Reading your book, "Every Cat Has a Story."

Austin, TX

We had seen this male tabby once in our backyard. A couple of months passed and it was time for a Passover meal. Family and friends were there and the glass that is reserved for the prophet Elijah to drink should he decide to make his presence felt was sitting in the center of the table. At one point in the Passover Seder someone must open the door so that 'should' Elijah wish to enter he will feel welcomed. My step-daughter opens the door and in enters the male tabby, the kind that has cinnamon highlights.

He spent the night and we tired to find out who he belonged to, but to no avail. The vet checked him out had told us he was neutered and someone had been cruel enough to declaw his front paws. Otherwise he was in good health, and maybe around 4 years old.

So "Elijah" lived and loved us until he was 19 years old. My wife said that he and I were joined at the hip. He would come to bed while I was reading before sleep and crawl up between my body and arm nestling his head right above my arm pit. He'd nap in my lap while watching TV, and generally chum around together in the house. We never let him go outside as we have Coyotes in the city. But about 3 years before he passed on his kidneys started to fail so we gave him IV fluids twice a week and kept him going in good health because of that.

So about 2 years before his passing we decided that since he didn't have much time left possibly we would let him be an outside daytime kitty. He just loved that. But he always just hung around on our deck and came when he got hungry.

He would always come to my side of the bed and jump up to get in bed with me. Sometime last fall he would come to my side of the bed but not jump up. I would reach over and pick him up never thinking anything was wrong except we were both getting older.

Late last fall we noticed he started dragging his back feet a bit, and in a week or less he could barely use them at all. He never complained at all. I would pick him up and place him in the litter box and he still tried to cover up his scat when finished but couldn't do it because of his hind legs.

It got worse and worse and we both knew what we had to do for our beloved friend. It's hard for me to even write this now without wanting to just break into tears and sobs, but he made his last ride to the vet's in my wife's arms instead of a carrier, and he was at peace when we laid him on the table and the deed was done. I can hardly stand knowing that he won't ever be around any more, at least not in that body. Once while in my easy chair in the living room about a week after his passing I saw him go over to the other chair and stretch his front legs up to scratch his missing claws. Then he was gone. Maybe I was just so tuned to Elijah that I imagined it, but I don't really believe what I just wrote. He is still around, hopefully at the place you have so aptly described in the book. Where I will join him some day fairly soon, as I am 75 years old now........

God, how I miss him so. Within the next 10 days two of our other kitties passed on, one thru Cancer,and the other by Coyote!

I spied a picture of another kitty looking for a forever home online at a local cat rescuers web site. Fell in love with him by his picture, his name is Oliver (Ollie). He takes instantly to women but was most likely abused or terrified by men as a stray at an apartment complex.

Google

Roanoke, Virginia

Two days ago my wife and I had to put our cat, Norton to sleep. He had heart disease and his lung / heart function was minimal. Overall his prognosis was poor, and his medications and disease made him unable to eat.

Norton was a neighborhood cat that was being looked after somewhat by another family, but he had to compete with several other cats and dogs in that household for food and attention. He took up with us and we mutually adopted each other.

Last Spring, Norton was hurt pretty bad in a cat fight. He received a broken leg and a severe bite-puncture wound in a front paw. Recovery was slow but he did seem to heal from that battle. We decided to keep him indoors after that, to avoid a repeat.

Over the five years that Norton was with us, he kept me company while I was working on grad school homework late at night. He would put me to bed and sit on my chest to get his neck massaged. Often he would fall asleep like that, but more often he would sleep between my wife and I.

We wanted to hang onto him longer, but with his lack of interest in eating and poor ability to breathe or exert himself, combined with possibly failing kidneys and rapid accumulation of fluid in his chest, it seemed that it was time to let him go.

The people in our neighborhood knew Norton as 'Big 'ol Kitty' and he was friends with several families. He was a great cat and he will be missed.

Boise, Idaho

My beloved cat Honey recently had to be put to sleep because she had a cancerous mass in her stomach. She was a beautiful fourteen-year-old Tuxedo cat. I had her since she was six months old and we loved each other very much. Whenever I came home, she knew it was me and came running! She followed me around and loved to be near me while I was reading. When someone shot her while she was outside one night and she came limping home, I rushed her to the emergency clinic and spent all my savings to repair her broken leg. I would have done anything for her! I noticed a few weeks ago that she wasn't eating her dry food so I switched to canned food and kept an eye on her. Then, she stopped altogether. Two days later, she fell down in the hallway and cried out when I picked her up. I knew then what I had to do. When the doctor told me that the kindest thing to do was let her go in peace, I just nodded and signed the papers. I was crying and I gave her a kiss goodbye. She was cremated of course. Now, I am the proud mommy of a beautiful Tortie cat that I rescued from the local shelter. I call her Turtle. I can't help but feel that part of Honey's soul is within Turtle, and being able to give a home to another cat helps ease the pain of losing my dear friend. Honey went to Heaven, and my nephew Nicholas is there to take care of her. We lost him to cancer last year, you see. They'll be good company for each other.

