Joyful Purrs of Greeting

Mama's been too sick to pay attention for awhile to how bouncily happy I've been since Thursday to greet Toulouse AND Michelle, who came here also to meet her dear kitty!

Mama is sad and has been crying, crying for Toulouse, and crying all over again, too, for Michelle................................... But she Just Doesn't Know Yet. Someday, she'll truly understand about the Rainbow Bridge.

So, although mama is so,so sad, here are skazillions of head-bonks, purrs, loves, and silly romps of joy at meeting dearest Toulouse fur-to-fur and face-to-face ~ and a whole anthem of joy from Mama to Michelle, Special Delivery from me, purringly ~

Popka!!

>^..^<

P.S. Michelle, be sure to listen ~ it's got "You" written ALL OVER IT!!

In Honor & Tribute, With Love to Miss Scootie Patootie

We met Scootie when she peered at “us” though the green grass in one of her World’s Coolest photos in 2005! Wow!! We thought we were winners until we met Scooter!!! Only then did we learn what “winner” might mean….. a standard so high that we fall far short! Scooter is a winner…. a furiend…. a dear confidante…. a kitty as well loved in our family as anyone we know.

Miss Scootie Patootie and her mama, as well as her dad and her older sister SooLing, have been endlessly kind to us through those years. The care taken, given, in guiding us through Catster, html code, music, photos, groups, forums, diaries, and extras…. meant everything! ~ and those things were, of course, in the Greater Scheme of Things, nothing. There was so much more, beyond just what can be mentioned here. Kindness was invented, or re-invented, in Scooter’s home. She and her family have been excellent, kind, caring furiends of a kind impossible to describe…. impossible to thank….. impossible to tell how dearly they are loved.

Among other things, Scooter carried us, and our mama, through loss after loss. Our grandpa, in particular, was so hard for us….. Our mama disappeared, and we had no idea why. Scooter stayed in close touch, purring, encouraging, offering loves and head bonks ~ and she kept promising our mama would come back to us!! And then, at the same time, our mama, who was staying at our grandpa’s house….. Every single morning, during months of intense caregiving and working at the same time, often sleeping no more than two hours in 24 ~ every morning, she would log on to Catster, and often, often, there would be an encouraging word from Scootie. These were the most devastating days of her life, and Scooter “loved” her through them…. How could we not mention that, when it so surely pasted Scootie and her family into the depths of our hearts and being………

Too, Scooter even gave loves to our dearest elder brofur, Popka, who was already at the Rainbow Bridge. Somehow, that was another lasting grief that Scooter made bearable for our mama….. She encouraged Popka to write his stories!! [And he has, at least, made a good beginning.] Popka was in front of the throng of kitties gathered at the Rainbow Bridge to ‘specially greet and love Scooter as she arrived there on February 5th. Scooter’s spirit is soaring, as her mama said; and when Popka can catch up, he romps and plays with her, and his joy is more complete as they wait there at the Bridge for the rest of us to catch up with them.

We loved the Summer of Scooter….. and the next Summer of Scooter…… and her diaries, and p-mails, and videos, and music…. But mostly, we have loved, and love, Scootie herself.

We have no words, no whispers, even, to really tell Scooter and her family how much she has meant to us; how much we each adore her; how much more than she / they know we will miss her bright face and remarks…… How much the silence and space ache in our hearts, and how much we know that the aches are the merest shadow of what her mama and daddy have experienced. Maybe it is because of our own multiple griefs that she has come to hold such a dear and special place in our hearts. But we think it’s really “just because” she’s the one-and-only, quintessential, beloved Scooter!

Words that we think of when we try to think of how we love Scootie Patootie……. [Note: These were written in three columns, but Catster won’t let us format it that way!]


Cherished
Loving
Unique!
Inspiration
Purring

Unique!
Inspiration
Purring
Summer
Playful
Kind
Gener ous
Quicksilver
Caring
Baby Food
Brilliant
Leader
Catnip!
Beacon of Light
Guardian
Crazy!!
Pawsome!
Purrayers
Fun
Loquacious!
Greeter
Balloons
Gorgeous
Teacher
Floating
Cute
Mentor
Memories
Loved
Dearest Furiend
Silly
Beloved
Inspector General
Enduring
Adored
Curious
Assured
Gifted & gifting
Gracious
Present
Soaring
Clever & Cunning…..
Ham!
Talented
Blessing
Blessed
Diplomatic
“Specialest”
Angel
(Possibly also “Specialist”)
SIAMESE!!! If you please (and if you DON’T please…..)


