Bridge Day

It's bright and sunny here today... just like it was a year ago.

Maggie had become ill a few days before. She stopped eating and was barely drinking and we had pretty much known that it was renal failure.

Although Maggie had stopped going to the vets when they diagnosed her with Lymphoma (which she ended up not having), we knew the last few years that she had some type of renal problems because of her water intake and outtake. We supplemented as much water as possible and changed her diet and it did help for quite a while.

Since we had vowed that Maggie would never go to the vet again until it was time for her to cross, when she became sick those last couple of days... we had hoped that she would cross in her sleep at home. The second day, we decided that if she made it though to the third day, we would take her in.

That morning, she was very weak and we knew it was time. I called the vet and explained and made an appointment a couple of hours later. Maggie's last hours at home were quite comfortable. She drank a bit from a dropper, and we layed up on the bed together in the sun. Maggie was a SUN worshipper! She loved to lay anywhere in the house where the sun was.

As we laid there, I petted her gently and she purred quietly and I could tell she was enjoying the warmth. I talked to her, shared some wonderful memories and told her that she was going to see her sister Bernie.

I wrapped her up in her favorite blanket and off we went to see Dr. Oster.

What a different experience this was compared to the crossings of Bernie and Bo Peep, who were both at an emergency hospital when it happened.

I must say that day, I became quite fond of Dr. Oster. She made Maggie's crossing a loving, peaceful and compassionate event. I did not sit down to wait to be called. I was ushered into an exam room immediately. No assistant came in.. just Dr. Oster. Now, we had not know her that long, having only met her about a week before with ^Willow^'s first exam.

Dr. Oster was compassionate, calm and VERY understanding. She gave Maggie a quick exam and came to the same conclusion... that she was in her last stage of Renal Failure and that it was time to let her cross. I can't begin to even explain what happened after that. Dr. Oster spent time petting Maggie, talking to her, talking about how much she was and is loved, telling her about the wonderful place the Rainbow Bridge was, and that she would be free of all her pains. It was so sad, yet so beautiful.

Maggie was given a tranquilizer and Dr. Oster left the room for a few minutes for Maggie and I to spend some time together. I quietly petted her as she drifted off... she knew I was petting her because her breathing increased every time I did.

Dr. Oster came back in and gave her the last shot and we both rubbed her as she crossed.

Were there tears? Of course. Maggie had been with me for 17 years and it was extremely hard to let her go. In the back of my mind, I guess I always thought that she would be here forever.

The day Maggie crossed was such a sad day.... yet such a beautiful one because I knew that she would once again see her buddy Bernie and would no longer have the body of a 17 year old.

We miss you every day, Maggers! Especially today.

Happy Birthday, Dear Maggie

18 years ago today, you entered the world...

You were the ultimate cuddler, Ms. Maggie! You loved to climb up on your dads and just fall asleep (which usually meant whoever you were lying on fell asleep too!).

There are many many fond memories of you and your sister Bernie. How you both would wait in the big front window for me to come home. I'd always look up from the parking lot and see the two of you.. one on each side of the window looking at me. It always made me smile.

Then, when we moved into the house, you were always at the living room window (even after Bernie passed)... looking in the driveway for me to pull in from work. As soon as the front door opened, you were always there greeting me.

It was a wonderful 17 years and we all miss you terribly.

Happy Birthday, dear sweet MooGoo!

All our love,
Your Dads and the gang

PS- Last weekend, we cleaned out the garage and found a box filled with pictures of you and Bernie! Some were from when you two were first adopted. I always felt bad that we didn't have a lot of pictures of Bernie (you two were around before the digital camera age) and none of you in your younger years! Well, in the coming weeks, we're going to expand on Bernie's page and yours and show everyone just how adorable you two were in the early days!

Maggie sick? It's can't be!

The first few months with Maggie and Bernie were some of the best times ever! They were so playful together and constantly cuddled with each other. Never before had I seen two cats (let alone females!) act like true friends.

