Malaika

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Malaika -- my love, my friend

Where have you gone
My love my friend
Somewhere without the rain
I feel afraid now, I feel alone
Will we meet again
Can you recall what we once knew
Somewhere without the pain
I feel afraid now, but not alone
We will meet again
I can't hear your voice
But you know I feel your soul
I can't hear your voice
But you know I feel your soul
Where have you gone
My love my friend
Somewhere without any pain
I'm not afraid now I'm not alone
We will meet again

Thank you!

To all of our dear Catster friends, we would like to extend our deepest appreciation for helping us celebrate Malaika and Mara. The timing couldn't have been better, having just lost Malaika a little over one week ago after a year-long struggle with CRF. We were so pleasantly surprised when our twins were selected as Cat(s) of the Week, but then just completely bowled over by the tremendous show of support through purrmails, rosettes, twinkling stars -- all of the beautiful messages that our closest (as well as newest!) Catster friends sent to us. In our grief, we are able to usher Malaika to The Bridge in the greatest fanfare imaginable -- thanks to all of you (and to Catster, too!). Thank you all for everything -- I know that Malaika is rolling around in her ultimate state of happiness, making her little air biscuits and purring her rumbly-purr.

Days...
How many days
Do I have until
I am set free
to a better place?
A place of love
A place of no tomorrows

Release me from this need I have of me

Hours...
How many hours
Do I have until I am set free to a better place?
A place of love
A place of no misery
Release me from this need I have of me

I guess I have something to look forward to

In this heart of mine...

...you'll live all the time, sweet Shnoo, just you.


Our little Malaika crossed The Bridge this morning at about 1:00. We had taken her to NC State where she underwent a procedure to determine the cause of the problems. Post-operatively, she was doing well -- vitals were stable, respirations good, despite some pulmonary edema. When we went to say "good-bye" before getting on the road for the three-hour trip home, she purred upon hearing our voices, despite the heavy pain meds. She croaked out a "meow" for her Daddy, and did her little air-biscuits (we called it "doing her hands"). She briefly opened her little eyes, and she was so incredibly beautiful. We received the call this morning that she had arrested, and despite their attempts to save her, her heart was just too tired to go on.

Even though we weren't there, the people who knew and loved her at NC State surrounded her in her last moments, so we know that she was immersed in love to the end.

Thank you to all of you wonderful Catsters who sent so many healing purrs and rosettes to her over the course of this horrible year. You don't know how much that meant to us and to her.

Malaika goes back into surgery tomorrow...

We're headed down to NC State in the morning to be there for our "Miss M" during surgery. This will tell us just exactly where the stricture is: on the outside of the ureter, and we'll be over the moon, as that means the tissue can be broken up. More than likely, however, the scarring is on the inside of the ureter, and all we can do is to keep her as comfortable as possible. Right now our hearts are just breaking at what we might be facing in the next few days.

Malaika needs prayers and purrrs....

Not to be a downer during the holidays, but we had to take Malaika to the emergency vet on Christmas day, and then down to NC State the day after, where she currently remains in the ICU. Originally presenting with a bad flare-up of colitis (from which she sometimes suffers -- a side-effect of one of her meds), her potassium spiked and so far, the doctors are thinking that she has either another kidney stone (preferable prognosis) or a stricture (not good). She only has the one kidney, so this is truly scary. We are waiting to hear the results of her contrast dye study and CT, but could really use the prayers and purrs from our Catster friends to help us through this horrible time. Everything was going SO well -- she was thriving despite all of the surgeries earlier this year and then the complete removal of her left kidney -- we thought that we were out of the woods when this was thrown at us. Please keep Malaika in your prayers -- we hate to ask for even more since this has been such an ongoing problem for her, but they really do help and we appreciate each and every one passed her way. Thank you all for being so awesome!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

To all of our Catster friends, we would like to wish a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are having a wonderful day here at home -- Mom is off of work (yay!), and although Dad is deployed, we know that he's thinking of us as we are of him. We're truly thankful to be healthy and happy in a warm home with lots and lots of food and treats. We're TRYING to be thankful for our new baby brother and sister (Emma and Jake), but sometimes they make it a little difficult to be grateful for their presence. BUT, all things considered, we're glad that Mom and Dad took them in. It's been a tough year, but we're just happy to have gotten through it all as well as we did -- and we couldn't have done it without the support from all of our friends here at Catster. Have a wonderful holiday!!!
Purrs...Marty and Malaika

Malaika, my sweet shnoo

Every star above
knows the one I love:
Sweet Shnoo, just you

And the moon on high
knows the reason why:
Sweet Shnoo, that's who

No one else it seems
ever shared my dreams
Without you I don't know what I'd do

In this heart of mine
You'll live all the time
Sweet Shnoo, just you!