Our dearest furiend…… We love you, completely. We wish to comfort your family, and to thank you, dear heart, for all that you have meant and continue to mean in our lives.

“Loviest purrs” to you, Angel Scooter…. backatcha, from whence the concept first came into our lives…… May your spirit, indeed, soar free, with gladsome song and joy, until we meet you some day, with great delight, to romp in a meadow filled with rainbow light, dear love, and warm peace…….

MacIntosh & Pixel
Popka
[ & Katharine ]

With Dearest Lovey Purrs From MacIntosh, Pixel and- Popka

To all our dear Catster Furriends,

Today is the day that our grandpa went away to heaven, one year ago. It has been a sad and hard year for our mama and her / our whole family. That means we haven't been 'specially good furriends to anyone on Catster. But we WANTED to be! It just somehow didn't happen; mama didn't have much time to type for us.

But we, all three, want you to know how much we love you all! We especially thank the following kitties for so much love and support through all these long difficult couple of years:

Scooter
Mocha Latte
Albert
Toulouse
Basil
SooLing
Paula
Sara
Shelby
Zoomie
Frankie A Sinatracat

The worst part about "Thank You's" is knowing that we're leaving someone out . . . We wouldn't do that for anything. Even Catster H.Q., and especially Russ (oooh, hope we've got his name right!!) were SO kind to us during that awful time. If we've left YOU out, please let us know . . .

And meanwhile, dearest lovey purrs and deepest gratitude to you all.

Love,

MacIntosh
Pixel
Katharine

Happy Birthday, Sweet Kitty!

Best of all Popkas, you were the dearest, best boy ever. I miss you with all my heart, mind, and spirit; I wish I were sure of the Rainbow Bridge. Happy, happy 24th (TWENTY-FOUR; WOW!!!) birthday, lovey kitty!!

From the mama who adored you and weeps for you still, with gratitude for the many, many years that you made such an incredible effort to stay with me ~

Mama

Thanksgiving Journal ~ Tagging For Gratitude

Mama says it's about time I got to writing in this journal again. Today Albert tagged me in a Thanksgiving game that's going around. I have to name 5 things I am thankful for and tag 5 kitties and say something nice about them. When Pixel was tagged by Mocha Latte, he thought it was an easy game, because it's so very easy to be grateful right now. He's right. Many, many kitties and their families have had such sad days recently; I am profoundly grateful for Catster and Catster support. Everykitty is so kind. [And I would tag Albert, if I could, because he is one special and dedicated, loyal, ever-so-kind kitty who is Very High on my Gratitude List! But he got to me first, so there you are.]

My Gratitude List:

1. I was hit by a car at 14 months old (1985), probably deliberately. I am thankful that mama found me, in the middle of the cold, rainy night, and paid the thousands of dollars for my recovery, and never allowed me to go outside again off a leash. (I STILL spent hours basking in the sun in the rose bed, ON a leash, which I adeptly tangled until it took her HOURS to get it undone . . . "hours" MORE that I spent outdoors in the sun!!!
:)

2. I am thankful for Gerber Baby Food!!! I mostly lived on Ham baby food for the last several years of my life, after developing fatty liver (for which I had to have a feeding tube for awhile ~ why didn't they show me this baby food stuff SOONER?!?) Scootie Patootie likes it, too, only she eats chicken ~ and my little brofur MacIntosh gets Ham Baby Food as a treat. I WONDER whether Gerber knows they feed a whole pawpulation of us???

3. More than he could ever know, I am grateful for my grandpa (my mama's papa). He died May 27th this year, so of course, I knew him well. Now, I have to admit, he was not a person who warmed up much to kitties Up Close, so I kept my distance, respectfully. But he was a dear, dear man, and people from far and wide loved him immeasurably. Mama still cries and cries for him.

4. I am very grateful for my two little brofurs, MacIntosh & Pixel, who came to live with mama a year after I came to the Rainbow Bridge. She cried and cried and cried, hour after hour, and had nightmares and sad dreams until they came. She still cries, and still has sad dreams, but not nearly so much. They keep her Plenty Preoccupied!!! She has to wade through demanding cats to try to get ANYthing done, and it often seems like there are 2 X 2 X 2 cats ~ to the second power!! (She loves them dearly; I am SO glad they came!!!)