Bernie and Maggie did everything vet-wise together (So that college student daddy could get a multiple cat discount!). I remember taking two carriers to the vet the day they were spayed. That was back in the time when they stayed overnight. I made sure to ask the vet to put them in the same cage together because they hadn't been apart at all since Maggie joined the family.

The both healed wonderfully and received all their last shots.

A month or two after that, I had a friend over who was petting Maggie and brought a lump on her neck to my attention. It was about the size of a chickpea. I was instantly panicked and called the vet for an appointment.

After the vet examined her, he told me that it might be a swollen lymph node and he wanted to aspirate it to have the contents examined.

A few days later he called to say that the results didn't look too good... it showed possible lymphoma. I was devastated. The vet then wanted to remove the node to have it examined further.

Another night at the vets while Maggie had her surgery. She came home the next day with a shaved neck and a decent sized incision. I anxiously awaited the results.

It was the same bad news. The vet said that she had lymphoma and we needed to decide what course of action to take... chemo, whatever.

I took Maggie home and cried for what seemed days, while I tried to decide what to do. Deep in the back of my mind, for some reason, I kept thinking to myself, "She doesn't have cancer.. she just can't".

After a few days, I decided I wasn't going to do anything about it. I would wait to see how she did on her own. She was such a small kitty and I couldn't see her going thru all of this.

I vowed to Maggie as long as she seemed to be ok, that I would never take her to a vet again. (Ok, I was young.. LOL) And... that's what I did. Maggie never went to the vet again until three weeks ago when it was her time to cross.

Obviously, living for 17 years with not one problem meant that she didn't have Lymphoma. As I researched on the net a few years ago, I found that the Feline Leukemia/Aids vaccinations caused a lot of false positives with Leukemia and other things.

What a great 17 years it was too. :)

When Maggie Met Bernie

This is a day I will never forget.

After the passing of Libby, I was a bit nervous about bringing Maggie home to meet Bernie. I put Maggie in the bedroom and Bernie stayed outside in the hall. They were both sniffing under the door and Bernie starting pawing from out in the hallway... wanting to see who that scent was from!

I opened the door and out ran little Maggie. She didn't even get past Bernie.. who immediately checked her out, jumped on top of her and gave her a complete bath!

From that day on, Bernie and Maggie were the bestest friends. They always slept together, ate together... did everything together.

At the time, I lived in an apartment that had an extremely large front window that looked out onto the street. This window was probably 15 feet long with two smaller windows that opened on each end. Every day when I came home from work/college, Maggie would be in one window on the end and Bernie would be in the other... perfect book ends, always ready to see their dad pull up in the car, ready to greet him at the door.

Ah, the memories :)

A Time to Reflect

As the days move on and you begin to accept the reality of losing a long time furbaby, you remember so many wonderful times.

The first time I saw Maggie, she was in the back of a steel cage sitting in a litter box, with just her head peeking over. In front of her were 5 other siblings, all aching for attention. They were meowing, crying, pawing, licking, dancing, and jumping... and all the time, little Maggie was in the back just looking at me.

I said to the woman at the shelter.. "Oh, can I hold the one in the back?" She opened the cage (with the my assistance) and I held back the other kitties as she grabbed Maggie.

After I held her, kissed her all over and looked in her eyes, I knew she was the perfect companion for Bernie.... and off we went!

That was the summer of 1991. The beginning of the Bernie and Maggie Era.


A Link to Bernie and Her Story

A Heartfelt Thank you

To our friends on Catster, furry and not, those we've met and those we've yet to meet,

We cannot be thankful enough for the incredible outpouring of love, support, comfort and understanding at the loss of our Maggie. It warms our hearts to see just how many people and their furbabies care... sometimes for others they've never met, emailed or conversed with before.

In this day and age where everything is rushed and people are hesitant to lend a helping hand, Catster proves that there are people and furbabies filled with love and compassion... something that's rare to see theses days.

So, to all of you who sent gifts, stars, memorials, emails or even just thought of Maggie in your prayers... thank you. Our hearts are full.

Love and purrrrs,
Maggie's Family (Barnaby, ^Willow^ and their dads)