Christmas Presence

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my big move to the Rainbow Bridge. I miss being with my family, especially this time of year, and letting them keep me warm on their laps. They did so love to warm my chilly little feet! I could always be counted on to purr for them and cheer them up if they got a case of winter blues. The tree looks nice in the living room, and I wish I could be there to sleep underneath it, next to my favorite heat vent. But at the same time, I love living someplace where I'm forever young and healthy. I can still be with my family in spirit. On Tuesday, I'll be giving the gift of my presence for the holidays. And there's no better gift than me! :)

Back So Soon?

I had a nice surprise the other day: my brother Charlie showed up here on the bridge! I couldn't believe how quickly he got here. Seeing him again made me feel happy, but then I felt sad because it made me realize my family had just suffered another devastating loss on earth. It was just 2 and a half months after I shed my earthly form to become an immortal bridge dweller. My family was talking today about how many of us fur babies have passed on in such a short time. They still can't quite comprehend me being gone, and now Charlie has deprived them of his company, too. I kinda feel guilty getting to spend so much time with him when I know people down there still needed him. But I'm glad to have his company again. When the time comes, I'll gladly share it with everyone in my family!

I'll be Home for Christmas

My friends, as of this afternoon, I have left this earth and returned home to the rainbow bridge. I've been in good spirits lately, despite being ghastly thin and dehydrated, but during the last couple of days I saw a swift decline. I stopped eating and drinking, and didn't do much but lay around trying to get warm (my paws were ice cold). Then this morning I was hardly moving at all and even appeared to have died. My mommy knelt down by the heating vent where I was laying (as I am wont to do, especially on cold days like today) and tried to get a response out of me. I was cold, my eyes were glazed over, and I didn't seem to be breathing at all. I also smelled kinda rotten, like death. She felt me for a heart beat and called my name. Finally, she felt my heart flutter and I started breathing again. So, she covered me with a blanket and said she'd check on me soon. A few minutes later, April tried talking to me and I even lifted my head up and adjusted my arms a little. My breathing was very shallow and labored, though. At noon, my daddy came home and saw that I was gone. We kind of suspected I wouldn't make it to Christmas this year. I'm sad that I won't be there to celebrate it, but I'm glad to finally be home and no longer sick.
Actually, today was actually a very good day for me to go because it's Chrissy's birthday. She and I were the best of friends! We always napped together, and I would clean her face and muzzle like a caring little mother. I haven't seen her in 4 years so I'm so glad I got to give her such a nice birthday gift! Me coming home to see her after all these years! Plus, it's the first day of winter and we all know how intolerant of cold weather I am. Oh, and I've really been looking forward to chatting with Peggy again! So, there's a silver lining to my passing. I'm just sad to leave behind all my earthly friends and family, even though I know I'll see them again someday. Until then, long live the (Burmese) Queen!

A Shell of a Kitty

I am merely a shell of my former self. Everytime my family picks me up, it scares them how thin I am. I have no fat left on me and you can feel every bone in my spine, ribs, even my tail! In fact, Aunt April can put her thumb and middle finger on opposite sides of my abdomen and squeeze just hard enough to feel her fingers on the other side. Scary, I know. But I'm still happy and energetic (at least as energetic as anykitty my age and with my condition would be). I eat and drink, but the fat just keeps falling of it me like an icicle melting on a sunny day. My family is still feeling the loss of my big brother Bro, so I'm really trying to stay healthy for as long as possible. I'm really not looking forward to putting them through this again. I know when it's your time, there's not much you can do to change that. But, please God, don't let it be my time for a looooong while!

Carrying on the Tradition

My big brother and CRF partner, Bro, passed away this morning. I am now the oldest living feline in the house, so I'm doing by best to carry on the tradition. Maybe I'm doing too well, since I'm already following in his footsteps in the CRF department. I just hope my struggle is quicker and less painful than Broey's was. He got so sick and reclusive near the end. He didn't want to be touched or petted, just left alone. I'm definitely not looking forward to facing that myself. I'm also not looking forward to putting my family through it again. Maybe I'll stay well enough that I won't have to, and I'll just die from old age. Let's all hope, shall we?

Skinny Minny

I'm doing better since my diagnosis. I'm still a skinny minny, but at least I'm eating and drinking on my own. Bro was doing well, too, up until this afternoon. He barfed several times in the living room and wouldn't eat lunch. So, Mommy tried to make him eat that mushy stuff, then gave me the leftover remnants in a bowl. I turned it down, though. I just wasn't hungry at the time...plus the park was open! I was more concerned with sunning myself!

Strike Two

Whoever said lightning never strikes twice, lied. I went to the vet yesterday to have some bloodwork done, hoping they could figure out what's wrong with me. Turns out, I'm following in Broey's footsteps. I'm in the beginning stages of CRF. Can you believe that? First my older brother and now me! So, now April has to play nurse to 2 kitties instead of just one. She's been squirting food and milk down my throat for a few days now. I'm still not eating on my own, but I will have a drink occasionally. I perked up a little after being fed last night, but not enough to do my usual prowling and howling around the house.
Oh, they also weighed me yesterday and found I weigh 5 lbs 2 oz! I swear it's mostly collar weight, though. I'm so thin a stiff breeze could blow me over. Hopefully April will fatten me up again and I'll keep on tickin' for a while longer.

Kitty Kibble Boycott

Something's wrong with me. I haven't eaten in a couple days. I don't act sick at all, I'm just not interested in eating. I'm still drinking, though. My mommy thinks I'm probably very diabetic right now (which seems apropos because she's diabetic, too, as are a lot of people in my extended family). I don't like the idea of having to go on insulin shots, but I may have to if things don't turn around for me soon. The problem is that it's so expensive to take me to the vet, draw my blood, and get me on stuff. My mommy's very stressed out about money right now, so I don't know if she can do anything for me at the time. But, if I don't start eating soon, what's gonna happen to me? Bro's already sick with renal failure. I don't want them to lose 2 of us in such a short amount of time...especially if one of them's me! :)

It's my birfday today!

Happy Burpday to me! I'm 15 years young today. Well, to be perfectly honest, today's probably not my real barfday but it's the day my family adopted me when I was about a year old (thus my life actually beginning) so it's my birdday as far as I'm concerned! Tomorrow would have been my 2-for-1 sister Joy's beefday. We'll be sending her bumday wishes tomorrow. I wonder how they celebrate up on the rainbow bridge? I would think there's be no shortage of cake and kitty treats.
I'll most likely celebrate today by taking a nice, leisurely nap in the Park. It's finally nice out here in NW Ohio so I'm going to take full advantage of the climate and bake my little gizzard in the sun! Whoo hoo! Happy dumbday to me!!

The H.S. Vee!

I have a new nickname. My family now calls me "H.S.V." (or H.S. Vee) for "Herpes Simplex Velvet" because I have kitty cat herpes. It's not what you think! It's basically a respiratory infection that flares up every once in a while. I'm in the middle of a flare up right now so I'm all sniffles and sneezes. I guess it helps that I'm a bit of a loner because it's contagious during these outbreaks. I don't spend a whole lot of time with the other kitties, as I prefer the company of dogs or humans. I look pretty pitiful at the moment, all drippy and wheezy and sounding like I'm gargling every time I meow. I'm milking it for all it's worth, too! I mean, no one with any modicum of compassion can resist a kitty in need of some T.L.C....especially when it's the H.S.V.!