5. I am grateful for the so many members of mama's family whom I lived long enough to know and meet, who came to the Rainbow Bridge before me, but whom mama loved dearly: Nama-Petty, Bill, Patsy, Julie (J.A.), Emille (who never met me, but who Dearly Loved kitties), and others. Mama was so happy to have a large family. And although many of us are at the Bridge or beyond now, we still are loved and remembered. And I am grateful for that!!!


I am tagging the following kitties:

1. Toulouse, who is the administrator for the SIAMESE LOVERS Around The World Group, and one of the kindest and most capable kitties I know ~ one of our dearest furriends!!

2. Bitu, who has been so kind and worked so hard on the KittyWhiskas for Catsters Group, and the KittyWhiskas For Catsters Memorial Wall, both of which are wonderful groups for so many kitties!

3. Sonatina Champagne Seranade, who is such a pretty kitty, and had such pretty babies! (Plus, she almost lives in my mama's backyard!)

4. Sara, a particular D-O-G furriend of my family's ~ the ONLY Dogster (or Catster!) we've ever met in person, because she is very kind, and because she hasn't been tagged since May!!

5. And Theo, because he wears the Royal Crown so gracefully!

Lovey purrs to all kitties (and a few pups!) ~ I am grateful for you all!!

Sadly Missing Popka

Dearest Kitty,

I love you more than I can possibly express. I am missing you so much this week, since you went to the Bridge four years ago. It's hard to believe that it's been that long, and that your younger brothers have actually turned three years old!!

I cannot help the tears from time to time this week. Your loss is weighing heavily on my mind. Thank you so much for staying nearby, and loving thanks for the 19 1/2 years that we spent together. They were the best years ever.

I miss your purr, your snuggles, your patience. I miss seeing you fly. I miss seeing you on your fur, and going places with you. I miss everything that you were, and everything that you represent to me. Most of all, I miss your dear little face and your self.

I hope you are having fun at the Rainbow Bridge. It is hard to wait to see you there.

Dearest love to you from,

Mama

Tagged By The Meme!

(Written) Tuesday May 22nd, 2007

Wow! ~ I’ve been reading about being “tagged” (for the seven things about me meme) on various kitties’ pages ever since I read it in Scooter’s diary ~ but just now I found out I was tagged TWICE today!!! ~ once by Mipo and once by Basil (Remembered With Love).

The way it works is that when you get tagged, you list in your diary (or blog) 7 fun / interesting / unknown things about yourself. Then you pick 7 other kitties to tag and list them on your diary. Be sure to let them know they are tagged so they can play.

Holy cats ~ Does being tagged twice in one day mean I have to list FOURTEEN things about myself??? Whew!!

Well, here goes . . .

1) When I was Very Young, I was treed by two Doberman Pinscher dogs in their yard, and my mama climbed a tree in the yard next door to get me. She brought me down on her shoulders!

2) (Also when I was quite young), the local newspaper sent a reporter & a photographer to do a quarter page article about me which was published with a color photo!

3) I was over 19 1/2 years old when I came to the Rainbow Bridge.

4) I was a “heat-seeking, garbage-eating solar-powered cat”. (That was sung to a particular tune made up for me by a dearest friend who was like a second mama to me.) (I did NOT really eat garbage ~ Usually!!) :)

5) I wanted very badly to stay with my mama. I didn’t go to the Rainbow Bridge until the very last possibility had been exhausted. Mama didn’t travel for the last four years of my life in order to be sure I was comfortable and happy.

6) When I was a baby, I rode around in the hood of mama’s jacket when she was outdoors in the neighborhood.

7) One time I showed mama that there was a squirrel (!!) trapped in the (fortunately unused) furnace in the house I lived in when I was a little kitty! She had to take the grate off and chase it back outdoors. She didn’t let me help. :(

8) When I was very young, I could fly!! I particularly demonstrated this when in pursuit of small bugs at the top of the curtains or walls.

9) When mama played the piano, I ran for the hills!! (Not like my crazy younger brother Pixel, who sits on or by the piano any time she plays!!)

10) My very first v-e-t said that I was a Very Fastidious Cat. He told mama he’d almost never seen another kitty like me in that regard.

11) My favorite food was always whatever mama was eating. I was particularly fond of Rice Krispies and scrambled eggs, though almost anything was acceptable.