Barbidolz Ragdoll Cats

beautiful Photos and entertaining content about my Cattery and Kittens. Also a Rainbow bridge and fun page and much more

surfing

Lyman Maine

Hi,
I just happened accross this site and I think it's wonderful to give people a place to express their grief.. I recently lost "my best friend" from cancer at 16 years old. It was a very hard time for me. He wasn't a Ragdoll since he was precattery days. He was a stray who had been duck taped into a tiny box and disposed of at a local fast food place. My daughter found him and brought him to me. I had my website and before he died I decided to dedicate a Rainbow bridge page for him and all the other beloved pets I had had in my life. It turned out to be great therapy for me. I invite any of you to visit and hope through the tears you may find peace. God bless Barbie

just browsing

White Hall, MD

I am feeling very empty today. I have a sick 10 year-old persian who I am taking to the vet and may have to put down. I lost my best friend, Pumpkin, who was also a persian a year and a half ago. I have never been able to grieve him completely because I was very ill when he passed. Today, my mother-in-laws cat also passed and this is bringing back so many memories. I want to hold Pumpkin in my arms and kiss him, feel his soft coat on my face. He was always there for me. He knew how I felt and just when I needed him to be there for me. I miss him so so much. When I close my eyes, I can still feel him in my arms. He could never be replaced. Now, I am worried I am going to lose another dear one today. This persian has been with me the longest. His heart is failing and he is now showing signs that his others organs are failing. I pray he will be okay.

Shunra Burmese

Burmese cats breeder

referral on a forum

Australia

My beloved little slim i lost at three, to a fall in which he broke his spine. He had bad balance, lack of collagen in his skin, and from what happened i am guessing a calcium deficieny that neither I nor my vet picked up on. It was the most heart wrenching thing i had to do in saying goodbye to my baby, who loved to lie in bed with his head on my pillow under the blanket, and who loved coming everywhere with me in the car if i was going somewhere i could take him too. If I could bring him back i would, but i know he is waiting for me and one day we will be together again soon.
Rest in Peace my Darling, it wont be long and we will be together again.

through an eBay purchase and invitation to check the website

Cleveland, OK

I read Shianna's story about Callie, and cried for her and her little friend. I have 2 kitties, a black domestic shorthair named Snicker, who is 18 years old, and my "baby" Jasmine, a 10 year old dark brown Applehead Siamese. Jasmine is my constant companion, and we have a lot of long conversations. She has a very sweet face, and a "kitten" voice - she's always softspoken and gentle. She likes to sleep under the covers with me at night, and doesn't like it when I'm at my computer, but she puts up with it, if I'm not there too long. She was a stray, who was found in the ice and snow by a friend. When I first saw her, she was a tiny kitten, meowing and frightened. I took her in my arms and cuddled her and spoke softly. It was instant love for both of us. I hope to have my little friend for many more years.

(continued from message below...)
When we got there I thought we were gonna have to walk in and leave but that didn't happen. They said they could check her out to see if there was anything they could do. That's when I thought there was hope. But after he was done he told me there was nothing he could do.
Right then I hugged callie and cried. I told her it was time to go and I would never forget her. I hope after its my time to go that I will see callie up in heaven and spend the rest of my eternity with her.

By Shianna Freeman
Age 14

When I first got callie I was so happy. She was the first cat that taught me to understand the love between a cat and a human. I will never ever forget her.
When we got Callie, I lived on 4th street in Redding.she was a female calico who we later spayed. she loved to play so much when she was a kitten. we would walk through the house and Callie would come darting from behind a corner to attack my heels. Also when I scratched her belly playfully, she would hold on to my hand and kick with her back legs. She left a few scars, but im kinda glad.
When callie was about 2 yrs. we had to move to a place with lots of land.
Callie loved it. She would go down to the river and hunt for mice and lizards and an occasional bird or two. She loved to wander the property an see what new things she could find.
At night she would usably come in and go to sleep with me for the night.
callie liked to get under the blankets with me and snuggle(I will never forget that).Anyway this went on from about 2 1/2-3 more years. I became very attached to callie in that time and I never wanted to let her go.
when my mom had my brother,on may 27, we had to move to corning. My cat didn't like the idea of leaving and coming to a place with lots of dogs. She always glared at them and she never ran away.
on the night of July 7, I went out with some friends. On the way back to corning my grandma calls and says,"Give your mom the phone." right after my mom was done talking I asked what was wrong. She told me that one of my grandmas dogs cornered callie and broke her back. Tears came rolling down my eyes. I couldn't believe it.
When we got home I saw her laying on the carpet in front of the door. she was meowing and that made me start bawling. I loved her so much,and I couldn't stand to see her like this. When she walked she dragged her back legs and just looking at her suffer made me cry. the next morning me and my grandma took her to the vet. (continued...)

It is sometimes a mystery why one kitten will be selected over another. At times, it is simply love at first sight for both kitten and buyer. Other times, it seems just a matter of chance and good timing.

I have seen buyers overwhelmed with trying to find their kitten soul mate in a room full of identically colored babies. Some buyers are so totally focused on a single color or sex that they forget to consider the kitten's personality.

I must confess, this is how I selected the cat love-of-my-life, my Sealpoint female Caterina. I was only focused on buying a Sealpoint female, and to be honest, it wasn't love at first sight for either of us. But within six hours of entering each others lives, I realized I had found my kitten soul mate in her.

Caterina came into my life on Mother's Day 1985 and I lost her on October 1st, 1998, but she will always be in my heart.