do the best I could wiping it off with no water on hand. I was so glad to see his plaque on the grave. Now it is no longer a faceless grave, it has more meaning, it shows people who walk by how beautiful he was and how much he meant to me. Now my promises to Tina and Danny are fulfilled.

[xxForeverxx]

DannysMom

That plaque is truely wonderful. The photo chosen is perfect as it really shows just who he was as a character. I know the feeling you feel with it only being the second Christmas without him. Hopefully Mindy and Shelley and the happy memories of Danny and Tina can help you through it.

I applaud you for being able to walk out of there without adopting all of the gorgeous kittycats. I cannot go near adoption centres now (as three is enough at the moment!) actually I say I cannot go near.......my fiance has banned me It must have felt nice to be reminded of when you gave Danny a home and how much he relied on you......and then over the years how his wonderful personality and caring ways changed so you both needed each other.

The words on the plaque are perfect.

xxForeverxx

[DannysMom]

Hello xxForeverxx, thank you for your kind words. I too think the plaque is just perfect. His picture came out so well and I like the font they used for the words, very pretty. Soon it will be time to put his Christmas wreath back on the grave. I have it on a little stand that goes into the ground and I also have the wreath tied to the stand so a gusty wind doesn't blow it away. The cemetery always looks so pretty in the winter with a lot of people putting Christmas decorations on the graves.

That is so funny how your fiance has banned you from going to the adoption centers. I always wished I could adopt more. I see their little faces and I just want to hold them and cuddle them. Last night I thought about my Danny again and for some reason I had this image in my mind of when I saw him carried away and his eyes stayed open and his little head flopped to the side. That just was the worst thing for me to watch how their eyes stay open after they die and how the body is just an empty shell then.

Danny truly was a wonderful cat. He had such a loving heart and was always so good to Tina even when she wasn't so nice to him.

[DannysMom]

Had a rough day today. I decided to finally open and wash a set of sheets I had ordered just about two years ago, right after Thanksgiving. They are green and that was always Danny's color, and that's why I bought them. I had put them aside, and of course after Danny died I did not have the heart to open the package. It just reminded me so much of him. But today I opened the package and washed and dried the sheets, and I cried so much. So many memories came back, especially ones from the day I visited him at the emergency vet, and they brought him into a room on soft, cozy blankets. I still remember the color of the blankets to this day. Danny just laid on the blankets, did not even move. He looked so weak and sick and I broke down crying by his side. "You've got to get well, Danny. Please get better" I told him. The medications they were giving him were actually making him worse since they had misdiagnosed him. I just miss my sweet Danny so much tonight. He was such a friendly and sweet cat, very loving and playful. Every time I hear a Christmas song I just want to cry. This is so very painful for me still even though it has been almost two years. Am I going to feel this way every Christmas for the rest of my life? Losing my Danny hurt so much.

[xxForeverxx]

Hi DannysMom

It must be hard to have to put Danny's Christmas wreath on his grave. But would love the thought of you doing it as he always loved Christmas with you.

That is the worst thing to see. It just breaks your heart. And no matter how much people tell you there in a better place or it was for the right reason it still does not make it any easier.

I am so sorry You had an especially bad day a few weeks back. It must have been incredibly hard getting out something you had put away to forget and then having to get them out. But at the same time I think it needed to be done and maybe in time you can have the sheets out and smile with memories instead of get sad.

I know Christmas is such a hard time for you. I wish I could help in some way to make it better but of course we both know when it comes to Christmas the only thing that would help is to have our babies back. You do have two beautiful kittycats that have come so far this year though that maybe can help a little more on the day to take your mind off a little bit of the heart ache you are feeling.

I am thinking of you,

xxForeverxx

[DannysMom]

Hello xxForeverxx, thank you for stopping by and for your kind and comforting words. I found myself getting so frazzled and absent-minded this Christmas season, even more so this week, wondering if I will get through it okay. I found it so hard leaving my girls and visiting friends, thinking "what if something will happen to Mindy or Shelley?" I just couldn't shake these bad feelings. And yesterday as I visited Danny's and Tina's graves it was just so hard standing there and remembering how it was 2 years ago. This year has been better than last year, and I was even humming Christmas carols at times. I read the Christmas story to Shelley and she enjoyed that. But I sure do miss my Danny boy. He was so sweet and funny and playful, always in the mood for some fun.

[xxForeverxx]

Hi DannysMom

How are you? I thought of your Danny the other day when at 3 o clock in the morning we heard the cats with the crunchies box and I went downstairs and found Ellie sitting shut in the cupboard and Fudge eating out of the crunchies box. They are little devils. But the door opening always reminds me of Danny.

How did Mindy and Shelley get on on their own? I am sure they were both well behaved and looked after each other and they may of had a little help from Danny and Tina!

xxForeverxx

[DannysMom]

xxForeverxx, it's always good to hear from you. Thank you for thinking of me, I am doing well. Mindy and Shelley were fine on their own while I was with friends on Christmas. I guess I just worry too much. I got a good laugh reading about Ellie being shut in the cupboard! I am glad you got up and got her out or she would have been stuck in there until the morning! And Fudge was her partner in crime, how sweet!

I am doing better grief wise now that the holidays are over, but on Sunday I cried a good bit about Tina when I remembered how she was at the hospital for 3 days in January 2 years ago. It's strange how sometimes it can hit you so unexpectedly. I remembered so clearly how distressed she was being away from me and I remembered how I held her when she took her last breath. That is just the hardest thing to do, to see them die and feel that horrible pain at being separated from them.

[Jon730]

What a beautiful plaque.

We have lived here for decades, and have our own little cemetery, with one common plaque. Two dogs and seven cats.
It is sweet and painful to work on it. When we die it will mean nothing to whomever ends up here.
But we know.
Sacred Ground.
I have been meaning to post it. The flood of memories of them all, even looking out the window, is overwhelming at time. they were all so different and unique.

[DannysMom]

Jon, thanks for sharing. How very precious and what a beautiful, peaceful place it is. It is indeed sacred ground. The bond we had with our furry family member is still strong, even after they leave us. I agree with you...they really are so different and unique. I used to think a cat is a cat, but not so! Even the way they talk and the sounds they make is different. My Danny was sweet and a bit shy, terrified of thunderstorms. My Tina didn't mind storms at all and she had a feisty personality. She always loved meeting people, especially small children whereas Danny was just too shy and scared to meet anyone.

I hope you have many more years with Iggy the Great!