12) For awhile I lived with a dog named Tani. She always tried to eat my food and other unmentionables. I was Not Fond Of Dogs (at least, generally).

13) I survived serious encounters with dogs, cars (under and in front of, both), more dogs, squirrels, birds, rose bushes, the ocean, cars, ferry boats, photographers, English handbells, disease, v-e-t-s, a subluxed tailbone, multiple residences, and a couple of other kitties!

14) I am multilingual: I spoke and speak French as well as English, Meow, and Siamese.

Okay, now I get to tag seven kitties!! (Please note I am NOT tagging 14 kitties!!!

Also, please forgive me if (a) you’ve been tagged since the last time I looked at your page, or (b) you don’t already have a diary page . . . If you know anything about exponential growth, you know that probably everkitty has or will be tagged in Short Order!!

Have fun!!

Popka (In Sad & Loving Memory)

P.S. Did Kazumi Joy invent this game??!!??

Jordan
SooLing
Captain Jack
Trouble
ling ling
Atlas
Butterpaws BC Rainbow

Sad News ~ More Pet Food Deaths

My mama knows someone whose dogs have apparently both died within the past week due to the tainted pet food.  This is crushing news for their devastated mama, and the news looks to be getting so much worse by the minute right now for all the kitties and doggies everywhere.  Mama is so sad about this.

These dogs were not Dogster members, but I just know their mama could use support at losing two such dear, best friends.  If anyone sends any message, my mama will print them for her friend.  Thank you for any support you can offer.

Sadly,

Popka

Happy Birthday, March 3rd!!!  Not- Belated On Purpose!

To the Dearest Kitty that ever walked the face of the earth,

You must be wondering how your mama could have "forgotten" to post on Catster that it was YOUR BIRTHDAY on March 3rd.  However, beloved boy, you know, I think, how much caregiving I am doing now . . .  It is reminiscent of our latter days, eh?

You would have been 23 Years Old!!  Count them! ~ TWENTY-THREE YEARS!!!

Remember being so small that you could ride around in the hood of my sweatshirt?

Remember when I fetched you down from the tree in the Dobermans' yard with you riding on my shoulders?

Remember when you could fly, and did so, regularly, in pursuit of (of course! ~ poetic justice!) flies??!!??

Remember the squirrel in the furnace, when you pointed out the PAWS in the GRATE to me with great anticipation???  And how disgusted you were that I wouldn’t let YOU chase it Out The Door???

Remember all those twist ties you adored?

Remember when we went to Long Beach all by ourselves for the Best Time Ever??

Remember Tani (Putanitsyeh!) and how much she annoyed you??

Remember the long quiet days in puddles of sunlight, cuddling or aloofing alike, as you chose?

Remember how much your mama adored and adores you???  You have my heart.  You are my Best Boy.  You are the loviest kitty ever.

Remember Dr. Joy, and how dear she was?  I was re-reading the book she gave me, about Cat Heaven.  I hope your place at the Rainbow Bridge is warm, sunny, full of just the right grass, shady trees to climb or lie under, and lots of Catster friends.

Your tree is planted ~ on the front porch; isn't that funny?!?

And still I miss you, achingly, longingly, with all my heart and soul.

Happy Birthday, little Popka.  I love you.  This note never would've been late on purpose.

With sad, longing tears, but singing Happy Birthday To You!!!

Mama

As Many "Thank You's" As Stars In The Sky! ~ To- Catster!!!

Being noticed and comforted with the Cat Of The Day Award might be one of the most special and wonderful things that's ever happened to me.  I don't even know how to begin thanking my special friends at Catster!!!

Nevertheless, I do thank you, so much.  Hopefully you know how very much you made my day, and my mama's day, too.  May there be many stars in your sky and rosettes in your own garden . . .

Also deepest thank yous to so many Catster friends who have already sent so many kudos and congratulations.  I have to admit that I was flabbergasted; it seems to me that kitties at the Bridge sometimes don't get recognized as much.  I always thought my little brother Pixel might be the one acknowledged, if anyone in my family.  (He's the "writer"!)  So I am 'specially happy, because I know how very much my mama still misses me.

You are all dear and precious to me.  Thank you so much, ou (si on parle français) merci beaucoup, mille fois!!

Loviest happy purrs from,

Popka =^..^=

:)